A COLNE Valley man is warning phone users to be on their guard after being hit with a £13 bill for a one-minute call.
Ian Ward, of Golcar, is facing the whopping charge after his 15-year-old son Ben used his mobile to call a chat-line - which is available on a standard London landline number.
The service, run by Telecom Billing Services, sends out bills to home addresses independently of BT.
Callers are charged at £12.95 for the first five minutes, no matter how long the caller stays on the line.
Mr Ward said he received a TBS bill addressed to his partner through the post for a call dated March 28 from a mobile phone.
Mr Ward, who runs a garage door business, said: "My partner doesn't personally own a mobile, so she rang the customer services number and was advised to return the bill marked 'no mobile'.
"When we looked closer the mobile number was one of our business mobiles, which had been in our possession on the night of the call.
"This mobile is registered to our company in Mirfield and we were puzzled as to how the phone had been linked to my partner's name and our home.
"We called the London number using a different mobile phone to examine how the service operated."
Mr Ward said a message told them to put the phone down if they were under 18.
They ended the call, but made another call from the landline to see if the number was obtainable from any phone. They again heard the message and ended the call.
Mr Ward added: "The following day, to my amazement, an operator calling from TBS called on the mobile we had used the previous night - when we had not entered the service proper.
"The woman asked me for my name and address for billing purposes in relation to the few seconds I had registered," he added.
Mr Ward said they then contacted the family on the land line they had used to verify the number, again asking for billing details.
Mr Ward said that each time he had refused to give them details.
Mr Ward said he had contacted phone watchdog ICSTIS about the service, but due to the way the company operates, it was powerless to intervene.
Mr Ward said: "We are seeking advice about the call our son made. He and ourselves may not be liable to pay as the call was made by a minor.
"With regards to the other two calls, TBS can forget it."
Mr Ward said: "Because our son obtained the number from a friend the number will be available to hundreds - if not thousands - of kids in Huddersfield and throughout the country."
The Examiner called TBS.
A customer service operator said: "The son made the first call. He should find out what he has to pay."
He added: "People need to make sure what kind of numbers they are calling.
"The bill has to be paid, it's as simple as that. If they don't pay it could be put in the hands of a debt collection agency."
