Payfor scam - help

[JPUT]

I use an iPad on o2 pay monthly. As fixed amount for a lot of data, rarely check the bill as nothing ever changes. Suddenly check it and find charges for months adding up to £131.50. o2 customer services tell me the short code numbers are Payforit and give me their number, that's it, no other offer of help.

Called Payforit. Finally get to speak with someone who just transfers me to another company. Company is called Instagame, based in US. Speak to their customer service agent in Belgrade. They offer me partial refund which I refused multiple time. In the end they offered £99.50 (kept increasing offer). They refuse to refund in full. I did not sign up for a subscription, there has been no activity and I still do not even know what Instagame do (obviously a gaming company).

What is the next step to get a full refund? Any help welcomed.

Also, utterly disgraceful that o2, one of the operators who set up Payforit supposedly to protect us, take zero responsibility and will not help beyond provision of a phone number. This is not customer service, and in 2019 we should expect better from any service company. How this type of theft/scam is allowed to steal in this day and age is beyond me. I feel terrible for older people, kids and anyone who is taken advantage of by this scam. There are thousands of cases out there when you google this and yet o2 do not thing to protect, help or advise their customers? Ethically disgraceful and they really should have more of a social conscience. People make purchasing decisions on ethical behaviour - wake up. I will escalate this as I am incensed.

[Cleoriff · Accepted solution]

@JPUT 

Community help here

https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/How-to-Guides/Have-you-fallen-for-or-been-conned-into-a-premium-rate-s...

Another site to help….

https://payforitsucks.co.uk/

Edited to add. CS meant it was a payforit SCAM. The 2nd link I gave you deals with all of these and @Payforit_Sucks  is a member of this forum.

[MI5]

https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Discussions-and-Feedback/Premium-rate-services-petition-to-O2/td-p/118...

[TallTrees]

Really terrible @JPUT 

Unfortunately Money Making comes with no conscience

Agree something should be done about this,  just common theft.

The Community Forum  have a "premium rate services petition to O2" ***

dated 5th January 2019 ~ pleased if you would add your name to this.

People are being scammed out of huge amounts of money 

every month in every way possible.

Good Luck ~ 

*** noted that @MI5  has already mentioned this and given you a link

please join ~ thank you

[JPUT]

Thank you @Cleoriff @TallTrees @@and @MI5 

I have added myself to the petition. I have emailed the CEO of Telefonica UK and have cancelled my o2 contract.

Just warming up.

[TallTrees]

Sorry you are leaving  O2 because of this @JPUT  ~ I can't blame you though ~ it is unacceptable

it is serious money.

Great you have added your name to petition. I know everyone is hoping that the CEO will take serious note of this and do something about it now.

I believe that other mobile network companies have done something to stop this on their network.

Best of luck and good wishes.

[Payforit_Sucks]

@JPUT 

I completely understand your anger at the way that O2 facilitate these Payforit scams.

What you have experienced is not unusual. O2 say it's nothing to do with them, although they are part of the consortium that own and operate Payforit nd take 20£% of the proceeds from these scams.

Legally, of course, unless the company can prove you knowingly consented to the charges, you are entitled to a FULL refund. You should never accept anything less!

If you've been refused a FULL refund, you can escalate your dispute to O2 in accordance with the Payforit rules.

O2 seem rather reluctant to meet their obligations in this respect, so it may be necessary to raise the matter as a formal complaint. Ultimately, if O2 fail to meet their obligations, you have a case which could be aken to the ombudsman, or to the Small Claims court.

I'm not familiar with the Instagame service. What was the shortcode used by this service? It may be possible to pursue the Level 1 provider for the service through the Small Claims procedure,  as it is clearly difficult to use Small Claims to pursue a US entity.

You may also wish to complain about O2 leaking your phone number to companies like this, which I believe may be a breach of GDPR. Details Here

You need to be aware that O2  leak your phone number to third parties when you access the internet using mobile data, and this is probably how your number was acquired in order to make these charges. The system which does this is called 'Payforit'.

These companies use vulnerabilities of the 'Payforit' system to obtain consumers numbers and sign them up to bogus subscriptions. Simply closing an innocent looking popup can pass your number to these scammers.

'Payforit' charges are applied directly to your account by a 'third party' which has acquired your phone number. O2 make no check that you have consented to these charges. You can ask O2 to place a ‘charge to bill’ bar on your account, which will protect you from further ‘Payforit’ scams. However, be aware that his is a blunt instrument and will also stop other third party charges such as donating to charity and voting in TV competitions.

Comprehensive and independent information and advice on dealing with these scams is on the payforitsucks website.  This website provides constructive advice about forcing the scammers to refund. Specialist and legal support is also available through the site if you encounter difficulties. Google "payforitsucks" or follow the link to the faq in my signature. The website contains detailed advice on the steps you need to take to stop further charges, obtain a refund and protect yourself from these scams in the future.

[Bambino]

@JPUTWe all here agree that these scams need to be stopped, and we sympathise with the issues you're having, but also be aware that if you cancel your contract, you're still liable for any time remaining on it. The PayForIt scam is a separate issue. You still have a contractual obligation, and O2 will pursue you for what you still owe, all the way to the point of handing it over to debt collectors, and marking your credit rating negatively. Just a friendly heads up to make sure you're aware of this, and by all means follow the advice of @Payforit_Sucks, who has put a significant amount of time and effort into helping O2 customers.

[JPUT]

Thanks to all for the input. @Bambino I appreciate the input. The fraudulent charges are from a pay monthly account and are paid. Most mobile contracts have a standard 30 days notice period as I did I. Given there is no outstanding balance, all paid by DD, not an issue with liabilities here.