o2 suprises - WELL THEY CERTAINLY DO THAT!

[Normal_person]

o2 hmmm, I have been with them for years, I have 2 phones and have NEVER missed a payment or been late. I asked for an additional phone today and they putme through a credit check and because they messed up they failed me but they took the money from my bank for the new phone!

If my credit is so bad how the hell did I get 2 other phones?

So o2 now take money from you, don't give you a phone and make it very difficult and long winded to speak to someone to recover my money......

Loyalty - hmmmm do you know what that word means or is that for brand new customers only!

Just got a really good comparision deal from Orange - Future's bright!!

[Anonymous]

Ok.

I understand you want to let off some steam and that's fair enough.

Take care.

[MI5]

I think I'd be pretty miffed too tbh 😞

[Anonymous]

Yes it's reasonable to be so.

[Anonymous]

Even online I don't see why they can't do the credit check first before taking any money I agree it is not right

[davethorp]

Pretty sure when I recently signed up with 3 that's exactly what they did. The form on the website took my details, said they were going to run a credit check, then said it was fine and then asked for payment. Which is how it should be.

I'd be as irritated as the OP if money had been taken for no reason and I had to wait for it be returned.

Incidentally O2's credit checks can be a mind of their own sometimes. At one point I had 4 mobile accounts and a home broadband account and a regular monthly spend with O2 in the region of £130 a month and they turned me down for a £10 a month home phone line. So I took the home phone and the broadband over to sky instead!

[Anonymous]

Credit checks should be taken in advance of o2 (or any company that uses them in the process) taking any money.

The only thing I wonder is whether the process is partly automated? I.e payments are automated these days but perhaps a human goes in and checks the application before it is approved? (Or not as the case may be? ).

Either way a credit check request appears on your credit file so o2 like all companies have a responsibility to use data they hold correctly.

[Anonymous]

I agree that this is very wrong and they should refund money instantly. Some refund procedures are quite longwinded (3 weeks or so). When it's down to the mistake of the company it should be a hell of a lot faster than that. 

I had a different (but very similar) problem with Three. They took the money and told me I had failed the credit check. They then proceeded to deliver the phone I had ordered the following day, by which time I had already taken one out with O2. I refused to sign for the one with Three and asked them to take it back. Took 3 weeks to get my money back.