Fake charges from Jamaica

[Anonymous]

Just to let everybody know I've just been billed by O2 for £50 of phone calls apparantly made whilst I was away in Jamaica. They are all to Jamaican phone numbers (I don't even know the COUNTRY code for Jamaica). One 15 minute phone call was actually made whilst a genuine text home was being sent. Is this even possible?!!

My phone didn't leave my sight. My bluetooth was turned off. I didn't send or receive any phone calls. I only use it to text from abroad as I travel a lot (4 free texts taken from allowance for 1 international text sent - it's the only reason I'm with O2).

O2 claim it's impossible - that the call are genuine. Meanwhile 7 more of my colleagues have had unauthorised calls and data charged to their bills up to approx £400 each. I don't know how it's done but I do know that O2's network in Jamaica is not secure. Be warned!

[Anonymous]

Its not o2's network in Jamaica, it will be a Jamaican network which is a roaming partner to probably several international companies (voda, t mob, orange etc).

If there is a claim of fraudulent calls then you need to raise the issue, but you will have to say what network you were roaming on whilst out there, and its pretty hard to have a mobile hacked unless you have used some of these "cheap" numbers taht you can get to reduce call charges.

[perksie]

Which handset Janna?

Does it show a list of dialled calls?

[Anonymous]

I've just got a cheap old Nokia - nothing special. And yes I checked my handset and there is no record of any of the numbers ever being used from my phone, and no I never used any third party to make cheap calls.

To update you, my work actually contacted O2 on my behalf. It was then traced back to the Jamaican network I had been attached to whilst using my O2 phone. Turns out there was indeed a 'software fault'.

So therefore the network wasn't secure as I had been promised. Emailed O2 customer service to advise them of their own company's findings. However the email I received back again denied any problem - again insisting the calls were genuine! (Am I going round in circles?)

Whether it was the O2 network or the foreign network I was attached to on O2's behalf I had been assured that all calls I was charged for MUST have been made by my phone. What REALLY annoyed me was the insinuation by O2 that I must have been lying.

It was because of that that I'm canceling my O2 contract and moving to Orange so they've lost themselves a customer.

[perksie]

A shame you were treated like that Janna, you seem to me to have fairly well proved your case.

I would still write to the O2 Complaint Review Service.

Good luck.