Premium Charge Scams

[Anonymous]

Has anyone had any success in blocking these scammers from sending texts and making charges against their accounts?

Has anyone found a way of getting O2 to take some responsibility for closing down the route that these companies use to facilitate the scam? 

I am writing on behalf of the account owner who is a person with special needs, he is a young man being bombarded by such companies. PM Connect, Buongiorno and 85878 as a few examples. Costs running to hundreds of pounds a year.

Any useful suggestions would be welcomed.

Many thanks

[Bambino]

@Anonymous You can report this here: http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/

These charges are not O2's responsibility, nor would they be for any other network.

There are some phones that will block these numbers and there also apps that you can install, depending on what phone you have.

[MI5]

Phonepayplus are the regulators of premium rate phone lines.

Blocking numbers will not stop the charges.
You can search for an offending number on their website and approach the company directly to be removed from their list and to be refunded.
Reputable companies will do this without hesitation.
If they refuse to cooperate with you the opportunity is there to report those companies to the regulator who will take action on your behalf.
You should also take steps to stop these "subscriptions" from happening in the first instance by not clicking on free giveaways, competition entries and such like, most of which emanate from Facebook and other social networking sites.

[jonsie]

As above, you need to look up each company on the link @Bambino gave and either write to or call each company cancelling any subscriptions and asking for a possible refund. Facebook is by far the biggest source of these premium scams and accidentally clicking on a link will very often subscribe to premium texts.

The networks cannot stop these texts coming in and it's up to the watchdog to clamp down on these premium services.

[adamtemp64]

The guide to this is here http://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Pay-Monthly-and-Pay-Go/Have-you-fallen-for-or-been-conned-into-a-premiu...

[gindygoo]

It's imperative that you approach these companies asap by following the instructions given in this thread. I'd also make that complaint to PhonePayPlus.

It might be worth enquiring about how exactly these "services" were signed up for, as then you'll hopefully be able to try and minimise future signups by your friend.

It's a harsh world these days and companies like this care not if they're taking money from vulnerable ppl. But, they do get fined for repeatedly breaking the rules (I think it was @jonsie (?) who recently published some links to the outcomes of these hearings where companies were fined for bad practice) so please make sure you complain the the regulator.

Let us know how you get on.

[adamtemp64]

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/for-business/tribunal-adjudications/latest-tribunal-adjudications for example

[MI5]

It's only possible to fine UK based companies though and they are the ones that usually toe the line.....