You have a call in the absence of an unknown number and you want to know who this number belongs to? Nothing simpler: just consult a free reverse directory. Free? It’s fast said as you may have already discovered at your expense: reverse directories can actually cost a fortune. With the wie heeft gebeld You can have a perfect checking option.
Beware of the scam of free reverse directories
More than a decade ago, on the 12th, the unique telephone number for telephone information disappeared. It was thought that the liberalization of this service would benefit consumers. Unfortunately, the opposite has happened. Instead of lowering their prices, directory service publishers have steadily increased them to reach today’s dizzying rates, without even breaking the law.
While surcharged numbers starting with 0899, for example, are subject to a tariff ceiling, this is not the case for numbers dedicated to reverse directories that start with 118. Result: each company is free to set prices that it wants and, of course, the various players in the sector do not hesitate to inflate their rates.
How is a call made to a directory inquiry service?
Calls to an inverted directory are billed by your operator but it is not him who sets the prices: it is the directory service publisher who defines the price of use of his service. Your operator is only passing on this cost to your bill. No need to annoy you against the prohibitive price charged by your operator, there is nothing.
A call to an inverted directory service is the cost of a typical call as for all calls you make from your phone, plus the cost of the call proportional to the duration of the call and the cost of the service, both of which are set by the service publisher. Once all these costs accumulated, a call of less than one minute to a reverse directory can be charged 5 to 6 $.
Reverse directory service publishers do not stop there:
In addition to giving you the identity of the holder of a phone number if it is not registered on the red list, they offer you to put you in touch with him. Be careful, if you accept, the bill may be dizzying since the cost of communication-related to the service will apply throughout the duration of your conversation.
It is, therefore, better understood why consumers denounce abusive tariffs and unfair practices of free reverse directories, which mislead the user. And this is likely to get worse: the numbers at 118 are much less regulated than premium-rate numbers in 08 more and more unscrupulous companies use these numbers for services other than the number search. For example, some consumers have complained that they have been misled by the display of a number 118 in the middle of a web page that is supposed to indicate the number of customer service. In addition to stumbling upon a teleoperator who could not solve their problem, they ended up with huge bills.
Good to know:
If you notice an abnormally high cost on your phone bill due to a call to a reverse directory and you want to make a complaint, you must contact the service publisher, not your mobile operator. You will find his contact information on the website, which is the reverse directory of premium-rate numbers. You will also find the rates for all directory services and other surcharged numbers.