on 17-02-2019 10:32
Solved! Go to Solution.
17-02-2019 10:48 - edited 17-02-2019 10:59
17-02-2019 10:48 - edited 17-02-2019 10:59
Follow the advice in this community guide
https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/How-to-Guides/Have-you-fallen-for-or-been-conned-into-a-premium-rate-s...
@EmilieT yet another example
@stevemc71 there is a community petition about this issue https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Discussions-and-Feedback/Premium-rate-services-petition-to-O2/td-p/118...
17-02-2019 10:48 - edited 17-02-2019 10:59
17-02-2019 10:48 - edited 17-02-2019 10:59
Follow the advice in this community guide
https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/How-to-Guides/Have-you-fallen-for-or-been-conned-into-a-premium-rate-s...
@EmilieT yet another example
@stevemc71 there is a community petition about this issue https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Discussions-and-Feedback/Premium-rate-services-petition-to-O2/td-p/118...
on 17-02-2019 11:09
on 17-02-2019 11:09
Another good site for help and support
Best of luck and welcome to the forum
Veritas Numquam Perit
17-02-2019 11:17 - edited 17-02-2019 11:17
17-02-2019 11:17 - edited 17-02-2019 11:17
@stevemc71 you might also want to have a look at this website:
You should also speak to customer services and ask for the following bars to be placed on your account:
Premium Rate Charges
Direct to Bill Charges
to avoid this happening again in future.
Good luvk and welcome to the forum
on 17-02-2019 11:31
on 17-02-2019 11:31
@stevemc71 it will also have vat added on the bill £4.50 total cost
on 17-02-2019 21:13
on 17-02-2019 21:13
@stevemc71 wrote:
I have been charged £3.75 on my next bill for a premium rate service 65333.
I have no knowledge at all of this number and am 100% certain I have not called or texted this number. Has anyone else come across this?
Any advice people?
65333 is a shortcode used by a "service" called Valuestay.mobi. It appears to be a Payforit "service" charging £4.50 per text received. Interestingly, although it appears to have started on 10th December 2018, it has already stopped taking new subscribers, so I was unable to check whether the signup process was compliant with the rules. In any event it is unlikely that this "subscription" was anything other than fraudulent. It isn't the first time this "service" has been brought to my attention.
The bad news is that the company is based in Belize, which makes it almost impossible to invoke the UK Small Claims procedure. There is a phone number to call 0203 514 6943 and an email address help@valuestay.mobi . Contact them to make sure the subscription is stopped and to insist on either a FULL refund, or FULL details of how you came to be subscribed. These details should include information about the "journey" involved in the signup - the web pages visited and screenshots of those pages, together with precise dates and times.
If, at the end of this process you are not satisfied, you should escalate your dispute to O2 under the Payforit rules.
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.
I hope you manage to resolve this matter. These scams are a disgrace to the mobile communications industry and O2 should be doing more to assist affected customers and to protect them from these scams.
on 25-10-2020 20:56