@sc99cs wrote
I have no contract with NexGenMobi, only with Vodafone and it will be interesting to see where the liability for this actually lies.
This is one of the BIG problems with the Payforit system. It is not clear where the responsibility for resolving disputes lies. A parallel is often drawn with disputes over charges to a credit card.
If there was an unexpected charge to your credit card, and it was clear which company had made that charge, you would probably choose to query the charge with the company first. If the matter could be resolved at this stage, hopefully with a credit back to your credit card, the matter would be closed.
If you were unable to make contact with the company, or the company was unwilling to repay money they had taken, you would invoke the disputes mechanism of the credit card company.
This parallel is not a bad one. It is not unreasonable to ask consumers to raise the issue with the company making the charge in the first instance.
However
- These charges are often the result of malicious code on web pages. Consumers rightly or wrongly regard the charges as fraudulent. If a credit card charge was considered fraudulent, you probably wouldn't discuss the charge with the fraudster.
- It is often unclear who has made the charge. Vodafone need to take responsibility for this. Where the information they provide doesn't work (in terms of putting the customer in contact with the charging company), Vodafone need to deal with it.
- If a refund is agreed there seems to be no ability to refund the money to the Vodafone account is was taken from. There is no clear refund mechanism. Vodafone should provide a facility for Payforit refunds to be credited back to the account they were taken from with the same and ease as that with which they were taken.
- When the matter has been discussed with the company making the charge, or it has proved impossible to make meaningful contact with them, Vodafone routinely abrogate their responsibility to resolve the dispute.
If the company which took your money refuses a refund, the legal position is unclear. Where the company taking the money is UK based, I would normally advise using the Small Claims procedure to recover the money. This has been proven to work, and the companies do not seek to pass responsibility to Vodafone. Normally, these cases are settled at the 'letter before action' stage, by a full refund from the company which has taken money without consent.
Unfortunately, these companies are often based overseas. Belize, Cyprus and the UAE are frequent locations. It is unreasonable for Vodafone to expect their customers to take legal action against companies in these jurisdictions, and it is negligent of them to allow these companies to take money from their customers without any check that they have consented to them.
In these cases, the first step would be to invoke the Payforit rules which require Vodafone to adjudicate in these disputes. Although reluctant to do so, there is evidence that more senior staff at Vodafone are aware of these responsibilities. Vodafone has published their procedure (it is in one of my posts earlier in this thread). If they don't follow this procedure, or refuse to use it, you have cause for a formal complaint.
Ultimately I believe that Vodafone could be held responsible in law, if they refuse to follow their own procedures, for losses incurred through fraudulent Payforit transactions. However that has yet to be tested in court. In my view they are unlikely to want to put it to the test!
If you are a victim of fraudulent Payforit subscription charges, the problem is that the scammer already has your money, and Vodafone are unwilling to help you get it back. However, the law is on your side. Taking money without consent is illegal and you are entitled to get your money back. The problem is that YOU have to take action to recover it. Use the procedures that are open to you.
Finally some good news. The Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) has finished its consultation on Subscription Services. I was pleased to see so many consumers responding to the consultation, to the extent that I don't think PSA were able to turn their backs on the problem!
There is a lengthy consultation document, and the responses can also be read on the PSA website.
The recommendations from the consultation include, amongst other things, a requirement for two factor authorisation for ALL subscription services. It looks as though the days of the Payforit scam may be numbered.
Details are on the PSA website. https://psauthority.org.uk/news/news/2019/february/consultation-on-new-special-conditions-for-phone-...
They are now consulting on the proposals to introduce the new "Special Conditions" required to introduce the changes they are proposing. Please do respond to this consultation and support the change to introduce 2FA. It would be a disaster if this failed at the final hurdle!
Paul
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