Age verification problem

[Anonymous]

Hi Have been a customer of O2 for over 3 years. But all of a sudden they have asked me for age verification to download a game, and have the gall to ask for money for this, as I have never encountered this before is O2 in financial trouble and just want to grap the most cash it can from its customers before it goes belly up, or what is more likely its trying to restrict downloads. Tried to contact customer services about this with the normal success rating you get for this. I play online games and am less than impressed to find that I cannot gain access to it. Has anybody else encountered this problem if so how did they get round it. Have been with O2 for over 3 years, but virgin is looking mighty tempting to me.

[Anonymous]

Oh I forgot to say: A bookshop would not worry about a school-pupil buying a foreign-language dictionary, but O2 has treated Google Translate as only suitable for adults.

[Anonymous]

I agree a lot of it is stupid, translate etc is ridiculous. It's obviously not perfect and if something is blocked that blatantly shouldn't be then you can report it and it will be unblocked. My post was purely outlining my thoughts to Markle about the possible motivation for blocking some sites.

[Anonymous]

To Meh: Thank you for your inputs at several stages.
Actually, I now know rather more about why certain sites are barred. In particular, I didn't know previously that Google Translate can be used as a proxy. Well, well. So this "child protection" scheme has publicised a way to bypass it? Well, well.
It is rumoured that the same sort of "child protection" scheme is considered for landline broadband. May I offer some words of advice to O2 here (and not merely "tell your customers, and your CS staff, first")?
Firstly, the assumption in the scheme recently applied to mobile broadband is "one account = one device = one user (who has one age, by definition)". But, for home broadband, one account and one landline may reasonably support say two computers and two users, using the connection at the same moment: an adult using one computer to buy wine (an "adult" site) and a child using a genuine child-safe site. The ISP cannot determine, on an account-by-account basis, what the age of the end-user will be at any moment.
Secondly, it is reported that the Brook charity site is now barred (on the grounds of being an "adult" site). I do not know anything in detail about that site, but if the charity's aims are as reported, its users should be required to be "Gillick competent", which might be younger than 18 years. The ISP cannot determine this status of the end user. O2 moderator: if you do not understand the term "Gillick competence", please refer to your legal department.

[Anonymous]

Hi went to o2 shop today,they unlocked my dongle. The girl was very helpful but was unable to explain why it was done in the first place. O2 should not do this without being asked,As my internet explorer has parential control built in if I wanted to use it, but as the lady at the shop explained the age restrictions means about 80% of the web is locked out.As for the need to verify your age with a credit card to unlock it, seems ironic as the age verification prevents you going to any website that requires the use of a credit card.

[Anonymous]

did you meet a bug or sth else? :robotindifferent:

[jonsie]

did you meet a bug or sth else? :robotindifferent:

Go away!

[Anonymous]

I got my phone contract in October 2011, wasnt told i would have to verify my age but soon learnt, so I went in store and showed them my drivers license and everything was fine, I had no problems. Then a yesterday I tried to go on a site I have been on frequently and it keeps redirecting me to O2 active and I have to verify my age again! After 8 months with my contract. Then when I went online to verify, and click the link to use the online tool it takes me back to the page before and I'm led thinking "what the...what do I do know?"
Is it just me or is the O2 web page just confusing? Seriously why can't they just organise everything so your not having to hunt thought to find what you need. And as for the age erification, surely once you've done it, that's it! shouldn't have to do it again.

[anticpated]

I think it's lazyness on O2's part in a way. Afterall don't you have to be a working age/credit approved in order to get a contract in the first place. Therefore your details is on their system. 

If they think an adult could be paying for a kid's contract, then surely it's up to the parent to be responsible enough to decide what goes on.  But anyway...

https://ageverification.o2.co.uk/

On your handset are cookies being used to store whether you are verified or not? I've seen that bango thing come up on mine. At the end of the day, I can always use Wi-Fi and bypass any parental guard thingy.

There's a thing about the government possibly forcing device locks or ISP enforced pornography/alcohol search filters on the internet. Which I agree with to a degree however using financial details especially on untrusted websites is going increase credit fraud - mark my words.

Originally the internet was about freedom of information; now's all about selling is products and policing our every movement. Yet we have the nerve to criticise countries like China, Russia and Korea. We aren't so different are we? Anyway I will step of my soapbox now ;-).

[perksie]

The reasons for Age Verification are detailed here:

http://blog.o2.co.uk/home/2011/03/mobile-phones-and-age-verification-your-questions-answered.html

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I went in store and showed them my drivers license and everything was fine, I had no problems. Then a yesterday I tried to go on a site I have been on frequently and it keeps redirecting me to O2 active and I have to verify my age again! After 8 months with my contract. surely once you've done it, that's it! shouldn't have to do it again.

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Correct and that is one of the repetitive problems with O2.....small coding changes they make in their software systems create other problems. Perhaps this is a subject on which Leonard and/or Feilim Mackle would like to comment ?

As Feilim said in the "Ask the Director" thread :

"My job, with my team, is to improve this including the very important ownership issue you raised and, more than anything else, getting it right first time."

From the O2 Q&As on the subject :

"Q:  Do I have to age verify with O2 every time I want to go to a different 18+ site?
A:  No, you only need to age verify with O2 once."