Prizefun, SB7 mobile Ltd scam

24

Comments

  • superbigal36
    superbigal36 Posts: 734 Forumite
    First Post Name Dropper First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    harry66 wrote: »
    Spent several minutes with Vodafone CS and it seems that whilst I was charged £15, 'as the charges were wrongly charged to you, so the system refunded and removed the charges on the account.'

    I have kept the chat transcript - just in case I do end up getting charged when my bill arrives so I can contest it.

    Thanks to everyone for their replies.
    FYI: The company who run this scheme are called sb7 mobile.


    No I meant did you win the prize draw ? :rotfl:
  • Kingsd316
    Kingsd316 Posts: 1,394 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    harry66 wrote: »
    No - no phone number entry - just a click of a button on the web page. It seems that on an android phone, you can rack up mobile phone charges simply by clicking a button on a browser page.

    I even have in-app purchases disabled in the Play Store and password authorisation required to make a purchase - made no difference.


    Learn something new every day, I didn't realise they could still bill you through your phone number if you don't enter it, shocking tactics
    :beer:
  • dealer_wins
    dealer_wins Posts: 7,334 Forumite
    Why cant phone companies stop these scams!!
  • Silk
    Silk Posts: 4,836 Forumite
    First Anniversary
    dealer_wins wrote: »
    Why cant phone companies stop these scams!!
    An option is to have a premium rate sms bar applied to the account which would stop further charges being made
    It's not just about the money
  • peparami101
    peparami101 Posts: 7 Forumite
    Dear All,

    I was recently browsing the internet on my mobile when an un-solicited pop-up window appeared. I didn't read it but noticed it was for a competition. I used my browser close button to remove this as I am very weary of clicking anywhere within pop-up windows. A few minutes later I get a text message from Prizefun (SB7 mobile) confirming I have entered a competition and then another text message billing me for £5. This has been applied to my account.

    I have blocked this number with my operator and replied STOP ALL to the premium number.

    Now, I have been in contact with the company in question who refuse to give a refund even though I stated I did not accept their terms and conditions and did not wish to enter their competition. I also tried phonepayplus who were very quick to say nothing can be done.

    Is there any way I can recover this money as I did not enter any competition.

    Many thanks.
  • ballyblack
    ballyblack Posts: 5,065 Forumite
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    Something similar happened to me.

    I rang Tesco mobile and complained. They immediately blocked all premium such numbers and they refunded me the money to my account
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post Photogenic First Anniversary
    peparami101 wrote: »
    ...I was ...browsing the internet on my mobile when an un-solicited pop-up window appeared. .... A few minutes later I get a text message ...
    How do they know your phone number if you accidentally opted in while browsing?
  • peparami101
    peparami101 Posts: 7 Forumite
    I have no idea how they got this. This is the puzzling thing. It is shocking to think that companies like this can get information from your phone and use it to bill you for services that you never agreed to. I never enter competitions like this and I was the only one with access to the phone at the time.

    I eventually got through to a manager at SB7 mobile who point blank refused to issue a refund even though I stated I did not agree to their terms and conditions as I never answered or entered any information on their web page. Their answer was that I pressed 8. This is nonsense as I used the browser close button.

    This is shocking tactics by a very dodgy company, I notice that they had been fined in the past which was 'irrelevant' when I asked the manager about that too.

    Extremely angry at this!!!!!
  • HoofeHearted
    HoofeHearted Posts: 2,651 Forumite
    First Post Photogenic First Anniversary
    There is an article in The Register today about these websites.
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/11/direct_to_bill_mobile_payment_scam/
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
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    edited 12 August 2015 at 4:15PM
    dealer_wins wrote: »
    Why cant phone companies stop these scams!!
    Why would they? Typically they keep ~50% of the loot. Easy money for doing nothing.
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