Phone data usage

[LincsArk]

I run an animal charity and forward the number to my own phone so I don't have to carry 2 phones around with me. I see on the charity EE account that all calls have my own number on it. Does the EE account get charged every time I answer the forwarded number from my phone?  I am assuming that the calls I use from my own BT mobile (running off EE) come off of my data usage on my contract.  Can anyone help clear this up please?

[BrendonH]

EE doesn't charge you for call forwarding.

Have they charged you? What does the bill say?

[bristolian]

Hello @LincsArk 

Diverted calls are charged exactly the same as if they had been dialled directly.

If you have diverted calls from phone A to phone B, then they will be charged according to phone-A's plan, for a call to phone B.

If the call would be included in any bundled allowances, so will the divert.

[LincsArk]

Thank you for your prompt reply.  My call data usage has been used up on the EE account.  I assumed that if I made calls from my own phone number then it would come off my own data usage.  Has the forwarded number overridden my own phone number?  On the EE account it says calls and the number is my own number, not charged but the usage has been used up.

[bristolian]

Can you clarify what you mean by your "call data usage", I'm not sure what data allowance has to do with your query.

I suspect this is just an issue of terminology, but calls don't come from your data allowance. Your monthly plan will include an allowance of voice calls (which may be unlimited) and a separate allowance of data usage (which will be measured in Gigabytes in most cases)

[LincsArk]

The EE package is 500 mins and 500 texts.  My EE bill is telling me that I have reached the 500 mins.  I have not made calls from the number as I make the calls from my own phone to where the charity's number is forwarded to.  I don't know why I have no mins left on the EE account when I am using my own number, or has the act of forwarding the charity EE number overridden the use of my own number (the people I call have said that my number comes up on their phone or has a missed call from not the charity's number).  Could someone have hacked into the number and using it illegally?  When someone rings the charity EE number would the mins be taken from the account when forwarding to my phone?  

[bristolian]

It's extremely unlikely this is a result of any hacking.

Have you been able to check your online bill breakdown, to check if you've inadvertently used more call-minutes than you expect?

[LincsArk]

The EE bill has the breakdown of the calls out and the only number called my own number.  I get an alert from EE on the charity phone to tell me when the mins are running out or have run out.

It looks like that when someone rings the charity's EE number EE then ring my number to forward the call and the minutes start ticking away.  The charity number is making a call to me so I can speak to the person calling.

I may have to send the number back to the charity phone and carry 2 phones with me if this is going to happen.

Glad that no-one can hack into the numbers.

[bristolian]

I've read all these posts again, and think I understand now. Let's call the "charity phone" which is on EE, phone A, and your "personal phone" which is on another provider, phone B.

Am I correct in thinking you are diverting phone A to phone B, and phone A's EE bill is showing calls to phone B, which is then using phone A's call allowance?

If so, that is normal behaviour. a divert is effectively an automatic call - so every time a call arrives on phone A and is diverted to phone B, phone A is being charged for a call to phone B.

Those calls will count towards phone A's allowance in exactly the same way as if they were dialled phone A manually.

If I have misunderstood, then I apologise.

[LincsArk · Accepted solution]

Why didn't I put it that simply?  Yes, that is exactly that.  I did not know this when forwarding the number, there has not been this many calls before.  I think the safest thing is to send it back to the heavy little 1990's phone and carry both around with me.

Thank you so much for your help.  You've been brilliant. X