Unauthorised Premium Texts

Wsb5tails

I've been battling with bestvipgames for a few months now. I got a text saying I had signed up to a subscription service on my mobile for £4.50 a time.
I messaged them and after several weeks of their "investigations" they came to the conclusion I was due a refund.
Now they are insisting I accept £4.05 because their refund agent charges 10% and don't seem to grasp the fact that their mistake, they pay the fee.

Anyone else got any experience of this?

JJ_Egan

I would write the 45 p off and be done with them .

Nilrem

JJ_Egan wrote: »

I would write the 45 p off and be done with them .

If I was to be stubborn I'd insist on them refunding it, and point out the error/fraud was theirs, and that as they have accepted responsibility they are the ones to sort it out and give a full refund.

I'd also give them a limited time to do it, prior to referring it to a more senior complaint route (either official complaint to the company, or the regulator).

As a general rule the customer is not the one to be out of pocket when a company screws up and charges when they shouldn't.

Would you accept a refund of less than what was taken on your card fraudulently because a transaction fee was taken by the merchant services provider?

45p may not sound a lot, but if they do this repeatedly it adds up and becomes a nice little earner (I have zero patience with these sorts of companies).

SaveMeDo

Hi


Yes, I had this problem, that is why I'm searching these boards. I have a problem getting a decent signal in my flat, so I have been trying different sim cards, O2 kind of worked, so I put £10 credit on the card to see how it fared. I left the phone on the window sill as I always do for week or two, when I came back to the phone I got the same message you got, "Thanks for subscribing, we will be taking £4.50 a week from your credit!". The credit on the phone had gone down from the £9.80 ish to £1.11p.



I "chatted" with an O2 rep, they told me it was all my fault and would not refund me, they gave me the scammers number to contact them (premium rate!)


The attitude of the O2 rep was disgusting and I realised this is NOT a company I want to do business with, I took the sim out of the phone and cut it up with a pair of scissors.

Wsb5tails

SaveMeDo wrote: »

Hi


Yes, I had this problem, that is why I'm searching these boards. I have a problem getting a decent signal in my flat, so I have been trying different sim cards, O2 kind of worked, so I put £10 credit on the card to see how it fared. I left the phone on the window sill as I always do for week or two, when I came back to the phone I got the same message you got, "Thanks for subscribing, we will be taking £4.50 a week from your credit!". The credit on the phone had gone down from the £9.80 ish to £1.11p.



I "chatted" with an O2 rep, they told me it was all my fault and would not refund me, they gave me the scammers number to contact them (premium rate!)


The attitude of the O2 rep was disgusting and I realised this is NOT a company I want to do business with, I took the sim out of the phone and cut it up with a pair of scissors.

Yeah, that's not going to do you any good, the network have no responsibility for this kind of thing, any more than the Post Office have responsibility if someone sends you a bill you don't agree with. You can only make a case with the Organisation that took the money from you and O2

Ian011

SaveMeDo wrote: »

... they gave me the scammers number to contact them (premium rate!) ...

Since 13 June 2014 it has been illegal for premium rate numbers starting 084, 087 or 09 to be offered for customer service lines. Mention this as part of your complaint to the Phone-paid Services Authority.

SaveMeDo

Yeah, that's not going to do you any good, the network have no responsibility for this kind of thing, any more than the Post Office have responsibility if someone sends you a bill you don't agree with. You can only make a case with the Organisation that got took the money from you and O2

Hmm?


That may be the case, but it is incredibility annoying isn't it. I forgot to say that I also went into the O2 store, they were worse than useless. What I can't understand is how the scammers got this malware onto my phone, or where the other credit (over the £4.50) went. The phone store guy seemed to be all to familiar with my story, I suspect a lot of peeps are having money stolen.

SaveMeDo

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3580058/Thousands-hit-4-50-time-scam-Customers-facing-bills-hundreds-pounds-texts-advertising-gaming-services-pornographic-content.html

Thousands hit by £4.50 a time scam: Customers facing bills of hundreds of pounds for texts advertising gaming services and pornographic content

In the past two years, regulator PhonepayPlus received 7,462 complaints
Fines totalling £1.6million were levied against rogue firms in 2014/15
John Mann MP wants tougher fines than the current £250,000 maximum

Hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting mobile phone customers are being sent premium-rate texts they never asked for !!!8211; and charged up to £4.50 a time.

They have complained of being billed hundreds of pounds for the weekly or monthly texts, which advertise gaming services, !!!8216;glamour videos!!!8217; or pornographic content.

Messages do not always make recipients aware they are paying, or how to opt out

In the past two years, regulator PhonepayPlus received 7,462 complaints and adjudicated 38 times against firms for the unsolicited texts. Up to several hundred people were wrongly charged in each case.

Fines totalling £1.6million were levied against the rogue firms in 2014/15 and £1.4million in 2015/16. But only two-thirds of the penalties have been paid and some of the firms are based abroad. John Mann MP, of the Commons Treasury Committee, called for tougher fines than the current £250,000 maximum.

!!!8216;These text messages are theft and customers are being left totally exposed,!!!8217; he said. !!!8216;There will be hundreds of thousands of people affected, many of whom probably don!!!8217;t even know they have been charged !!!8230; the numbers who complain are the tip of the iceberg.!!!8217;

Wow!


What is MSE doing about this scandal?

Wsb5tails

I'm 40 emails in now, demanding my full £4.50 back. They sent me a Post office code to get £4.05 back. 30 of the emails from them say

Dear Sir or Madam,
>
> Thank you for your comment.
>
> As previously mentioned, there is a 10% administration charge for
> all=20 refunds.
>
> Thanks,
> Customer Service
> bestvipgames


and 31 emails back to them tell them that the Operator fee is payable by them not me.
They told me in the early days that there were a large volume of these that they were investigating, hence why it took them so long to confirm they had made the charge without authorisation.
I too am surprised there isn't a lot more about this specific case in forums

Ian011

You are entitled to a full refund. You are also entitled to a refund of the call charges if you had to call a premium rate 084, 087 or 09 number to speak to them.

What have the Phone-paid Services Authority said in response to your complaint?

redux

SaveMeDo wrote: »

Wow!


What is MSE doing about this scandal?

Why should it be MSE's responsibility?

There is a regulator with statutory powers, and your quotes show it is working.

There are MSE articles and this forum with advice on the subject.