@cole-stevens wrote:
Believe it or not my complaint is not about the scammers it's with O2, who offered to refund or repay the money and to put an immediate STOP to the charges. But they have not and O2 will not refund the money and they failed to put a stop to the charges.
Their response is;
"Unfortunately you were given the wrong information, we cannot refund direct to mobile charges"
Unfortunately the advice you were given was incorrect. You could probably take O2 to the Ombudsman for this - assuming you have evidence of this incorrect information. Legally, O2 are on solid ground in refusing to refund. The company who are responsible for refunding are Red27 and you should be insisting that they do so. We have to work within the law as it currently stands - while campaigning for a change - hence our advice.
You could try escalating your complaint to the Executive Office to see whether O2 might choose to "do the right thing", but legally you have no case.
@cole-stevens wrote:
It's not my problem that a member of staff or representative of O2 gave incorrect policy procedure, at the time he confirmed a refund and a stop so O2 should stand by their staffs actions and take up their policy matters with their staff, not their customers.
We agree. If you can prove your case you could take it to the Ombudsman and would probably win - although it is unlikely that they would order O2 to refund you. They would rule that O2 gave wrong advice, but that doesn't change the fact that they are not responsible for refunding you. The law is clear - your dispute is with Red27, not O2. Of course, that is morally wrong. O2 should be made to take responsibility for these charges, but until the law changes, that's how it is!
@cole-stevens wrote:
O2 choose to be associated with RED 27 Mobile LTD, where a simple search on google and you will find a lot of distasteful messages and comments about this company.
O2 have been associated with all manner of these scams. try looking up Lasevia, Ferdamia, SB7 Mobile and Nuyoo on Trustpilot. O2 are not alone - all the major networks, with the possible exception of EE, are involved in and profit from these scams. At least, unlike Three for example, O2 allow you to opt out - you just have to find an O2 employee who knows how to do it!
@cole-stevens wrote:
O2 are the platform for these fees to be taken and they profit from these charges being passed through the platform, How much is O2 earning from these charges?
So O2 have lied (given wrong information) and they now choose to be assoicated with alleged scammers? So why should I continue to trust O2 ? The answer is I don't and I shall be moving my business lines and my personal lines to another company as soon as possible.
O2 take a commission for handling these charges. In the case of companies like Red27 this is usually about 30%. More reputable companies can be charged much less.
If you move network we would recommend EE. They are the only network to have been pro-active in protecting their customers from these scams rather than profiting from them. Having said that, even EE will refuse to refund in circumstances like yours. All the networks apart from Three offer some means of opting out of third party charges. Wherever you move to, make sure that these charges are barred, and get that in writing before agreeing to a contract.
We have been pushing PSA for this charging mechanism to be opt-in rather than opt-out, but consumer apathy has allowed them to avoid implementing this.
