Globelines landline phone problem: Calls I didn’t make

I’ve heard several stories in the past about people claiming that their landline company charged them for phone calls they did not make. I didn’t think it would happen to me, but in my first-ever Globelines billing statement, it did. Here is my story.

Globelines (now renamed “Globe Broadband”) is the exclusive internet service provider (ISP) — fortunately or unfortunately — of the Makati condo building where I am currently staying. Immediately after moving in around the middle of last month, I applied for Globelines’ P995 Landline + Broadband Bundle Package and eventually got the internet connection a week later.

Globelines’ annoyingly intermittent connection has been written in several blogs, including Jrocas.com.ph, for months now. First let me say that PLDT’s DSL connection (the one I’m using in the province) is not that great either. Both have internet connection that gets suddenly cut off at times, but Globelines is worse because the internet “dis-connection” happens to me almost every day.

Calling Customer Support only connects me to a staff who constantly reminds me that Globelines is currently undergoing “network restoration.” What that means, I don’t know. But that’s what they’ve kept telling me since I started contacting their Customer Support. They did offer me one tip, though. In cases of sudden disconnection, turn the modem off, restart the PC, then turn the modem on again. This apparently fetches a new IP address which brings back the internet connection. Cool. Works for me.

But that’s not the main story. Globelines last week sent me my first monthly billing. It contained the usual charges, no surprise there, but what piqued my interest were charges for 11 calls made to seven different cellphone numbers in a span of 30 minutes during one Sunday in July.

Let me repeat that. My bill included 11 completed calls — ranging from one to 10 minutes each — to seven cellphone numbers unknown to me, all done within 30 minutes. That meant one call every 2.7 minutes. Now, why would I do that? Why would I “play” with the phone just to call people with cellphone numbers that are unfamiliar to me?

Before someone starts saying it was me or someone else in the house who unwittingly made the calls, let me say that there are only two persons staying in the house and both of us were in the province the day the calls were made. In fact, we left the house a day prior to that and only came back three days later. I have my IP logs in the PMT Forum to prove it. All I can say is, it is impossible for us to make any of those 11 calls.

Earlier this week, I decided to visit the Globelines center at Park Square 2 in Glorietta to report the incident and was instructed to submit a formal letter of complaint. I drafted and submitted one yesterday. They told me they will initiate an investigation and I will just be contacted once they have finished it. When exactly? They don’t know, but it will be “after some weeks.”

I was also reminded that, regardless of the results of the investigation, the entire billed amount need to be paid prior to the due date; otherwise, the service may be terminated. Nice.

I’ll post an update about this should there be one, but for the meantime, I encourage you to carefully scan your billing statements to see if you were charged for calls you did not make.

Got a similar story? Post a comment below or drop by the Have you been charged by your phone company for calls you didn’t make? thread in the PinoyMoneyTalk Forum.

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20 thoughts on “Globelines landline phone problem: Calls I didn’t make”

  1. Either there’s someone who has access to your house w/o your knowledge or someone is tapping in to your phone line. Those are the only possibilities I can think of.

    Reply
  2. @nailbiter, I think I have to. Not paying will give them a reason to terminate the service and, if I don’t pay on time, I’m sure they’ll charge me interest. I’m locked in for a year (and I’m just on my second month) so I don’t have much choice.

    @jaypee, we are the only ones who have the keys, not even the condo building people have it, so the first theory you mentioned may not be possible. Besides, if someone breaks into our house, why just make cellphone calls? Steal something! LOL.

    The second theory is definitely a possibility, although after that 30-minute calls extravaganza, it never happened again. That’s what I’m asking Globe to check. I hope they give me a reply soon.

    Reply
  3. Just pay what you’re supposed to pay — 995. Let the unknown call charges be rolled over to your next bill, until the time they adjust it accordingly. I was charged for a wrong service before too. I never paid for these charges. I just kept on paying for my monthly service fee, and they didn’t cut my line. No interest/fines as well for overdue bills. With constant follow-ups, they finally adjusted my billing statement.

    Reply
  4. shizuka’s right, just pay what you should be billed for. Let them charge you interest if they will, and ignore it. Had a similar experience with erroneous billing but for a BPI credit card and for Meralco. Never paid those charges either and only kept following up to have them remove the disputed charges from the billing statements. Took months, though.

    Reply
  5. On your question re: partial payments, pwede naman ata. Sometimes when I pay through banks or Bayad Centers, they ask first how much I intend to pay.

    Reply
  6. i had a friend who had globelines (he resides in Parañaque), & it really sucked big time (i can tell because i go to his house and use use his PC)! he can’t even enjoy the internet for a longer time. it would only last for an hour or so. and the telephone line isn’t that clear also. you still have to get out of the house to have a clear call. i suggested that he could just apply for a PLDT myDSL. we have it in our home and there seem to be no problem. he was even charged for some internet usage that doesn’t even last.

    Reply
  7. FG, Globelines won’t suddenly terminate your connection if you don’t pay within the stipulated time. i know — we’ve been a Globelines subscriber for about a decade or so. My mom says you get a grace period and wait for their notice of disconnection to come — and then you have to pay.

    That’s really weird though, I don’t experience much disconnection (I’m also on Globe budget bundle like you) except when there’s storm. And I’m very happy with their internet service; I’ve been with them since 2003. And my downloads go much faster than downloads do in PLDT DSL connections. My only gripe against them is their poor customer service. I had to call about ten times, report to their manager, and look for someone I personally know who works for Globe, just to get my damn modem replaced.

    Reply
  8. for globelines users.

    always lock the ndd call after using in order that no one can make a long distance call. make sure to change the default pin number (1234).

    even the hackers cannot decode your pin, unless otherwise the database administrator do.

    the globe broadband is faster than bayantel skydsl or pldt dsl even the internet backbone of globelines is bayantel.

    Reply
  9. Globelines Broadband is a scam!!! Letting us customers experience their 7-day trial period of real broadband speed then they will tie us in their 1yr bond then after that the HELL ON EARTH of internet begins.

    I am experiencing problems with globelines broadband… I subscribed to their 512kbps wireless broadband package with wireless phone (PHP1295/mo.)… they gave me 7 days trial period and within that trial period I was amazed with the speed… pumapalo from 700+ kbps to 1+ mb… kaya pina-activate ko kaagad. Pero eto na ang kalbaryo… right after the 7-day trial period nagsimula nang maging intermitent ang connection speed nila either super bagal (I even got 5bps or lower!!!) o totally walang connection. Lagi ako nagrereklamo sa CS nila pero wala naman sila ginawa kundi palitan yung modem na wala naman nagbago ganon pa din naman problema. My work is related to IT and I know that there is no problem at my side (hardware, softwares, cabling, etc…). Kakainis na talaga ang service ng globelines… feeling ko naloko lang ako kase nakatali ako ngayon sa kanila for 1yr dahil sa 1yr bond na kasama sa package. Tanong ko lang guys… meron ba tayong pwedeng magawang aksyon para maipaabot sa mga kinauukulan ang panlolokong ginagawa ng globelines satin?

    Reply
  10. This is the problem with broadband providers. I think the telco is pretty much the same. You always need to check your bills for unauthorized charges. I used to just pay them without bothering to look the items that they charge me. Some of you might be right. Hackers may use your name (identity theft) for their own use. But it is wise to run through the bill before you pay. Highlight this issue to the provider. If the provider still insist that you pay, then just cancel the whole account.

    Reply

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