o2 - phones, ex breach of contract

pointsvalue1

Hi All,

In July last year i got two contracts for the 8gb iphone both in my name one for me, the other for my ex. I recently cancelled his phone to stop any extra call charges as he refuses to give me the handset back (police are now involved).

I cancelled the phone at the start of February. Days later he rang up pretending to be me to reactivate it. Again i cancelled it and asked o2 to bulk up security as this man is potentially dangerous. The passwords, username and questions had all been changed.
This month i received a phone bill for £254.12.
I understand that i should pay for the line rental as it's my own fault but i reported the phone stolen twice, and also they allowed this man access to the account.

Meanwhile i have had a restraining order put on the ex, i have changed numbers etc and o2 willingly gave him my new number because he pretended to be me this time on my account. When i rang to ask how he got the number o2 refused to give me access to my account as i could not answer any security questions (he had changed them). I rang back and gained access to the account just making a general enquiry without providing any information.

o2 say they cannot be held responsible because they are acting within the guidelines provided. Although i gained control of my account without providing any information, so surely he may have done.

Sorry for being so longwinded here but i would love some advice.
Do i pay? Im a student with no income so surely there is no way i can.

Cheers

iwanttosave_2

Sorry I don't understand, are you in a gay relationship? I only ask because I'm worried that an advisor (if you're female) has allowed a man to pretend he is you.

I'd ask for recordings of the calls to be listened to, and if they see its not you then they will have to deal with it. I mean so long as a third party can pass DPA on an account then they can phone up but they can't change details so they can phone up and ask for MMS to be provisioned but they can't change the tariff if you get what I mean? Also in my department we don't give out customers numbers at all.

if you get no-where escalate it to the complaints department.

pointsvalue1

Heh,

Yes we were.

I have passed it on the complaints department who took two weeks to reply meanwhile i have received two bills one threatening debt collectors (which i understand but find pretty offensive).

I was just concerned where i stand as there are various issues which have left me in harm. Not just financially but physical threats were sent to my phone after he acquired my new number.

Very messy.

iwanttosave_2

If it wasn't Iphone I would have advised you to go to store and get them to speak to retail support however because it is Iphone it will just go through to the same team.

I can understand where o2 are coming from, if a man comes through and passes security then they will do what is required of the customer, they're not to know it wasn't you and its the reason you're not supposed to give out your password. Hindsight is a beautiful thing isn't it?

I'm trying to think what the best route would be. You are liable for any charges on the account and o2 have acted accordingly like I said before, they will more than likely say that the onus is on you to make sure your password is secure.

I think your best option is to see if you can get any goodwill for the breach of security and inconvenience and then ask to speak to the debt assistance team, explain the situation to them and see if they will take it back from the debt collectors (don't worry, they're not bailiffs, if they come round just shut the door and say its in dispute) and set up a payment plan.

I really do understand where you're coming from and I wish there was something I could do to help but there really isn't. I suppose you could ask for the calls he made to be listened to and yours so they can see you don't sound the same but I doubt that would resolve anything.

pointsvalue1

iwanttosave wrote: »

[I can understand where o2 are coming from, if a man comes through and passes security then they will do what is required of the customer, they're not to know it wasn't you and its the reason you're not supposed to give out your password. Hindsight is a beautiful thing isn't it?]

Thanks for the help and advice. I didn't give the password to anyone he rang up and i imagine passed either by giving them answers to the questions such as, "where did you buy it" "how long the contract is for" and "how much do you pay a month?" Which are pretty shoddy security questions in my view as anyway could know such information.

Or

he blagged his way into both accounts with no information like i accidently did.

But again thank you for the help. Since i am a student with no income can i arrange a payment plan of a miniscule amount or should i fight it?
I'm under the impression i could win my case. (delusions of grandeur maybe)

iwanttosave_2

I'd arrange to start paying it off first and then put up a fight, show you're not just leaving it to the wayside. They normally ask you pay it off over 6 months.

I think if you push hard you will get some money back, I wouldn't be willing to say how much though.

redux

I'd try to get some advice about (pur)suing him for the cost of the calls.

Citizens Advice Bureau, perhaps?

I'd hope prospects of that might help persuade O2 to be moderate with their collection tactics

lawbunny

Write a formal complaint and ask them to listen to the recording of the call. If he did pass all security questions then there's nothing you can do. If the advisor did not ask security questions then you can escalate your complaint re breach of Data Protection Act.