Premium Rate Text Fraud

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

STARKAT8794 wrote: »

INTRUGO RIP OFF!
I HAD FOUR LARGE TESCO MOBILE CONTRACT PHONE BILLS, THE LAST WAS FOR £45 IN JUNE 2014 WHICH LEFT ME WITH JUST £1.58 IN MY BANK ACCOUNT! WHEN I GOT ONTO TESCO MOBILE THEY SAID A COMPANY NAMED INTRUGO FROM TXT NUMBER
63380 (I AINT GOT MY NOTES: WILL UPDATE THIS NUMBER LATER!)
INTRUGO: 2 CAMROSE AVENUE EDGWARE MIDDX HA8 6EG
HAD CHARGED ME A TOTAL OF £40 FOR "TEXTS" AND "MESSAGES" THAT I HAD NOT SIGNED UP FOR OR SANCTIONED ! YER MAD? HISS LIKE MY CAT!!:beer::beer:
II NEVER SIGN UP TO PAID FOR CONTENT AND NEITHER DOES MY SON ,12, WHOSE PHONE IS PAID FOR BY ME BY TESCO MOBILE CONTRACT.
I DONT EVEN RECALL GETTING ANY TEXTS OR CONTENT, JUST A FEW ADULT TXTS LINKS WHICH I ALWAYS DELETED!
ANYWAY I HIT THE ROOF, WENT MAD, SPENT 3 DAYS ONLINE TRYING TO GET A REFUND AND RINGING VARIOUS NUMBERS TRYING TO GET A REFUND AND WASTING CREDIT.
EVENTUALLY I RANG UP TESCO MOBILE, GOT A FULL BREAKDOWN OF WHAT CHARGES WERE ON MY TESCO MOBILE ACCOUNT, AND I WENT MAD!!
AFTER ALL THIS HEARTACHE AND HASSLE I WAS OFFERED A £40 REFUND FROM INTRUGO VIA MY PAYPAL ACCOUNT WHICH I TOOK OUT STRAIGHT AWAY!! NO APOLOGY, NO NOTHING. I FELT SORRY FOR THE POOR WOMAN WHO RANG UP I GAVE HER A BIT OF ATTITUDE BUT CAN YOU BLAME ME??
I AM TAKING SMALL CLAIMS COURT ACTION AGAINST THIS RIP-OFF COMPANY LATER ON THIS YEAR ! I AM NOT HAPPY!
I SUGGEST MORE VICTIMS OF INTRUGO SUE THIS RIP OFF COMPANY AND HIT THESE CHEATS WHERE IT HURTS, IN THE POCKET!
I AM STILL V.ANGRY AND WILL TAKE COURT ACTION.
INTRUGO WILL RUE THE DAY THEY DECIDED TO MESS WITH THE MAD FURRY STARKAT!!
HISS PURR!:p

STARKAT8794 wrote: »

Fellow money peoples
I discovered that YOU have to PAY £1 to remove the parental controls on the Tesco Mobile smartphone. And cheeky Tesco Mobile DONT take debit cards only credit cards. I tried my card and it was rejected! Damn cheek!
Before I get moaned at, I AGREE with da parental controls idea in principal. Im glad my teenager cant access certain online internet sites and content.
But to pay to remove the Tesco Mobile block seems a bit
harsh! What if you aint got a credit card?? They do tefund you the £1 but thats not the point?
Blast Tesco Mobile for letting me run up a Very high phone bill! Before I get lectures on the value of having some self control ( ha ha!) etc, let me explain!.
NORMALLY I get texts saying Im close to my bill cap cuz in Feb 2014 I had a high phone bill This timr I only had 2 txts!
Dont get confused.com, I always keep a keen eye on my mobile phone bill. And changed my tariff to a better mobile allowance well before my next bill date!
Not happy at all with Tesco Mobile. Great mob phone service but crap customer service!

I would suggest it was a £1 wasted!

spamhater54

My daughter aged 16 was getting these and because she doesn't pay the bill, she didn't realize the charges £30+ it goes without saying she's not into sex and adult websites, so i know she wouldn't sign up for them. Needless to say i'm furious that they are allowed to just go into your bank account via a third party (mobile networks) and effectively steal from you, I have requested a refund from Intrugo (watch this space) and also reported them to phonepayplus.
I hope everyone who reads this does the same. lets hope it goes some way to getting these thieves delt with.
Spread the word.

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

update, I received email from them saying that they will refund my money. and they are processing it, I got this reply less than 5 mins after I sent them the amount that they owed. I will let you know if it comes to light. 16/09/2014

spamhater54

received my £30 via paypal on the 19th. so it's worth bugging them.
spread the word.

Mungford

I too have just realised I have been getting charged for these spam messages "New sexy babe videos..." As I hadn't signed up to anything like this I just ignored these texts. Now that I realise I am being charged I think £1.50 a time I have contacted Vodafone customer services. They said that I should get an itemised bill from one of their stores, and gave me the reference number:
03330030581 imimobile
-who the charges were made for.

I have the number of intrugo as: 08081349827, who their premium text says to contact for help. Will they just charge me even more when I phone this number?

Vodafone

Hi Mungford,

The number you've got for Intrugo is freephone from a landline.

If you'd like me to check your account, email me with your details via the link in our profile here.

All you need to do is copy and paste the link into your web browser and it'll take you to the Contact us form on our website. To make sure it reaches me, quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line.

Once sent, you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post back with this and I’ll check I've received it.

Kind regards,

Lee

Social Media Comms

Vodafone UK

Odbball_-_Woof_Woof

After complaining to O2 with no joy, reported to Phonepay Plus and 6 months later...

Response from Phonepay Plus April 2014

Glamour video subscription service operating on various shortcodes

I am writing to advise you of the outcome of your complaint to PhonepayPlus.

As you may be aware, PhonepayPlus supervises both the content and advertising for premium rate services. PhonepayPlus develops and applies a Code of Practice (“the Code”) to the companies which operate premium rate services (providers). These companies are bound by their contract with the Network operators or Level 1 providers to comply with the requirements of this Code.

In response to your complaint about this service, the Executive commenced an investigation.

Investigation

The Executive received complaints for the service and its promotion by the provider, Intrugo Limited. Complaints were received from consumers stating that the service charges were unsolicited.

These complaints suggested that the service may be in breach of the Code.

Adjudications

The case subsequently went before a Panel for adjudication and its decision was that the service was in breach of the Code of Practice.

Due to the nature of the breaches, the Panel imposed the following sanctions:

• A formal reprimand;
• A fine of £250,000;
• A requirement that Intrugo Limited provider remedy the breach by ensuring that it has robust verification of each consumer’s consent to be charged before making any further charge to the consumer, including for existing subscribers to the service; and
• A requirement that Intrugo Limited provider must refund all consumers who claim a refund, for the full amount spent by them on the service, within 28 days of their claim, 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.

You will also be able to view the details of the adjudication on our website phonepayplus dot org dot uk which have now been published.


Refund Claims

Should you wish to discuss a refund in respect of the cost of any interaction you have incurred due to the service, you will need to contact Intrugo Limited, setting out your case. Intrugo Limited’s details are as follows:

Email: cs at intrugo dot com
Telephone: 08081349827

Please note that PhonepayPlus cannot assist in making claims for refunds.

At PhonepayPlus we are continually looking at ways in which we can improve our service. We would be grateful for your feedback on the service you have received. You can do this by accessing the following link:

Yours sincerely

PhonepayPlus
0300 30 300 20