Fraudulent use of name to open 02 account.

[JH157]

Two O2 accounts have been fraudulently opened in my partner's name. Despite five calls to customer services she is still receiving demands for payment and the 'debt' has now been sold on to another company.

1) what ID is required to open an O2 account? This is evidently inadequate if a stranger can open an account in your name.

2) How can O2 sell on a 'debt' that is clearly (or should be) under investigation for ID fraud.

3) How can O2 have it both ways i.e. they maintain that the debt is owed by my partner and keep demanding payment and yet won't disscuss details of the opening of the account as the say that was by a third party.

4) Can she demand to see the contract (on which if course her signature will not appear) in order to prove once and for all that she did not open these accounts?

[gmarkj]

Not sure we as o2 customers would be able to answer most of those questions @JH157 , but we can point you in the direction of some help.

The guide below has some advice about fraud:

https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Welcome-News/Scam-Alert-Vishing-Smishing-amp-Phishing-Megaguide/m-p/16... 

Of most interest is point 10, if you are a victim of fraud:

https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Welcome-News/Scam-Alert-Vishing-Smishing-amp-Phishing-Megaguide/m-p/16... 

Which includes a link to the fraud help pages:

https://www.o2.co.uk/help/safety-and-security/fraud-advice 

In relation to ID, we have a previous answer (https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Pay-Monthly/getting-a-contract/m-p/1041317#M125937 ) which says a credit or debit card, along with proof of signature and address (so driver's license, utility bill, etc). This is for in store applications.

If online, it will depend on which company it is - CarphoneWarehouse say a debit or credit card can be used a proof of address if the billing address matches the card address.

https://selfhelp.carphonewarehouse.com/SelfHelp/request.do?view()=c%7B3fb172c0-f556-11de-da00-000000... 

o2, and other mobile companies, will sell a debt on to a firm so that they can recoup losses and the debt collection firm will try and cover those against the person(s) named.

The systems that o2 use don't always talk seamlessly, so accounts under fraud investigation are often sold on. If you speak to the payment management team they MAY be able to do something, but often automatic updates from the system over-ride manual settings. Payment management are on 0800 902 0217.

Fraud investigations are tricky, and have to be dealt with as privately as possible due to the possibility that you are the one committing the fraud. As such updates are likely to not be often or full of details to avoid tipping off.

As for seeing the contract, with the explosion of online shopping most contracts are only signed digitally and won't have a signature as such to see - they would just be able to prove the existence of cookies that show the documents are opened and a button ticked to say they are read.