Dear Claudienne

I got a call from a Scotia Bank office on Tuesday November 17 on my digicel pre-paid phone. About three minutes after the call ended I repeatedly tried to phone the bank’s number, but it rang without an answer. Each time I ended the call after about five rings before there was a voice mail message.

After trying to call the number 10 times and not getting through, I got a recording that I had one minute of credit left.

This meant that after making the 10 calls and even though I had spoken to no one and ended each call before voice mail intervention, approximately $180 of $200 credit I had put on my phone earlier that day was used up. You see, after I was alerted that I had one minute of credit left I checked and was told that $8 credit was left.

I called the Digicel customer service line and explained what had happened. The customer service agent decided to make a test call to the Scotia number and then informed me that she was also losing credit.

A supervisor eventually spoke to me and said that if the phone was allowed to ring more than five times there should be a double beep. This double beep she explained was heard when the cell phone was making a connection and trying to find an available extension.

However, I never heard a double beep any of the times I called the Scotia number.

The supervisor promised to check with Digicel’s technical team and get back to me. However, nobody has called me.

I again called the customer service and spoke with a different supervisor. She explained that I was billed for air time. She said that whenever a call is made, even if there is no connection the customer is billed for using up Digicel’s air time.

If this is the case, wouldn’t it mean that the consumer could use up hundreds of dollars of credit without completing a call?

Could you kindly have Digicel clarify this matter for me.

CJ

Dear CJ

We spoke with Digicel and they said they would investigate your complaint.

Digicel told Tell Claudienne that based on investigations by their technical team it was concluded that the number that you called was “a line that is connected to BNS’ PBX (switchboard system) which then automatically forwards the call to an internal line/extension with no voice prompts.”

“If this is the case, the fact that the PBX answers the call and then forwards it, it means that charging on Digicel’s billing system will automatically take place,” the spokesperson explained.

Digicel said that they contacted you and explained what happened. The company said that they have also credited your account with the amount that was charged for air time.

We also note that you phoned and told us that Digicel called you and had credited your account with the amount you used in the calls to BNS.

Good luck.

Have a problem with a store, utility, a company? Telephone 511-2436 or write to: Tell Claudienne, c/o Sunday Finance Jamaica Observer, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5; or e-mail: edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com