O2 Unauthorised Charges

Skiff85

So back in may I received an sms which wasn't from a number but just "e" the content of the sms was a link to what sounded like an adult content website. I didn't interact with this sms in anyway, did not reply, did not use the link, I just ignored it. Anyway, fast forward to now I have just received my bill from O2 which shows I have been billed by 84508 weekly for £3.75. I did a google search on the number and sure enough there are a lot of people that have reported being billed by these people but not signing up for anything.
I spoke to O2 to report fraud and their response was basically that they cant remove it from my bill/refund me because they already paid it, they also cant block any further charges despite being made aware that it is fraudulent. The only thing they could offer is a number for the company for me to call for a refund which I'm not doing, O2 billed me and took payment from me, not this company and I don't want to give my details to this obviously dodgy company.

Anyway, I'm gonna escalate my complaint to the ombudsman if O2 do not respond with satisfactory outcome but on their website, O2 (http://www.o2.co.uk/how-to-complain) they say that I can complain to Ombudsman Services: Communications or the financial ombudsman, does it matter which one?

I work in the fraud dept for a credit card company and quite frankly I am appalled that O2's stance on this is basically "you were billed by a 3rd party company, not us, you need to contact them". I wouldn't dream of telling a customer to contact the company that has fraudulently taken money from their account and I'm shocked that O2 cannot prevent further transactions once fraud is reported.

Jo09

Did you have any luck sorting this out? This has happended to me and I think their response is disgusting.

metrobus

Payphoneplus the so called regulatir are totally pathetic and try to fob you off,they actually told me last week it's not worth complaing.

I have been caught twice by this scam 17 months back and last week
payphoneplus were a waste of time both times.

Phone them and you will see what I mean and please post back your experience.

Payforit says confirmation screens appear for payment they never do.

Vodaphone,EE,virgin ,etc own payforit the collection company for most of these scams and receive a big cut out of the profits,that's why they are turning a blind eye to it.

It's a disgrace the mobile companies are facilitating this scam to take place but what's worse is the regulator totally ignoring it,their attitude had to be heard to be believed.

Ps this needs to go on the mobiles sub forum

Ian011

You must send STOP to the five-digit shortcode to end the subscription.

You'll then need to contact the premium rate service provider for a refund.

The Number Checker on the PhonepayPlus website may reveal their contact details.

metrobus

Good luck in getting a refund.the Indian call centre I got through to just blatantly lied saying I had payment confirmation screens which I definitely did not,like I am going to spend £9 a week to win a unspecified tesco voucher.Its a massive scam that no one wants to tackle.