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Megacall or mass calling
I have been charged for a lot of calls to a 099 number in a short period of time. How is it possible to make so many calls in such a short time? '
Mass calling is a service designed to handle a large number of calls to the same number in a short period of time. It is used for example in voting, such as in the Eurovision Song Contest, or in various types of competitions. Technically, the service should work so that when you call these numbers, which have the prefix 099, the call is registered immediately and since the connection time is very short, there is the possibility to make many calls in a short time.
Many TV competition programs have included some form of random number generator in their systems. In this way, calls are selected that are released to the program itself. All other calls reach a voicemail whose message usually goes something like this: "Unfortunately, you did not reach program x this time, but please try again!" Even if you only reach the voicemail, the call is connected and charged. There are examples of consumers making a large amount of calls to the same program. They seem to have dialed the number and as soon as they heard the recorded voice realizing that they did not get through to the program, they hung up and then immediately pressed the callback button. In this way, you can make a large number of calls in a short time.
Telekområdgivarnas mission only covers issues related to the content and marketing of premium rate services. If you question whether the charged calls were actually made, it is a question of purely technical nature that falls outside our mission. Then you need to dispute the invoice directly with your operator. The service type is called megacall or mass calling and the operator should be able to provide documentation that these calls have been made from your subscription. To get help disputing the invoice, you can contact Hallå Konsument or the local consumer guidance office.
Senast uppdaterad 2023-03-22