There is sadly a huge pickpocketing and robbery problem in Barcelona, and once a mobile is stolen the thief calls a premium rate number quickly generating a bill of £15,000+ for the person who had their phone stolen
I have lived in Barcelona on and off for the last year and have fallen victim to it last year as have many people I have heard about.
On December 31st my phone was stolen in Barcelona (for the 2nd time since I moved there). I cancelled the mobile as soon as I was able to a couple of hours after the theft.
When I cancelled my mobile I informed Vodafone that I was worried my mobile would have been used to call a premium rate number. I asked to urgently speak to the IT department or a Senior Manager in Vodafone so that necessary provisions could be made so as not to be given a huge bill. The advice given to me by the varius Vodafone staff I spoke to was awful, they told me I need to wait 72 hours to see if my mobile had been used and they refused to put me through to the IT department or a Senior Manager to discuss my premium rate scam concerns.
Today I called Vodafone again and I have been informed that the thieves made a 2.5 hour call on my phone. I am hoping this call was not made to a premium rate number, but the Vodafone staff were unhelpful. They told me they can not see the number the call was made to, and they can not tell me the cost of the call, and they have said I need to wait until my bill arrives before I can see the call details! They also refused to put me through to the IT department and said no Senior Manager was available to speak to me!
As I have been unable to find anyone senior or knowledgable on this sort of problem to speak to in Vodafone I hae called some other mobile phone companies. They have told me that if a phone company responds quickly to a suspected premium rate scam then they can block the premium rate call from being charged, i.e. Vodafone could not give the premium rate call operator the money for the call. Sadly as it is impossible to speak to anyone Senior or in Vodafone's IT department I am unable to request this type of action from them. How I now wish I was using a different phone company!
Please can someone in Vodafone take note of this international premium rate scam that happens in Barcelona and many foreign cities! It's about time you woke up to this problem and provided better help to your customers.
If you google "premium rate mobile scam Barcelona" you will find stories of many Vodafone customers who have had £15,000+ bills from this scam. Sadly it seems it is impossible for Vodafone customers to do anything to prevent it because it is never possible to speak to a Senior person in Vodafone. You will notice all the other phone companies dont have this problem with their customers because they can prevent it before the bill is issued!
Please can someone in Vodafone take note of this serious problem and give me an urgent call!
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