Data Protection act used against the consumer

lllnorrislll

Hi i have just contact O2 customer Services to complain about the misdelivery of an o2 phone see link http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=100619
when I spoke to some girl at O2, I explained that i have purchased a Phone on MY DEBIT CARD, from there web site, for My sister who lives 200 miles away. And that I wanted to know where the phone was??
The girl said that she had to log on to the system - so i gave her the order number etc
But because the phone was bought as a present for my sister - and I had registered it in HER NAME, O2 refuse to speak with me by constantly repeating DATA PROTECTION ACT, LIKE SOME DEMENTED DARLICK.
But surely if my debit card has been used I must have a right to ask questions!!!!!!!!

Wig

I don't know if they do email or phoneline help but you could try the information commisioner.

gizmoleeds

If you paid with your debit card then there is definitely no DPA provision that says they cannot talk to you. The woman is just using it as an excuse.

gizmoleeds

This is a pointless post as I am on 666 posts and I am superstitous.

Toothsmith

gizmoleeds wrote:

This is a pointless post as I am on 666 posts and I am superstitous.

It's unlucky to be superstitious

lllnorrislll

and on the 13 th as well!!!
Thankyou for your opinion.
I have been thinking about this myself and was wondering, have I paid for the phone (which is a physical object), in which case I am the purchaser regardless of the account holder, and therefore protected by consumer law -OR- Have I purchased the service with O2 which is registered in my sisters name (as it will be her phone) and therefore the account will have some protection under the data protection act.
As far as im concerned I have bought the phone, the account is a free service for which i have access through the free (It states free when purchasing) sim card, to a service which is payed for on a pay as you go charge (hence the name) as i access it.
Thus making it simalar to buying a phone from Argos and connecting it to a landline.
Sorry if this is turning in to a discussion.

greenwich

Strictly speaking you had no right to enter into a contract with O2 in your sister's name (unless you have power of attorney or something). O2 would be within their rights to cancel the contract if, as it appears, they were misled into thinking that it was your sister they were dealing with. In extreme cases (not this one I am sure) you could even be accused of obtaining services by deception by entering into a contract in your sister's name.

Obviously you dealt with a call centre person who probably knows little. If O2 realised what's happened here they would have to be careful. After all, your sister has their phone but is not bound by any contract with them. I wouldn't be happy about this if I were them.

As for the DPA issue, I think O2 are right. If they think your sister has a contract with them (in this case their computer tells them so) then of course they can't discuss it with you. The fact that you paid is not decisive: people often pay for things bought by other people.

Savvy_Sue

Of course this may also be 'obtaining services by deception', but faced with a similar problem at work where the person who had set up the mobile phone contracts had left and gone to Australia, I phoned up and said I was her ... It was the only way I could cancel the contracts!

greenwich

I know, Savvy_Sue, we've probably all had to do this at some point in our lives. BTW, hope you're well these days.

One other point: even if it's a PAYG phone, there's still a contract for the purchase of the phone.

P.S. don't you hate it when you get woken up at 4.30am and can't get back to sleep?!

Wig

OK so, In a way the other poster is correct you shouldn't have opened it in your sisters name anyway.

Now I'm not to sure where the line is drawn here. Does she have to physically be at the computer and do the clicking? does she have to be next to the computer whilst someone who is helping her does the clicking or can it be done 200 miles away with her verbal consent?

Why not ask your sister to phone them up and whilst she is on the phone ask her to tell them (make a note on file) that she authorises you to speak to them aswell about her phone account etc.

Problem solved.

Wig

greenwich wrote:

I know, Savvy_Sue, we've probably all had to do this at some point in our lives. BTW, hope you're well these days.

One other point: even if it's a PAYG phone, there's still a contract for the purchase of the phone.

P.S. don't you hate it when you get woken up at 4.30am and can't get back to sleep?!

sorry to hear that, yes it is annoying, even more annoying when you can't get up because you will wake up OH.

Isn't it annoying when you want to sneeze but it just keeps stalling just as it's about to happen?