Phones4U

Boardybird

OH and I went to Bristol (Cribbs Causeway) 2 weeks ago to cheer ourselves up, we went to the Mall and then had dinner and saw a film.

At the mall OH went to various phone shops as his phone is due for an upgrade. The people in Phones4U said that they could upgrade his phone for free. We went through the paperwork, made a payment of £1 which was then refunded (something about making sure that the card was mine). At the time they took my card and the various other bits of paperwork and photocopied both the front and back of my card (are alarm bells ringing?), I didn't realise this but my OH told me this yesterday.

Lo and behold last week I checked our account and 2 transactions had gone out of our account (totalling just over £70.00) on the same day that we had bought OH's phone. I assumed that it was some charges to do with the phone so I rang the store yesterday and they asked me who the payments were made to, I said payments.bwin.com to which they replied that it was nothing to do with them.

On the day that we went to Bristol, the only time that the card was out of my sight was during the process of buying the phone. At the cinema, restaurant and all the other shops I had my card or could see it at all times.

Looking online bwin.com is an online betting company that some little turd from the shop has obviously used my details to make a bet. I know that neither me nor my husband made those transactions as one week before our house had been flooded and we'd been without electricity and therefore internet access and had actually gone to Bristol to have a shower at his sisters workplace.

Needless to say we have reported the transactions as fraudulent to our bank, but I'm guessing that as the amounts were so small they probably won't even bother to investigate too thoroughly.

I will never let my card out of my sight again, and I will certainly NEVER let anybody photocopy it. I'm so mad at myself for being so trusting of these robbing gits.

I hope this post isn't considered defamatory but I am 100% sure that somebody at Phones4U in Cribbs Causeway, Bristol has used my bank account details fraudulently. BE WARNED.

flyer

Sorry to hear about that but, yes, it probably is defamatory!

The bank should refund your money.

ovetta2001

Thats terrible! I would be having some strong words!!

dmg24

I would be very careful making allegations like that without proof. Have you never used the card anywhere else? All because the transactions occurred on the same day, it does not mean Phones4U are involved.

Have you contacted the police?

Millionaire

You should go back to the store and point this out to the store manager and identify the culprit.

Thats what i'd do

Esp if they photo copied the rear, which is no requierment at all to do so.

dmg24

Millionaire wrote: »

You should go back to the store and point this out to the store manager and identify the culprit.

Thats what i'd do

Esp if they photo copied the rear, which is no requierment at all to do so.

Leave it to the police. It is a criminal matter.

uktim29

Your treading on very thin ice here.

Although it seems very likely your right, you don't know for sure. Your credit card can be cloned without leaving your site!

If I say had a job in phones4u and had to follow a similar procedure because it was part of my job, but had no intention of any fraud and saw this thread I would be down to see my solicitor quicker than you can read this post and would be after as much as I could get (who wouldn't).

I would not goto the store as suggested to point out anyone for exactly the same reasons, if your wrong (which you could be). You might not like what could then happen. If the manager has any sense he'd refuse anyway knowing the implications that could be caused.

dmg24 has left the only good advice here, leave it to the poilce.

I think posting this on a forum with as much traffic as this site has isn't a good idea. I'm surprised this thread has lasted so long.

Boardybird

We have left it up to the bank to pursue. As I said, for a full week before this incident I didn't use my card and didn't have internet access. It's a very big coincidence that on the very same day that someone photocopies the front and back of my card and has the details of my name and address and post code (from the phone application) that a fraudulent payment is made.

My intention was really just to warn people to be careful.

honeypop

Phones 4 U in a neighbouring town to mine has been regularly 'looked into' by the police for using customers cards fraudulently. I wouldn't use them at all as apparently it is rife in branches of this shop.

laurajayne

As ex-CPW management, I can tell you that before CPW branches had the chip and pin for ID software we used to have to photocopy customer's cards if no other ID was availiable.

I have to say, it was always the back - not the front as it's the signature we were after, not a card number! (I ran out shed loads of black marker pens blocking out the numbers if they were visiable!)

Leave it to the bank though, as there is no proof that a p4u member of staff was the purportrator (sp!?)

HTH

Boardybird

Thanks for that LauraJayne, I also forgot to mention that during the process of the application I had to use my card (with my chip and pin number) in their machine for a £1 in, £1 out transaction to confirm that the card was mine.

They never once asked me for any other form of ID, ie utility bill or drivers license.

Anyways, nvm - if the bank does pursue it, I hope that they do find out who it was. I've learned a valuable lesson from this whole experience - and it could have been a lot worse.