Gorleston’s Kevin Bacon says Hollywood’s Kevin Bacon is wrong about EE after being charged £150 for ‘10-hour’ phone call to the EDP

Kevin Bacon from Gorleston has been charged £150 for what EE claims was a 10-hour phone call made in February. Picture: James Bass Archant Norfolk © 2016

One is a Hollywood actor famous for his big screen roles and now as the face of a major mobile phone network.

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Kevin Bacon EE advert. Picture: Supplied Kevin Bacon EE advert. Picture: Supplied

The other is a 66-year-old classic car enthusiast from a Norfolk seaside town who just happens to go by the same name.

Until recently, both men – called Kevin Bacon – had also shared a problem-free relationship with the mobile operator EE.

But that all changed when Norfolk’s Mr Bacon, who hails from Gorleston, was charged £150 for a 10-hour phone call he claims he never made.

Despite previously complaining to the firm, he was only told yesterday he would receive a refund after the company was contacted by the EDP.

Six degrees of Kevin Bacon He was once one of the biggest Hollywood actors, staring in hit films including Footloose, Apollo 13 and Tremors. So prolific was Kevin Bacon’s acting career that he inspired a game – Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon – which sees film fans challenge each other to link the actor with other Hollywood stars within six steps. In an interview in January 1994, he commented he had worked with almost everyone in Hollywood or someone who had worked with them. In 2007, Kevin Bacon launched a charity born out of the game named after himself, called SixDegrees.org. It enables people to become “celebrities in their own right” by donating to any charity in the US.

He said: “They said I was on the phone for 10 hours, but I wasn’t.

“I don’t like long-winded phone calls and there is no way I would speak for that long.

“They said my phone must have been in my pocket and it must have rung while it was in there, but the whole thing is ludicrous.

“This Kevin Bacon is not as thrilled with the service as the other one seems to be.”

After EE was contacted by this newspaper, Mr Bacon received a full refund and was offered a month’s free line rental as a gesture of goodwill.

The company also announced yesterday that it was aiming to improve its customer service following mounting criticism.

In 2015 it was fined £1m over customer service failings, which EE said it intended to address by moving its call centres to the UK.

Mr Bacon, from Common Road, said he received his bill following a phone call to the EDP and Norwich Evening News on February 24. At the time, he was assisting with a story.

He claimed the call would have taken just five minutes and that the battery life of his Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 would not be able to last 10 hours.

The EDP reporter involved also recalled the call would have lasted around five minutes.

An EE spokesman said Mr Bacon’s excessive bill was caused by a technical fault and he first contacted the customer service team on April 20.

“Mr Bacon may have had tremors when his bill arrived,” the spokesman added.

“But we’re not footloose and fancy free with our customers’ money. We immediately sent the bill for recalculation and offered a gesture of goodwill by way of an apology.”

Are you unhappy with a service provider? Call Luke Powell on 01603 772684 or email him at luke.powell@archant.co.uk