Charged for something i never even bought !!

[Mr-X]

What are these and how come they have been added to my bill ? I have never and i mean never bought anything remotely called these items you see in my screengrab below. Every bill up until now has been the standard  20 odd pound which is what the package is £20 for 20Gb data , unlimited texts and unlimited mins. So where the hell did this bogus charge come from and what are they, because i can assure you that i never bought them.

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[jonsie · Accepted solution]

These are legal scams whereby clicking on a link on social media sites such as Facebook or in text messages, signs you up to suscription services. You have two of these sharks billing you. Please follow the advice in this link

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

[Glory1]

Hi @Mr-X

Please take a look at the link I've set out below, which will provide more information on this subscription service, including how to contact them with a view to getting your money back:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.gamewonderland.me/faq&ved=2ahUKEwis2...

Please follow the link @jonsie has set out above but I thought the link I have provided would be of interest to you and anyone reading your post.

Good luck getting your money refunded from these scammers and welcome to the forum.

Edited to add:

Information on Taptronic in the link below:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.taptronic.net/&ved=2ahUKEwi7ycCEkZ3b...

[Payforit_Sucks]

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@Mr-X wrote:

What are these and how come they have been added to my bill ? I have never and i mean never bought anything remotely called these items you see in my screengrab below. Every bill up until now has been the standard  20 odd pound which is what the package is £20 for 20Gb data , unlimited texts and unlimited mins. So where the hell did this bogus charge come from and what are they, because i can assure you that i never bought them.

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 These will be 'payforit' scam texts. You should have received texts about the charges.

Can I ask what type of phone you are using? Is it an Android? There is some evidence that these bogus signups are being caused by malware embedded in some android apps. In one case it seems the malware is actually embedded in apps supplied with the phone.

Unfortunately, the way that this works is that you have to contact the company taking your money and get them to stop the subscription. There should be a number in the text you received confirming the subscription that you can call using included minutes. Record the call if possible. You should also ask for a full refund of any money they have taken.

You are entitled, under Section 45(3) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to insist that this refund is made back to the account from which it was taken. Under section 45(4) of the same act, any refund needs to be made within 14 days of it being offered and accepted.

If the company do not co-operate or do not refund in full, you can then revert to O2 and ask them to take action under the Mobile Operators Code Of Practice.  This was provided to Ofcom as part of a consultation in 2012. A failure to follow this procedure could be referred to the Communications Ombudsman.

Ultimately if a full refund is refused I have evidence that these companies will pay out when faced with the possibility of a claim in the small claims court. Ultimately they have to prove that you knowingly consented to the payments or make a full refund.

You should also complain to the Phone-paid Services Authority about the unauthorised charges. The regulator will not handle individual cases, but will take action if specific companies generate a disproportionate number of complaints. Taptronic have been the subject of several recent complaints.

[Anonymous]

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@Payforit_Sucks wrote:

Can I ask what type of phone you are using? Is it an Android? There is some evidence that these bogus signups are being caused by malware embedded in some android apps. In one case it seems the malware is actually embedded in apps supplied with the phone.

I think calling those Apps malware is confusing - it's pretty hard to get real malware on an android unless you sideload apps from other sources. Being that Taptronic are trusted partners to the world and his wife in telecoms and internet a more accurate description would be suckerware - as in 'never give a sucker an even break' - PT Barnum

And O2 would argue that if suckers sorry customers use the apps or click the links they clearly intended to subscribe.

It's like Facebook and LinkedIn hijacking contact lists - you get promoted so often eventually one app or page will succeed in getting access and then it's all 'well you did agree to this.'

Speaking of which I had a post removed that was intended to subtly highlight what O2 get out of the Taptronic relatioship and why it's so hard to contact Tapatroic but it was deemed as being advertising for Taptronic so let's be clear.

Taptronic are trusted partners of O2 and provide large revenue streams to O2.

Taptronic also hijack people's numbers with 02's tacit consent and frequently customers find unauthorized, unwanted and unexpected charges as a result.

This would be unconscionable even if it wasn't with O2 complicity, but being as it is, puts 02 in an unethical and possibly illegal position in regard to lack of adequte authentication.

So far from being advertising it was designed to highlight to the op and the O2 community the egregious and shady practices, that 02 choose to be involved in, in this regard.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
 - it's pretty hard to get real malware on an android unless you sideload apps from other sources. Being that Taptronic are trusted partners to the world and his wife in telecoms and internet a more accurate description would be suckerware - as in 'never give a sucker an even break' - PT Barnum

Or your phone's manufacturer apparently. Especially at the um value end of the market. 

https://blog.avast.com/android-devices-ship-with-pre-installed-malware

[Payforit_Sucks]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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I think calling those Apps malware is confusing - it's pretty hard to get real malware on an android unless you sideload apps from other sources.

Malware has been finding it's way on to the Google Play store for quite a while now. I know because my wife was caught out by it.

https://www.wired.com/story/google-play-store-malware/

When it comes to O2's 'Trusted Partners', Lasevia Ltd who are the subject of several other complaints have an interesting set of reviews on Trustpilot.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/lasevia.com

Do O2 really want to be trusting companies like this to help themselves to their customers' funds?

[jonsie]

O2's trusted partners prove in the many threads on here to be far from trusted as far as customer benefits and experience has proved. Companies like Aerial and Lasevia Ltd leave a nasty impact on customers and I would trust a savage tiger more than an O2 trusted partner who are responsible for cold calling and telling  lies, purporting to be O2 to get sales by pressurising vulnerable people.

[hennessey]

I've got these too. Are you signed up to radio x.
I think it was them charging me

[Glory1]

@hennessey are you sure it's Radio X? There's a free app in the Google Play Store and, I assume, also in the App Store. You can also listen through DAB radio. But I can't find anything that says they charge for listening to them.