avoid Boltblue: mobile phone site drains all my PAYG credit

dragonsoup · 18 January 2008 at 3:02PM

eyelinerprincess wrote: »

Hmm, I don't understand then, the page I'm seeing has those T&C, I've only ever heard of Bolt Blue once before and that was in school, and a friend was a member.

You're not going mad - I just followed your link and saw the condition that you did too. Did have to scroll down a bit.

RadoJo · 18 January 2008 at 4:39PM

Well, I have scrolled as far as I can and still only see what I was seeing before. I'm glad we have resolved this though as it is clear that this page displays differently depending on factors as yet undetermined - this may be how they get around the Google regulations about having to prove any claims about free stuff within two clicks of the landing page. Plus, I was beginning to wonder whether Eyelinerprincess or I was going mad, and judging by the normally sound advice from ELP, it wasn't looking good for me!

Either way, all this goes to show that this company are definitely up to something - why do they need (at latest count) three different versions of their Ts and Cs on their site? I can only think that they want to be able to convince people like the OP that they are at fault regardless of what happens!

eyelinerprincess · 18 January 2008 at 8:18PM

Tis very strange, and looks quite dodgy, if they're only putting the charge on some of the pages and not others.

At least I'm not going mad, lol.

pigeonpie · 19 January 2008 at 8:42PM

Just had another email from these cretins. They say they are sorry I am dissatisfied but as a 'subscriber' I can use my credit to buy their poxy ringtones. (I may have added a word there). To do that, they invite me to enter a password, otherwise it won't work. Which in my view is a logical way of saying that I'm not actually a subscriber.....I still haven't topped up my mobile; am trying to decide if I should change no. Am also wondering if I should bother to email them again, as doesn't look exactly like I'm getting my defrauded £12 back does it.
Please avoid these lovely people at all costs and if you've been stung as well, please report it to PPP (Ofcom don't do premium line scam complaints).

Kilty_2 · 19 January 2008 at 11:52PM

The sad thing is, Boltblue used to be 100% free a few years ago. (used it myself!)

Just shows you what the mobile content market has become!

upsetparent · 10 February 2008 at 3:11PM

I have just found out that my son has been caught out with this company, we topped up his phone yesterday on 09.02.08 just to find that £6.00 had been deducted seconds after topping up. We contacted his provider (orange) who advised he had signed up to Boltblue and advised we text STOP ALL to 81194 which we did immediately, he them got a text message advising that he had cancelled his Boltblue PAYG prepaid allowance he also lost another £9.00. My son is 14 and he swears that he has not signed up to any free downloads or anything else if it is so easy for someone else to subscribe yet enter my sons number what can we do about it? These sites should not be allowed to operate. I have been given a customer service number to ring by orange which is only available Mon to Fri so I will ring tomorrow just to see what responce I get (not holding out much hope though).

needtogetoutmore_2 · 10 February 2008 at 10:55PM

Have a look at the below link

http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/boltblue.com?domain=boltblue.com&suite=true&premium=false&client_ver=2.6.0.6253&client_type=IEPlugin

AndyL_ · 26 February 2008 at 2:07AM

thanks needto, for info of all, just to say siteadvisor describes Boltblue thus:
"
boltblue.com

When we visited this site, we found one or more misleading offers.
"

AndyL_ · 26 February 2008 at 4:49AM

Just to say, this is my first time post, and I'm posting because I'm MAD AS HELL at Boltblue.

Boltblue's site is VERY misleading, and exploits loopholes in the law to part you from your cash, including of course "caveat emptor".
And once they've got your money - via your helpful mobile phone provider - it's more time and money to get it back.

"Legal" it may be, decent, honest and truthful it is not.
Am I an idiot? Probably. Mad? certainly!!

Also, mad at myself for visiting their site - surfing for software to help daughter convert music to ringtones for her phone. Not wanting to sign up for any pay for services at all.
I still have no idea what I may or may not have signed up to
Innocently (foolishly, perhaps) I entered my phone number as requested, simply to see more of the site.
Apparently, I may have created a subscription? But for what exactly?
I had no idea it was anything other than free.
I was absolutely NOT intending to give money away for a service I neither wanted nor needed.

None of the five (5) unexpected texts that I then received from 81194 told me they were charging £3 for each SMS.

It's purely by chance that today I checked my phone bill & found £15 of unexpected charges.
Long calls to my mobile provider followed.
Yes, all I can do is claim the money back from BoltBlue, if they actually answer their premium rate CS number tomorrow...

And in all ignorant honesty, I had no idea they could do that. Not as if they're providing a service, and I've not disclosed any card details....Grrr...

Did I think I'd subscribed to a service I didn't want? - No.
Did the Boltblue page I went to make CLEAR that in entering my mobile number I was liable for any charge at all? - No
That I might be creating a contract? - Absolutely No.
Are the Terms and Conditions clearly presented, and complete? - No.
(Yes, there is some small print there, different content on different pages, when/if you can find them, - tho' having looked hard, I can nowhere see anything about your right to cancel. Just some weasel words like "Payment is non-refundable, notwithstanding your statutory rights."
Dodgy as hell.
But then, you wouldn't be needing to read T+C since you think it's a free part of the site....)

And the small print IS tiny, even on a 21" screen. (& illegible, grey out of black.) Intentionally so, in my view.
http://www.boltblue.com/specialoffer/19

There are DOZENS of other similar offer pages as well as http://www.boltblue.com/specialoffer/19 to be found at boltblue.com
(Try changing the last two digits of the url to any number 10 - 61 & you'll get an idea just how many)
Some of these pages are more misleading than others, but they all seem to push you to entering your phone details.
Far as I can tell, all pages are still active.

McAfee Siteadvisor doesn't like 'em;
Advertising Standards Authority have found against them (dishonest; untruthful);
Ofcom are investigating them;
many complaints around on the net.

It's clearly a scam, and a reasonably clever one at that, because if you're on a monthly mobile contract. it'll be quite some time before you realise you've been, erm, ROBBED.

Beware.

Pobby · 27 February 2008 at 2:51PM

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=767075

Well here`s another of the b&ggers!I havn`t heard of them and certainly didn`t sign up to receive anything from them but somehow they have run up £25s worth of charges on this months mobile bill.However being a grumpy old man I will give um hell!

avoid Boltblue: mobile phone site drains all my PAYG credit

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