Please help! Urgent fraud question on stolen phone

[Anonymous]

My phone was stolen at around 3am-4am on Saturday.  I didn't report it until 11:50 that morning as I wasn't 100% sure it was stolen until I checked my call log.  I thought I may have misplaced it.

By the time I reported it I had £177 worth of charges on international calls to Algeria (+VAT!!!) on my call log.

I rang O2, spoke to several people, each saying that I am liable as I didn't bar the phone until 11:50.  I would never have thought that so much damage could be done in so short a time, and I called as soon as I was aware my phone was missing. 

I know my phone was stolen at 4 because phone calls started happening at around 5. 

I have no insurance and I'm out of contract on a month to month plan.

My question is this: everyone I have spoken to says I'm in the right and that I shouldn't pay those charges.  I barred it within a reasonable amount of time and everyone I spoke to at O2 recognises that I didn't make those calls: it doesn't fit with my call pattern and it's clear my sim was removed from my iphone (which had a password on it) and placed into a samsung to make those calls.

I have gotten a crime reference number as well. 

What can be done?  I don't want to pay it.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I also wish to add that when I barred my phone only £75 worth of charges were appearing.

[Anonymous]

Hi.

Until you report the loss or theft you are responsible for any use on the account.

At the end of the day a phone Barr can be lifted if you found the phone too.
Some calls and usage would not appear straight away hence probably why you see two different amounts.

You could plead your case by filling in this form.

http://service.o2.co.uk/IQ/srvs/cgi-bin/webcgi.exe?New,KB=Companion,question=ref%28user%29:str%28Rel...

Edit ; look at 02's t&c's 16.1 in General Terms & Conditions. .

[perksie]

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@Anonymous wrote:
 

My question is this: everyone I have spoken to says I'm in the right and that I shouldn't pay those charges.

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You are liable for all calls made until O2 hear from you to cancel the sim, and the lines are open 24 hours a day so you can do that.

We have seen charges running into many hundreds of pounds when this has happened.

O2 won't cover the costs as anyone could make calls and then say the phone was stolen,

leaving them open to a huge amount of fraud.

Stolen phones on contract are like gold to a thief.

[jonsie]

Sad to say but you are responsible but do you have mobile insurance? Some policies do cover unauthorised calls. If you haven't then check your home insurance for any possible cover for personal items. Unfortunately a stolen contract sim is like gold dust to the thieving scum.

[adamtemp64]

A tip for when you get a replacement sim is to enable both a sim pin and a handset pin that way if the phone is locked or sim swapped to another unlocked phone the sim is useless to make calls.

[Anonymous]

Ref Insurance.

Some banks offer cover with their current accounts.

Cannot harm to check.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your help.  Is there any chance more charges are coming through?  I barred the phone at noon on Saturday, 10 August, so of course more than 12 hours has passed since noon on Saturday so according to O2 all items should be showing up.

But I have just heard from a friend that there may be some reverse charges or data charges that might not have come through yet.  Or perhaps other international phone charges.

A call I made from Belgium to the UK only showed up recently.  Is that because I called from Belgium instead of from the UK?

It just makes me uneasy to think that even more charges might be coming through!

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

You should not have any further charges from unauthorised usage from the date you reported the phone and sim lost/stolen

[jonsie]

It's true that calls made overseas can take a while to show on your bill due to the way that foreign network operators bill O2. However any calls made from this country should be showing on the bill now. Hope you get it all sorted.