Adult chat line bill - Telebilling

Tangible

They could employ a debt collection agency Show-Me-The-Money but the company they originally used was dissolved (suggesting that they weren't very effective) and they can only annoy you unless they take you to court, and from what you say they'd be wasting their time.

Only if they won the case could they affect your credit rating, if you declined to pay, which you could always do if necessary, so it's nothing to worry about at all.

They would only know your identity because you told them when they rang, which is a mistake, but that won't enable them to get anywhere.

It's all just a bluff to try and get money out of people, and they have to rely on people giving out their identity to enable them to get their details to make a claim. The whole thing is quite pathetic really and looking at the accounts of those involved it's not profitable either.

It's all just an irritating waste of time.

Oliver14

Pound wrote: »

I received a text message from a number I didn't recognise last week asking me to give them a call on their landline number 02032858191. I figured it was a scam but it wasn't a premium rate number so I called it to see what it was and at what point they asked for money.

Why would anyone phone a number they had been randomly texted when they believed it to be a scam :wall:

Tangible

It seems a rather clunky and lop sided idea that by ringing a telephone number, you then become liable to pay an invoice.

Whether it's sharp practice or a scam, it isn't a good one under any form of scrutiny. Every other variation of this approach is to charge your phone bill direct, whereas this method requires your active co-operation before you pay, after learning you've been duped.

I doubt that their demand for money could be enforced in a court of law under any circumstances, even if you intentionally rang the number with a view to using their service. To even make a case they have to prove that it's your number and that you made the call.

It appears to be just another example of kite flying by chancers.

If you visit their website you'll note that there is an option whereby you can insert any number so that they'll send it an SMS message and anyone can put any number there. Their own system is badly flawed, and would enable any claim to be challenged.

soothyerboots

greektony wrote: »

HAHAHA..... this is the funniest thing I have read in ages. I'm fairly sure you'll find that this is slightly off the remit of what the UN covers hahahahahaha You my friend are a div, but thanks for the laughs :beer:

And thanks for making yourself look an idiot ... Perhaps you should do some research before gobbing off.

biscit

MothballsWallet wrote: »

And you, "my friend" are the div because the UN has the ITU-T as part of its executive. Shall I shall explain what the ITU-T does? I think I shall.

The ITU-T is the International Telecommunications Union - Telephony division, they mainly agree the standards for international telephone networks, but they also police them.

Hmm... I've read many ITU standards in my line of work (it was digital TV) and not known they were a branch of the UN, always thought they were EU by the way the USA invented their own digital TV standards.

Certainly didn't know they were about more than designing and enforcing technical standards.

This is my new thing learned of the day.

Show-Me-The-Money

Thanks for your comments Tangible.... they help set my mind at rest a little. The strange thing is I've idea how they got my address, as I've never received any communication from them previously at all, neither text nor phone call.
I can only assume someone else has used there 'services' and provided a false address i.e. mine.
Should I get a reply to my email I'll let you know what it says.....

Tangible

You can't have your credit record affected just because some joker has issued an invoice you won't pay. You tell the debt collection agency that the amount is in dispute, which you've done, so they have to go to court to get judgement in their favour, but you would be able to give your side and squash them flat.

In the impossible likelihood that they won, you could still pay anything ordered by the court and keep your credit record in order.

In this overall situation no debt exists unless and until the debt collection agency go to court. It's a major flaw in the scheme the company are operating. They have no credit agreement or order confirmation signed by you, so what evidence do they have ?

This scheme operates on making you believe they have a chance of getting a court to find in their favour. I don't ever like to say anything is certain, but I doubt even they believe they'd manage it.

It's best to just ignore them, but in your situation you feel vulnerable and have probably made them believe they have a chance of bluffing you in to paying.

chiefly_2

I'm sure the reality is (though I doubt the authorites will admit to this) that the resources needed to police the perpetrators of mobile phone etc unwanted stuff is totally inadequate to cover the enormity of the problem and complaints to the authorites in 99 cases out of 100 will go uninvestigated.

Frustrating I know - but it seems virtually all the aces are in the hands of the unprincipled in this

phill99

And why are you digging up a thread that was started 4 years ago and last commented on 12 months ago? What happens inside your head?

paddyrg

Chiefly's grammar also suggests being offshore, I suspect he works for a better than average forum spamming company where they try to post a relevant comment in the hope the post doesn't get deleted. However this site prevents links from newbies for precisely this reason.