SCAM gets thru block

[Mi-Amigo]

After falling victim to one of the scam message, I took the advise from members of the Community and contacted 02 Customer Services, who put a bar on all direct to Bill debits and bar Premium Rates....

However, today, purely by chance I checked my message in-box and found:

65065 -  Freemsg: Lorena Medienagen fur - free trial ends [date] then £4.50 per week, unless STOP to 65065.

Given the date of message and when I saw it, there is a chance that I could be billed for one week.

I sent STOP to 65065 and got an instant retur msg:

STOP Payforit Freemsg subscription to Metro Games ended. Help: 0207 369915.

I have never subscribed [or linked] to Metro Games and/or Lorena Medienagen.

How did this get through the supposed blocks which is meant to be in place on my 02 account?

This is worrying and highlights the need for 02 to drop their "trusted partners" and the scams.

[Demonyx]

Well so far, 20 minutes into a discussion with Nikhli via live chat, 4 times been told this is a subscription service so they can do nothing to help or block the 65065 number, has never heard of "charge to mobile" bar and suggests that I just text STOP and hopefully that should stop it

This is classed as customer service???

[MI5]

You'd get more sense if you called them.

[Demonyx]

Well chat ended and total waste of time and effort, Nikhli kept referring to spend cap saying "you will receive texts but not be charged for them" o2 Website "spend cap excludes premium rate texts sent or received"
Think o2 need to train their customer service in all aspects of customer service and the ability to read their own rules
chat ended with "text STOP" will not receive charge

[Cleoriff]

@Demonyx 

The bar you need applying to your accounts is called "Bar All To Direct BIll Debits"

Live chat won't be able to do it, but speaking to customer services is the way to get it applied.

https://www.o2.co.uk/contactus

[Demonyx]

Thanks for that I will call them in the morning and try and speak to someone with some sense

[Payforit_Sucks]

@Martin-O2; @Marjo ; @EmilieT 

Are you any nearer an anwer on this? Different staff seem to be giving different answers and this gives  very bad impression at a time when I have a lot of media interest.

The questions are simple and only require a YES or NO answer. Surely someone at O2 must know.

• If customers ask O2 to put a "Charge to Mobile" bar on their account will this stop Payforit charges?
• If the answer to this is YES, does the bar stop the Payforit texts ("Freemsg:") or will these still be received?
• Is this bar available to business accounts?
• Are O2 willing to meet their obligations under the Payforit rules and allow customers to escalate their Payforit disputes to them if they can show they have already tried to discuss the matter with the "third party"?

[Marjo]

Hi guys, so as per @Mi-Amigo 's query about the 'bar on all direct-to-bill debits', our Gurus have confirmed that the bar stops charges being billed by 3rd party companies. If you get a text notifying that a company is going to charge you, and you have the bar in place already at this point, it will only kick in when the actual charge is attempting to go through and prevent it.

[Mi-Amigo]

Thanks to all of you offered your support.

As @Marjo has explained, the Gurus have confirmed that if "Bar all to Direct Bill Debits" in place that will stop charges being billed to third-party companies. Should a third-party company send a text [sms] notifying that a charge for a service is going to be made, when the third-party company tries to apply for the funds, it will not succeed and be stopped before any charges are taken from the customer`s account. Should a customer click on an app or other method, the bar currently in place protects the customer`s account for the supposed debt being taken.

I hope this goes some way to clarfying the position. The bar does stop unsolicited charges, and should the third-party send a txt or sms, the bar prevents payment for this being taken from an account.

I have can confirm that no money has been, or will be, taken from my account for the charges demanded by the Payforit third-party company; I have been re-embursed for the cost of texting STOP to the third-party company; and have received compensation for the inconvenience caused

I would like to thank @Marjo and the Guru for their help in this matter; and for the support and advise, particularly that from @Cleoriff ; @TallTrees ; and @Payforit_Sucks who were correct.

In my opinion, the advise to phone [not Chat] to Customer Services to ask for the bars to placed on an account, as previously given by members of the Community to customers who have raised concerns of unsolicited charges by Payforit third-party companies, is correct and will prevent these charges. 

[Payforit_Sucks]

---

@Payforit_Sucks wrote:

@Martin-O2; @Marjo ; @EmilieT 

Are you any nearer an anwer on this? Different staff seem to be giving different answers and this gives  very bad impression at a time when I have a lot of media interest.

The questions are simple and only require a YES or NO answer. Surely someone at O2 must know.

• If customers ask O2 to put a "Charge to Mobile" bar on their account will this stop Payforit charges?
• If the answer to this is YES, does the bar stop the Payforit texts ("Freemsg:") or will these still be received?
• Is this bar available to business accounts?
• Are O2 willing to meet their obligations under the Payforit rules and allow customers to escalate their Payforit disputes to them if they can show they have already tried to discuss the matter with the "third party"?

---

---

@Payforit_Sucks wrote:

@Martin-O2; @Marjo ; @EmilieT 

Are you any nearer an anwer on this? Different staff seem to be giving different answers and this gives  very bad impression at a time when I have a lot of media interest.

The questions are simple and only require a YES or NO answer. Surely someone at O2 must know.

• If customers ask O2 to put a "Charge to Mobile" bar on their account will this stop Payforit charges?
• If the answer to this is YES, does the bar stop the Payforit texts ("Freemsg:") or will these still be received?
• Is this bar available to business accounts?
• Are O2 willing to meet their obligations under the Payforit rules and allow customers to escalate their Payforit disputes to them if they can show they have already tried to discuss the matter with the "third party"?

---

Well I think we now have a clear answer to my first two questions. If you ask O2 to apply a charge to mobile bar to your account you WILL still receive the associated texts (usually prefixed "Freemsg:"), but no money will be able to be taken from the account. In this case,the Payforit texts can be safely ignored. It is not necessary to send the STOP message.

This is pretty much what I expected, and corresponds with what happens for PAYG customers who have no airtime credit. Do be aware though, that if you subsequetly ask for the bar to be removed, outstanding subscription charges are likely to be taken. This currently happens for PAYG customers who top up their accounts while there are outstanding Payforit charges.

No answer yet to my other two questions, but I live in hope!

[MI5]

and we hope the advice is correct this time too.