O2 Phone Stolen and £600 unauthorised call charges

hasanhadi

Hi all,

My phone was stolen roughly 3 weeks ago and £600 of unauthorised call charges were made before I realised it was stolen.

My phone was stolen / lost on Saturday 26th May and I only realised on Monday 28th upon which I called O2 to inform them of this. When accessing my account online I noticed the £600 of unauthorised charges and filed a claim with customer services. They told me they would get back to me within five days.

My bill came through on 16th June and it listed the unauthorised charges (plus VAT) - my bill stands at about £737 inc VAT. I am on a simplicity plan at around £20 per month. The money is due to come out of my account by direct debit on 30th June. I absolutely cannot afford this.

I finally received a response to my claim today which stated the following:

"'Please remember that usage made on lost or stolen phones prior to
contacting O2 are the responsibility of our customer unless they have an
O2 insurance policy that covers unauthorised usage. Please do not offer
to put through goodwill credits for any uninsured usage.'

You did not notify O2 that the handset was Lost/Stolen till 28/05/2012
14:46:00 and as such are liable for charges on the invoice.

We value you as a customer and we try to provide the best possible
service to our customers."

I have been a customer with O2 since the first iPhone came out (about 5 years) and a broadband customer for over four years, so I am obviously devastated that they would not offer any goodwill gestures in relation to this theft. I have never been late with any payments and the most my bill has come to is about £60. I have only ever called international numbers whilst abroad, so I am surprised that O2s fraud detection systems did not notice this irregular activity.

I would appreciate any assistance in dealing with this matter. I am in the process of writing a complaint letter to O2 regarding this and to request a review of their decision not to offer any goodwill credits.

Thanks all in advance

reclusive46

hasanhadi wrote: »

Hi all,

My phone was stolen roughly 3 weeks ago and £600 of unauthorised call charges were made before I realised it was stolen.

My phone was stolen / lost on Saturday 26th May and I only realised on Monday 28th upon which I called O2 to inform them of this. When accessing my account online I noticed the £600 of unauthorised charges and filed a claim with customer services. They told me they would get back to me within five days.

My bill came through on 16th June and it listed the unauthorised charges (plus VAT) - my bill stands at about £737 inc VAT. I am on a simplicity plan at around £20 per month. The money is due to come out of my account by direct debit on 30th June. I absolutely cannot afford this.

I finally received a response to my claim today which stated the following:

I have been a customer with O2 since the first iPhone came out (about 5 years) and a broadband customer for over four years, so I am obviously devastated that they would not offer any goodwill gestures in relation to this theft. I have never been late with any payments and the most my bill has come to is about £60. I have only ever called international numbers whilst abroad, so I am surprised that O2s fraud detection systems did not notice this irregular activity.

I would appreciate any assistance in dealing with this matter. I am in the process of writing a complaint letter to O2 regarding this and to request a review of their decision not to offer any goodwill credits.

Thanks all in advance

With a complaint they may be able to give some back but you have to remember O2 did have to pay to connect all those extra calls etc.

iainscomputer

This is one reason why contract phones should be available with a credit limit. My O2 phone in approx 2002 had a £100 limit, it was then removed for my benefit without being asked. More like O2's benefit.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

why did it take you 3 weeks to notice it was missing, thought nowadays the phone was an extension to the hand?

Browntoa

Afraid o2 are correct , all call charges are your responsibility until the phone is reported lost to them

reclusive46

[Deleted User] wrote:

Hi,

why did it take you 3 weeks to notice it was missing, thought nowadays the phone was an extension to the hand?

It took two days not three weeks

visidigi

sorry but it is your responsibility - o2 are fully entitled to charge (put the shoe on the other foot, if you provided a service and a customer did this what would you expect?)

It took you three days to notice it was stolen? That tells me you would have been better off on Pay as You Go as the phone isn't essential to you otherwise you would have noticed sooner.

Mrs_Arcanum

Cancel the DD immediately if you cannot afford the cost.

Browntoa

don't cancel the DD unless you want a strike on your credit report and additional charges added to the debt when its sold on

Mrs_Arcanum

Browntoa wrote: »

don't cancel the DD unless you want a strike on your credit report and additional charges added to the debt when its sold on

If you haven't got the money and O2 are being pedantic, there is not much else you can do.

visidigi

Mrs_Arcanum wrote: »

If you haven't got the money and O2 are being pedantic, there is not much else you can do.

how on earth are o2 being pedantic? The terms of the contract are written in black and white, clear as day - its not a disputable point.

The OP lost a phone for three days before they noticed - that is entirely their fault, not O2's

Cancelling the DD will not take away the issue, it will only make it worse.