topic Re: Opera telecom in Pay Monthly

Opera telecom

NickF — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 11:05:14 GMT

Hi, I incurred a premium charge for receiving a happy Christmas message that seems to have been sent (completely unsolicited) by Opera Telecom - 79050. How do I report this, stop them doing it again and to others, and get money back from O2 who levied the charge?

Re: Opera telecom

Grundster_2 — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 11:24:03 GMT

I got exactly the same on Christmas eve and am looking into this too. Most frustrating. Opera must make loads of money off this at £2.50 a pop.

Re: Opera telecom

Cleoriff — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 11:25:44 GMT

Hi @NickF

Have a look at this thread

Also call O2 and ask for them to apply the following two bars on your account.

Bar All Premium numbers

Bar all Charge to Mobile (although this one will stop in app purchases as well, so thats up to you)

Hope that helps.

Re: Opera telecom

madasaf1sh — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 11:25:54 GMT

@NickF

You will need to request a refund from Oxygen8 who run the service

This service is provided by Oxygen8 Communications
Contact Details 03333137900 or customercare.uk@oxygen8.com

Full guide with help can be found here

https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/How-to-Guides/A-Guide-to-Deal-with-Spam-Scam-Calls-and-Text/ba-p/386364#M37293

Re: Opera telecom

Jey — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 13:34:08 GMT

i got charged for exactly the same reason. I've never heard of this company until O2 gave their name.

what is O2 doing to protect Customers from this kind of fraud. The advise from O2 was to send a STOP SMS and then i get charged another £2.50. obviously, O2 is making some money off this as well. There should be a service in place for Customer to stop this from O2's end without barring all premium number. This is because the banks uses premium numbers as well and if all is barred, then you miss out on the fraud services offfered by the bank.

i'm going to raise this with OfCom. The telecoms comany need to do more to protect Customers.

Re: Opera telecom

madasaf1sh — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 14:01:06 GMT

@Jey

Banks don't use Premium texts, they use Short Code SMS which don't charge you (but don't give the banks ideas on how to charge customers more for their services 🙂 )

You should never be charged for sending a stop message.

This doesn't just affect o2 it affects most mobile networks globally.

OfCom won't do anything about this I'm afraid., haven't shown any inclination do so for the past 4 or 5 years.. (They also don't listen to individual complaints).

They even tell you as much....

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/complaints/complain-about-phones-or-internet-services/billing-and-charges

Their is a simple answer find a network that doesn't allow charge to bill such as Honest Mobile or the like.

Re: Opera telecom

Cleoriff — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 14:02:28 GMT

@Jey

Follow the advice above. You can get your money back by contacting the number given by @madasaf1sh and contact O2 to put relevant bars on your account, (in my post) so this doesn't happen again.

Actually if you read the guide we both posted it would tell you exactly what to do.

Re: Opera telecom

Jey — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 15:17:22 GMT

Thanks but I called O2 n was told that I won’t get a refund because the charges was made by Opera Telecom.
The advice from O2 was given was to put a spend cap as a measure which doesn’t make sense in my opinion as it doesn’t stop the SMS from coming.

Checking on PSA service checker, the name of the company that sent the unsolicited Christmas greeting wasn’t Opera Telecom so information provided by O2 in the first place was incorrect.

I expect more from O2 to protect Customers and stopping these type of scams instead of leaving us to sort it out ourselves.

Re: Opera telecom

Jey — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 15:25:32 GMT

Thanks for clarifying the difference. I’ll ask for premium services to be stopped on my account. It’s a shame this is not offered in the app. I hate having to call for something I can do myself.

Shame on OfCom as it seems they are protecting the mobile network providers than the Consumers.

It might seem trivial but after 10years with O2, I deserve a refund even if it’s as a good will gesture but the service today was appalling and I’m definitely thinking of jumping ships. It won’t make a difference to O2 but I deserve value for money and better customer service.

Re: Opera telecom

madasaf1sh — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 18:43:59 GMT

@Jey

Unfortunately, you will get the same response from all the networks.

Oxygen8 is as I understand it the new name for Opera Telecom.

Re: Opera telecom

Jey — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 09:23:59 GMT

Thanks for all the information shared. The charges and issue going forward has now been resolved.

I eventually got a call back from Oxygen8 after I left a voice message on the number shared on this thread n was promised a refund. I was told I’ll get another SMS with instructions and will need to redeem the refund at the post office. (Still waiting for the SMS, although if coming from a premium number, I won’t get it).

I asked how they got my number in the first place and a technical glitch from one of their partners was their explanation. Anyway, they confirmed my number has been removed now.

O2 has also now looked into it and have blocked all premium services. It’s a shame it took a call to cancel my contract for them to act.

Re: Opera telecom

Payforit_Sucks — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 09:39:08 GMT

@Jey wrote:
Thanks for all the information shared. The charges and issue going forward has now been resolved.

I eventually got a call back from Oxygen8 after I left a voice message on the number shared on this thread n was promised a refund. I was told I’ll get another SMS with instructions and will need to redeem the refund at the post office. (Still waiting for the SMS, although if coming from a premium number, I won’t get it).

I asked how they got my number in the first place and a technical glitch from one of their partners was their explanation. Anyway, they confirmed my number has been removed now.

O2 has also now looked into it and have blocked all premium services. It’s a shame it took a call to cancel my contract for them to act.

It appears that these charges were due to a “technical error”. It really is time that O2 stopped processing these charges without proof of consent.

If you’ve received one of these fraudulent charges, please report your case to the regulator.
https://psauthority.org.uk/for-consumers/report-an-issue

The guilty party appears to have posted advice here:

https://who-called.co.uk/Number/79050

Hello,
On Christmas Eve there was a technical error where some people were charged to receive a text message. This should not of happened and apologies to anyone affected.
There has only been one charge of £3.00 (if you see £2.50 that is minus the vat on your bill) and no other charges.
We are in the process of alerting all effected but please if you have noticed this and not received any alert and refund please contact us.
Call us on 0344 745 1791 or email enquiries(at)mcomltd.com where the customer service team will assist you.
Hopefully the above information is helpful to anyone concerned.

Re: Opera telecom

Kasper1977 — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 18:47:04 GMT

I have had 8 messages since upgrading my phone with o2 from Opera Telecom (scammers) totalling £7.50. o2 said that they will refund me. It’s only because I checked my account that I noticed .

Re: Opera telecom

gmarkj — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 09:55:23 GMT

You need to contact the company sending the messages @Kasper1977 both to get the refund and to make sure they stop sending the messages.

Follow the advice above to make sure you get the outcome you are after.

Re: Opera telecom

Vix — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 09:47:58 GMT

Its 2023 and this issue is still going on. I have been scammed out of £100+ and never even signed up to this. O2 should do better at protecting people and their money. O2 know about this and still not stopping it. disgusting

Re: Opera telecom

madasaf1sh — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 09:54:31 GMT

@Vix

You need to contact Opera Telecom, as o2 just pass on charges that your mobile has incurred, and they have no way of knowing if you have clicked on a link, as daft as it sound people do legitimately use these services (dont ask).

Check your phone for any dodgy apps, or any texts where you have clicked on the link.

At the end of the day its not o2 at fault.