Charged twice

[Anonymous]

I always pay my phone bill manually as soon as I have the money so it's out of the way. I have never had any problems before until I just checked my bank account and saw I had -£28. I payed my bill on the 10th September and it wasn't due till 21st September but the money has been taken out again through DD. From my understanding I have enough time for the bill to go through and show up on my account so why has the money still been taken out? How can I get my money back and what can I do to make sure this doesn't happen again?

[Anonymous]

With O2 Refresh, the terms and conditions say you have to set up a Direct Debit. O2 Refresh has been designed for Direct Debit payments only which is why you sometimes experience problems. I too think this is bad as I do not like Direct Debit, O2 needs to think carefully as EE particularly Orange and T Mobile plans accept a very wide range of payment methods and I know for a fact Orange even accept Postal Orders as payments! I think the whole idea of O2 Refresh is bad both for consumers and the industry

[Anonymous]

Hi and Welcome to the Forum.


We are all customers here like
you ,and can only surmise what may have happened.

I advise you to check in your Myo2 at the bills section ,and or call Customer Service on 202 to get official clarification on what's occured.

Let us know how you get on.

[Anonymous]

Hi Nick_london

When a person signs up to a contract with O2 one of the stipulations is payment by Direct Debit. This for many is a convenient method and O2 then do not have to try and chase up non payment because someone has forgotten to pay etc.

O2 are aggressive when chasing payment and can lead to cut off of service , re connection fees and in extreme circumstances the debt sold to debt collection agencies and can result in Credit Defaults on a persons credit file which stay on there for 6 years even after it's paid.

If for some reason a direct debit payment method is cancelled by the account holder or it fails then O2 do have alternative methods to pay a bill.

Ie:

How do I pay my bill?
1. Click Here and sign in to My O2

Click 'Pay Your Bill' under the 'My bill summary' section
Follow the easy step by step instructions

You can also pay using our automated payment line.

Call 2729 from your mobile or ring or 0800 588 4217 from a landline and enter the mobile number you wish to pay.

You can also pay using our automated payment line. Call 0844 8090202 or 202 from your O2 mobile and choose option 1.3.

Please Note: Important.

If you normally pay your Monthly 02 Bill by Direct Debit, this may still be requested from your bank, if you make a payment within 48 hours of its due date.

[Bambino]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
With O2 Refresh, the terms and conditions say you have to set up a Direct Debit. O2 Refresh has been designed for Direct Debit payments only which is why you sometimes experience problems. I too think this is bad as I do not like Direct Debit, O2 needs to think carefully as EE particularly Orange and T Mobile plans accept a very wide range of payment methods and I know for a fact Orange even accept Postal Orders as payments! I think the whole idea of O2 Refresh is bad both for consumers and the industry

---

I'm a little puzzled as to why you think Direct Debit and O2 Refresh are a bad thing? I don't use the Refresh scheme, but I do pay my bills by Direct Debit. I'm interested to know your reasons for your statement.

[MI5]

Phone plan payments cannot be made online.
If no DD is set up they have to be paid by calling CS.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the replies. I spoke to one of the O2 Gurus as I really like the service with them and told them my situation. I didn't really get any answers but straight away they confirmed that I had the 2nd charge in my credit and they refunded me immediately. It should take 5-10 days but will most probably be sooner. So it was sorted very nicely. I'd just like to know what to do so it doesn't happen again?...

[Bambino · Accepted solution]

If you already have the Direct Debit set up, you don't need to do anything. Just check your bank account when you receive the DD notification, which is always two weeks before they take the money, and make sure there's sufficient funds in your account to pay the charge.

[Anonymous]

You can only pay the airtime bill online and you cannot pay using 202 unless you speak to someone. I dont think you are an O2 refresh customer yet as I had this freedom of ways to pay my bill until I switched to refresh.

[Anonymous]

@Bambino I think O2 refresh is bad because phone prices are generally higher than competitors or with retailers like Carphone Warehouse. O2 also no longer off traditional pay monthly plans.They then have the cheek to increase airtime costs on top throughout the contract