VIDEO – Surcharge numbers: advice to avoid paying a high price

Airline, online ready-to-wear website or even insurance, more and more companies are using premium rate numbers when you need information. On arrival, it’s often a bad surprise on the phone bill.

Julie paid the price when she needed to find a pharmacy on call in the middle of the night. Because to find the closest to his home, pharmacies invite you to dial a number … surcharged. “I had cut my finger, so I had to go to the pharmacy after having an emergency operation. I still stayed on the phone for a little while so it must have been 4 or 5 euros. found out about my phone bill the following month “, she explains in the TF1 newscast, to see in the video at the top of this article. A situation judged “abusive” by some. “This is absolutely not normal”, a local woman wonders. “It surprises me, if we are looking for a pharmacy on duty, it is because it is urgent”, adds another.

To avoid this chargeable number, you can reach the nearest police station or go to the reverse directory site for premium-rate numbers. But we still have to think about these options. Because on a daily basis, surcharged numbers are often put forward. “For me, it’s a bit of a legal scam. We don’t have a choice, so either we hang up quickly or we realize it too late”, complain about customers. “Why are there premium rate numbers? It makes money for some companies and I don’t agree”, defends his side a retiree.

Since January 1, public administrations, such as the Pension Fund, no longer have the right to use toll numbers. But many private companies still use it, as shown by UFC-Que Choisir. “On a French e-commerce site, there are no free telephone numbers. There is a paid and relatively expensive number”, is alarmed Laurent Croison, litigation advisor, vice-president of the consumers’ association in Caen.

However, extensive research on the Internet can prevent you from paying an additional cost, as Laurent Croison advises: “You can find sites that offer non-premium numbers for the businesses you are looking for. It doesn’t always work, but since it’s free, it’s worth a try. Otherwise, the best technique and also the safest is to send an email to the company “, he said. You will thus keep a written record of your request; it can be useful to you in the event of a dispute.