Scam Services - unknown subscription

[Ak47]

O2 has just dropped from 100 rating to 5 in my opinion.

I have been subscribed to some unknown service which charges me £5 every week.

Called in to 02, was told it's not their fault and I have to chase my money back from the company myself.

Because I don't I have a choice, I had to chase this phantom company up and they eventually agreed to pay me back what I was charged on my bill. I had to provide them with my personal bank details which I was unhappy about - giving my banking details to a 3rd party company who accessed / phished my details via 02 service and 02 is apparently aware of this and still allow it to happen.
This is a breach of my security which I feel totally handicapped and frustrated that I have to go with it.

Nothing o2 can say to make me believe they are not complicit in this.

Then this month again I have been charged again because As your fantastic help desk personnel has said it's not your fault. Reason being the stoppage was done before this currents month new bill was produced.

so since the extra charges were not on my previous bill, the extra charges on this months bill was not available. So therefore, I have to go through the process of chasing another refund for the second consecutive month by myself.

This is extremely frustrating.

Then I have also been charged late payment fees which will be put on my credit file.

O2 and collaborators I am deeply disappointed in you. You have lost a fan

[Glory1]

Hi @Ak47
Either in a game or on a social media site you inadvertently clicked on a link subscribing you to a service you do not and have never wanted to subscribe to. Unfortunately, because O2 have no way of knowing who does and who doesn't wish to subscribe to these services, they cannot automatically cancel these charges. They are, therefore, correct in their response it's not their fault.

We see many complaints such as yours on the forum. And our advice is always the same be very careful on what links you click on in games and social media. If in any doubt, avoid them.

You can ask O2 to put a block on premium charges to your account so this doesn't happen in the future.

You also mention being charged late payment fees. Don't you pay by Direct Debit? This is the best way to ensure your payments are always on time.

I am sorry you have had to go through this unfortunate experience. I hope I have provided an explanation as to why this has happened to you. And welcome to the forum.

[jonsie]

Unfortunately it's the responsibility of customers to claim the refund from these disgraceful companies who choose the method as to how to reimburse you. It is then up to you as to whether you give them your account details. I too would be wary and I would be asking my bank to change account number once the money had been refunded. 

These disgusting people unwittingly subscribe you via opening a link, usually on social media sites. Some help on avoiding these scams and how to report and complain to the regulatory body here ::

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

As for O2 being complicit, that isn't actually true and you do need to be careful about making such claims in writing on O2's community site. O2 don't block these charges at source (we all believe they should block them) as some people do actually want to subscribe to such services.

You can instruct customer service to put a bar on all Direct to Bill Debits to stop any future companies automatically subscribing you to these ridiculous and useless services which in my opinion should  not be necessary. You should have to opt in, not opt out, by default or there should be a two step authorisation to subscribe.  This would close these companies down and only the genuine ones would be in business. 

Of course none of the ñètworks do this by default as it's a source of revenue, albeit a percentage, so if it's of some slight consolation, you would have had these charges whichever provider you were with.

These are the bars that O2 can put on your account ::

• Bar all Direct to Bill Debits (caution with this though as it will block all future ones that you might want to have, not just one)
• Premium Bar (calls to premium numbers, 090, 070 etc.)
• International Bar (bars calling out from UK)
• Adult Bar (stops 18+ services access for web)
• Bar all inbound calls when roaming outside UK
• Bar all outgoing international calls (blocks calls from UK to overseas)
• Bothway bar (blocks calls in and out)
• Chat bar (blocks over 18 chat services)
• Class 9 bar (block when arrears)
• GPRS bar (blocks data)
• IMEI Bar (phone's serial number blocked and blacklisted)
• Incoming call bar (calls inbound are blocked)
• Outgoing call bar (calls outbound are blocked)
• Roaming bar (Can't use phone outside UK)

 To address the late fee issue, presumably that is because you either made a late payment or the bill wasn't paid due to unexpected charges and I'm not altogether sure how this is connected to your main issue.

If you want to complain then email the review service and Resolver who seem to be much quicker to respond than O2. Both contact email addresses here ::

https://www.o2.co.uk/how-to-complain

[alexewart]

Yes I'm having exactly the same problem. I feel absolutely helpless and O2 are effectively facilitating theft. I just cant beleive you can sign up to a subscription or any other chargable service without conciously providing your bank details. Surely the government watchdogs should be acting on this.

[alexewart]

Its literally imposssible not to click on links if you use the internet. Some of these links activate when you try and close and add or pop up down. It really is totally unfair to try and put the ownus on the consumer with these scams. The answer is the mobile operators need to stop it and introduce processes which require you to consiously and deliberately sign up to something. e.g. a secondary text or email activation message that advises you that you are signing up to something and that if you dont respond it doesnt get set up. This only happens with mobile phone operators. This doesnt happen with my internet provider. 

[Cleoriff]

@alexewart

Totally agree. Other networks have a 2 step verification process. We have asked for this for ages and not sure O2 aren't listening. Easy enough to apply I would have thought..

[Expanse]

I have the same problem. I have been just charged £397.77 for some uknown subscription. I never subscribe to ANY subscriptions. I don't understand how so high price (almost £400) is not suspicious to O2. I have no idea what to do now. Please can you help?

[MI5]

@Expanse all help here https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/How-to-Guides/Have-you-fallen-for-or-been-conned-into-a-premium-rate-s... and here https://payforitsucks.co.uk/ 

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

[Glory1]

Hi @Expanse

You should also ask Customer Services to place the following bars on you account:

Direct to bill debits

Premium rate charges

to avoid future similar charges.

Good luck and welcome to the forum 

[jonsie]

Is this a one-off charge or a cumulative of charges?