Billing error on call transfer

mbutler · **Joined:** Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:13 am **Posts:** 27

Hello,

I have a problem with call transfers, I have SIP phones which are using a2billing to bill the outgoing calls. If I dial an external number, it goes thru a2billing and everything is billed correctly. If I'm on a call and I transfer that call to another phone, as soon as the call is answered from the other phone, the AGI scripts stops(AGI Script a2billing.php completed, returning 0) and the billing stops while the call continues, therefore charging less to the client that the actual call time.

Is there a way to make this behavior change?

Thanks

middletn · **Posted:** Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:50 pm

Check this post, it may be related

regards

http://forum.asterisk2billing.org/viewtopic.php?t=2952&highlight=

mbutler · **Joined:** Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:13 am **Posts:** 27

middletn wrote:

Check this post, it may be related

regards

http://forum.asterisk2billing.org/viewtopic.php?t=2952&highlight=

It's the same problem as I have, except that the "i" doesn't do anything for me because it's not a call forward, but a call transfer after the call was answered (like in an office when the secretary transfers a call to another desk)

Anyone experimented that kind of problem?

middletn · **Posted:** Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:26 pm

It's still a reinvite. Have you tested the 'i' solution?

mbutler · **Joined:** Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:13 am **Posts:** 27

Yes I did, and it still releases the billing as if the call was terminated when the transfer was made.

middletn · **Posted:** Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:29 pm

Then this sounds like a MAJOR problem. I'll test shortly

Thanks for raising this issue.

regards

[Edit] Not finding this a problem with IAX calls, take it that it's a SIP issue?

mbutler · **Joined:** Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:13 am **Posts:** 27

thanks for looking into this!

middletn · **Posted:** Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:32 pm

Question: Do you have re-invites set to no ?

regards

mbutler · **Joined:** Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:13 am **Posts:** 27

I have tried with both, and it results to the same thing

mbutler · **Joined:** Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:13 am **Posts:** 27

Yes I'm only using SIP

mbutler · **Joined:** Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:13 am **Posts:** 27

were you able to reproduce it?

middletn · **Posted:** Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:06 pm

mbutler wrote:

were you able to reproduce it?

Yes, and in doing so discovered calls placed via a queue were not being billed either. However I've found a flag that cures this.

The curprite is the local channel driver. A local channel is created on a transfer and then deleted once the call is patched. I can see no way of retaining this in a normal transfer scenario. This is not a bug with A2B, but a 'feature' or rather a flaw in asterisk's call accounting.

What's the cure? I believe that fronting asterisk with SER/Openser should resolve the issue. I'm working on that now

regards

stavros · **Posted:** Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:01 am

I've thought of a possible workaround, but beware! It is so ugly and kludgey you may go blind just by looking at it.
Merge this into Asterisk's features.conf:

Code:

[general]
featuredigittimeout = 1000

[applicationmap]
xferone => #201,peer/callee,Set,AGIXFER=201
xfertwo => #202,peer/callee,Set,AGIXFER=202
xferthree => #203,peer/callee,Set,AGIXFER=203

And modify how you are already launching A2Billing in your Asterisk dialplan:

Code:

[custom-a2billing]
exten => _X.,1,Set(DYNAMIC_FEATURES=xferone#xfertwo#xferthree)
exten => _X.,2,Answer
exten => _X.,3,Wait(0.25)
exten => _X.,4,Set(AGIXFER="")
exten => _X.,5,DeadAGI(a2billing.php|1)
exten => _X.,6,Wait(0.25)
exten => _X.,7,GotoIf(${AGIXFER}?${AGIXFER},4)
exten => _X.,8,Hangup

To do a blind transfer dial #201 and hangup. I can't think of a way to easily support attended transfer.
You may need to set 'answer_call=no' in a2billing.conf. This is totally untested. If it breaks (or is already broken) please realise I may not have enough glue to fix it for you.

Added after 13 minutes:

I forgot to mention this method should give one CDR for each leg answered, and supports being transferred more than once. The drawback is that I think each CDR will be billed from the moment the first call was answered, leading to incorrect billing. I guess this is better than hanging-up on clients.

stavros · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2008 1:33 am

I had word from Bruno via email confirming this workaround does work. It's been tested at least once now.

johnaa · **Joined:** Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:46 am **Posts:** 109

FYI

http://asterisk.org/node/48358

provided by Star2Billing S.L.

Billing error on call transfer

Who is online