O2 "flash SMS" stealing £2 a time - O2 do not care

talkinpeace

somehow my daughter has subscribed to a company called Switchfire
they send her "flash SMS" that DO NOT appear in her in box
that do not appear on her call list
that do not appear on her data figures
but take £2 a time off her balance.

O2 pretend to put a block on but do not
I've called the company to stop but they just use another send number ( in the 0008 format according to O2 - but I have no proof )
and keep stealing

HOW do I stop this - and WHY do O2 allow this to happen

DUTR

Your daughter should unsubscribe then.

esuhl

Looks like a lot of other people have been having problems with them too:

http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t31249.html

talkinpeace wrote: »

HOW do I stop this

I'd contact Ofcom and PhonePayPlus (who appear to regulate premium telephony services) to see if they could help.

And personally, I'd write to O2 (recorded delivery, of course) saying that the charges have been applied fraudulently with their implicit consent, and that you will not be paying for them and will sue them in the county court for damages for any monies not returned to you. (I'm not saying you can or should sue... at this stage a threat shows that you are serious. You can investigate the proper course of action later, but O2 may just give in, return your money and save you the bother... you never know!)

talkinpeace wrote: »

and WHY do O2 allow this to happen

O2 are not providing a free service. Every premium text your daughter receives generates revenue for them. If O2 did not allow this to happen their profits would fall... Surely you realise this...? The only way to counteract this would be via bad publicity. It's a long shot, but you could try speaking to media organisations to see if you can tempt them into writing an article on the lack of regulation and (alleged) fraud of these premium-rate telephony service providers...

OneADay

Contact Phonepayplus at http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk

Some articles on switchfire http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t31249.html
and http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/News-And-Events/News/2012/1/Emergency-procedure-investigation.aspx

But best to contact Phonepayplus on phone 0800 500 212 and explain the problem.

talkinpeace

the ONLY way we know about these charges is to check the balance every couple of hours and then get onto the O2 "chat gurus" to get the number - there is NO WAY to see these charges on the phone ....

One a day - thank you - shall do

wantmemoney

Recent adjudications
The following case was heard at a meeting of the PhonepayPlus Tribunal on 1 March 2012 and published on this website on 16 March 2012.
To view the full adjudications, please search by date or case number on the PhonepayPlus adjudications database .

Level 2 Provider
Switchfire Limited (UK)

Breaches Upheld Against
Switchfire Limited (UK)

Service Type Adult/Glamour WAP pay-per-page/view


Case reference: 01251
Summary

Since 1 September 2011, the Executive had received 239 complaints about Adult WAP pay-per-page/view services operating on shortcodes 89911, 69001 and 61177. The service allowed users to access/download adult/glamour videos on their mobile handset. The service was promoted via sponsored ads on search engines (such as Google) and via text messages containing a link to the WAP site.

The complaints included issues regarding receipt of unsolicited promotional and chargeable text messages, and that users had not fully understood the charges they would incur, which in some cases were very high.
The Executive alleged that the service contravened the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice (12th Edition,) and raised the following breaches of the Code:

- Outcome 2.3 (Fairness):
Rule 2.3.2 (Misleading)
Rule 2.3.3 (Consent to Charge)
Rule 2.3.6 (Excessive use)

- Outcome 2.4 (Privacy):
Rule 2.4.2 (Consent)
Rule 2.4.3 (Collection of Personal Data)

The Tribunal did not uphold the breach of rule 2.4.3 but upheld the remainder of the alleged breaches. The revenue generated by the service fell within the range of Band 1 (£500,000+). The Tribunal’s final assessment of the breaches in the round was that they were significant. The Tribunal issued a Formal Reprimand, a direction for the Level 2 provider to obtain compliance advice within seven days of publication of this decision, to be implemented to the satisfaction of the Executive within a further seven days of receipt of such compliance advice, a fine of £35,000; and a direction for refunds to be made to all consumers who claim a refund, for the full amount spent by them for the service, save where there is good cause to believe that such claims are not valid, and provide evidence to PhonepayPlus that such refunds have been made. For the avoidance of doubt, access to the service remains barred until compliance advice has been implemented to the satisfaction of the Executive
Administration charges awarded: 100%

this may not be the 'service' you are receiving but it will give you an idea of the odious people you are dealing with.

talkinpeace wrote:

and WHY do O2 allow this to happen

because o2, Open Market(MX Telecom) and Switch Fire are all sharing your money.

and the fine is paid directly from a withheld amount of the revenue-in other words the people who are having their accounts plundered are also unwittingly paying the 'fine'

contact o2 again and absolutely insist they give you the proper details of the service they are delivering to you and billing you for.

Tell them you need this information in order to demand a refund and put a complaint in to PhonepayPlus.
http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/

B]EDIT[/B sorry I have repeated much of what has been said

talkinpeace

I've been on the chat and have in writing from one guru that hercolleagues lied to me about blocking these calls
and I told her I was going to report

the one two days ago promised to escalate it

the one a week ago hoodwinked me

but I have timed, dated printouts of all three ....

thegoodman

Switchfire are sending emails out which have https://www.eygk.com in the title. When opened on your mobile phone it automatically subscribes you without your permission or knowing what you are subsribing to, to switchfire and you recieve a mesage saying 'thank you for viewing our content' The first charged message was from 89300 which cost £1.50.

Some mobile phones such as Android phones let the advertiser to collect the number from your phone for profit.

The windows phone, blackberry and iPhone users will not have this problem since you will need to send the text first.

Gordon_Hose

thegoodman wrote: »

Some mobile phones such as Android phones let the advertiser to collect the number from your phone for profit.

The windows phone, blackberry and iPhone users will not have this problem since you will need to send the text first.

What has that got to do with the OP's issue?

Oh yeah, NOTHING.

You're just bleating on about how bad Android is. It's a CHOICE to subscribe to these, nothing to do with the Android vs iPhone debate.

YAWN.

DUTR

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

What has that got to do with the OP's issue?

Oh yeah, NOTHING.

You're just bleating on about how bad Android is. It's a CHOICE to subscribe to these, nothing to do with the Android vs iPhone debate.

YAWN.

TGM has an Android device as well as his preffered Apple, what is puzzling is why does he still use the Android if it is so bad? Secretly I think he loves it and hates himself for the the fact that it is equally as good if not better than his iphone.
It would be interesting to know what handset the OP is reffering to?

C_Mababejive

I will have to look into setting up one of these services. Clearly i am working too hard.