Premium rate scam

[aq66]

Hi 

I have been targeted by a premium rate scam where I am being charged £4.50 per week for I don't know what. the reference is "MyConte02037403517" - has anyone else had this?  I have called the number on my bill and it is just a messaging service which says I will be called back in 48 hours. I am still being charged. Vodafone have blocked my number from receiving anything from other premium rate companies however they cannot cancel the charges. I am not receiving any text messages etc so I cannot reply saying "STOP ALL" as you can with others.

Has anyone else had this and successfully stopped it without having to get a new number?!

Thanks

[HJS16]

Alex

I  do not think you quite get it, people are ending up with these charges and have no idea how and when they are meant to have subscribed., one case mentioned above the person did not even have internet on the phone.

The systems in place are totally inadequate by vodafone (and other mobile networks) 

1 Why are these bars no automatically in place on new contracts?

 2  Why does the system not make you need to enter a password, pin etc to ensure that you actively have subscribed rather than accidentally

3 you mention vodafone can not cancel active sunscriptions , are you sure about that?

4 Wht would anyone want to subscribe and pay £4.50 for game subscription.  These companies are operating for the sole purpose of scamming people, £4.50 ther, £9.00 there £18.00 somewhere else all adds up

5 The controls to prevent this are poor, the systems in place are poor 

[sc99cs]

My wife has just been hit by this scam and received the same standard letter joannem1189 received. Again no evidence in the browser history to confirm the provider's assertion.

Even if legitimate why did Vodafone not confirm with me, as the bill holder, that I wished the payment to proceed? Also if the provider is legitimate why did they not send a confirmation text to my wife's number to confirm that a third party wasn't signing up someone else's number?

We have asked the provider to provide some concrete proof that my wife has signed up to this service such as IP address, IMEI number, device type used - something to confirm it was her. She was at work at the time and it seems unlikely she would have time to sign-up to a service unless very well hidden in pop-ups etc.  I've even asked what content we have subscribed to and how we access it because I don't think the provider is supplying what it is charging for. There are no text messages or emails from the company explaining how to obtain their content which is suspicious. Either a third party has signed up, the sign-up is well hidden within another service or the provider is harvesting random numbers.

Despite Vodafone's claim that the contract is ultimately between myself and the provider I still feel that they are responsible for facillitating this and as mentioned earlier these should be opt-in services. Both my plans are now out of contract and unless Vodafone take this seriously I will be closing my account after over eighteen years (has it been that long!).

[HJS16]

This issue is bigger than Vodafone, the whole telecommunications industry is guilty of complicity. Someone in authority needs to sort this out. Fraud is endemic here yet is being ignored. 

[joannem1189]

Hi sc99cs,

Did the provider ever get back to you with answers?

So far I have just left it, but these people shouldn't be getting away with this so I am seriously thinking about taking it further. 

[HJS16]

It is a disgrace , needs to be better controls, too many people are either being scammed fraudulently or accidentally signing up to unsolicited requests for subscriptions. The telecoms industry needs to address what is theft.

[sc99cs]

No, I still haven't heard from the providers although I have reported them to their trade body.

I have spoken to Vodafone and got told in no uncertain terms that Vodafone do not consider this fraud. So even though my wife has not signed up, and has not agreed to the subscription, and therefore has no contract with the provider it is not Vodafone's issue... Another person I spoke to at Vodafone explained that the problem is that the thieves, for want of a better word,  don't set up a regular payment with Vodafone. They just submit a weekly claim for it so Vodafone cannot tell that it has been set up as a recurring subscription. The only thing you can do is to get Vodafone to bar all payments being made via your mobile. I got the impression that some staff at Vodafone are getting a bit fed up with this.

For the record Vodafone claim that my wife was signed up via an interaction with an ad in the Facebook app. Her Facebook history does not show anything like this as it lists all the adverts you interact with etc so either the Facebook app is leaking user's numbers where it shouldn't or the company involved are acting illegally in some way. However Vodafone should still contact the account owner to confirm that you want  payments to come out. They use two factor authentication to log into the account so why not when money is being demanded from it?

[Krisztina]

I got the same problem.... 

But s searching between my message as I found a message :

FreeMsg: Thank you for subscribing to MyContent for £4.50 per week from Nexgen Ltd until you text STOP to 64055. HELP? 02037403517

And i didn't subscribe my self nowhere... I whant to send the message whit STOP but i gonna need to pay for it.... 

It's very unfaire.... 

[hrym]

If you receive a message like this, always check your account to make sure you've actually been charged.  Some are purely spam and designed to get you to reply asking them to stop.  Doing so just confirms that your number is live and you'll get even more spam.

If you have been charged, you can apply a Premium Rate Bar to your account but this will, as mentioned above, affect things like making charitable donations and paying for parking.   You may be able to mitigate this by applying the bar to incoming messages only.

As regards refunds, the regulator may be able to help.

[HJS16]

I am having the same problem, an absolute disgrace this is allowed. I have blocked premium rate subs but could have sworn I already had. Vodafone should ensure this is blocked by default and you have to take the bar off. Vodafone are washing their hands of my problem and saying I need to contact the company to unsubscribe, how does that work how much does it cost. Vodafone is thieves in this matter. 

[flagpole]

Vodafone need to get a grip on this. Happened to my mum. She's 75. Doesn't have a smart phone. I believe, if Vodafone are effectively providing credit, which they are, since you are basically buying something and paying for it at a later date, they should be governed by the consumer credit act.

That'd sort them.