BT Cellnet (and now O2) are taking money from the accounts of thousands of innocent people without their authority
Logotypes of O2 / Telecom Securicor Cellular Radio Limited used here for the purposes of illustration and fair comment only
|
Steve Pardoe's O2 / BT Cellnet Fraud Index Page BT Cellnet (and now O2) are taking money from the accounts of thousands of innocent people without their authority Logotypes of O2 / Telecom Securicor Cellular Radio Limited used here for the purposes of illustration and fair comment only |
O2 |
|
Update 5. November 2009 - O2 are described by Barclaycard as a "fraudulent retailer"!
Disappointingly, and despite the massive adverse publicity which we've generated for them and their shabby predecessors BT Cellnet, it seems that O2 are doing little to discourage fraudulent top-ups of their pre-pay mobile phones.
More e-mails from victims in the last few months suggest that this unnecessary and cynical fraud is happening again. In the latest, our correspondent CH writes :-
"Thanks for the story and the links. On finding an 02 transaction today I called Barclaycard. They immediately cancelled [my] card to avoid further losses, telling me that O2 is known to them as a "fraudulent retailer". I'm now to expect a new card and some forms to sign to apply for a refund. Barclaycard say they will investigate once the forms are returned.
We were surprised that Barclaycard would be so explicit in their condemnation of O2, so we asked our correspondent to confirm this, which he did...
"The exact term used by Barclaycard on the phone was "fraudulent retailer". I'm sure this will be on Barclaycard's recording of my conversation with them. I can't exactly remember whether Barclaycard said O2 was marked in their records as a "fraudulent retailer" or said O2 was known to them as a "fraudulent retailer", but the term "fraudulent retailer" has stuck in my mind because it was a shock to me that Barclaycard are happy to continue giving them credit. Presumably, the profit from doing so still exceeds the cost (to Barclaycard)".
Sadly, this is the commercial arithmetic which allows O2 / Cellnet to get away with it - no card issuer can afford to forego these lucrative transactions. We should point out that Cellnet always used to deny that they were committing the fraud, blaming their dishonest customers, but it is O2 / Cellnet who actually take the money from their fraud victims such as our correspondent - the phone user just takes airtime from O2 (which costs O2 hardly anything). APACS themselves described Cellnet's procedures "an invitation to fraud", so the term is nothing new. To add insult to injury, Cellnet always refused to divulge the identity or location of the handset topped up, even to the Police, claiming "data protection", so the cynical scam continues with impunity.
Another correspondent mentions that forums such as MoneySavingExpert.com have lots of new traffic about the scam. Try searching on "O2 prepay fraud" for more examples, or read what bad publicity BT Cellnet suffered at the height of our campaign here.
Have O2 really no clue, or conscience, about card security?
Here's a case reported in The Sunday Times Online. The victim said, "I couldn’t believe it when Tesco Visa told me O2 would not be investigating the matter further.” I can well believe it : it suits O2's business model to protect their dishonest customer, just as it did when they called themselves Cellnet. It's a disgrace, and I'm utterly disgusted that O2 are still cynically profiting from it.
[1] Apparently I'm not allowed to say "stolen", since Cellnet used to insist that they had no "intention permanently to deprive", even though they refused point blank to reimburse the money they took from me! Instead, they threatened me with legal action if I used the word "steal" (their big-hitting lawyers, Lovell White Durrant, and PR company Fishburn Hedges, downloaded copies of the material on our website). Nice.
The Daily Telegraph (whose lawyers are more powerful than mine) were happy enough to call Cellnet's top-up scam "Steal-as-you-go phones" when they publicised this website.
Background
BT Cellnet (now trading as O2) deliberately allowed anyone to use anyone else's debit or credit card numbers to top up a pre-pay phone, with complete impunity. Cellnet simply took the money from thousands of victims' bank or credit card accounts, (including mine, no fewer than three times), without proper authorisation, and with absolutely no identity check. They fell back on a specious argument that their authorisation procedures had been agreed by the banks. This was disingenuous, because the authorisation they were referring to was that between Cellnet and their Merchant Acquirer, and purely there to protect Cellnet against cards which are over their credit limit or on a hot list. Cellnet relied on this confusion over authorisation, and a public perception that credit card fraud is an inevitable fact of life, to fob off their victims ; and, even more reprehensibly, to fob off the media. This was typical of a very messy and cynical PR exercise which BT and their associates ran to try to discredit my campaign.
BT Cellnet refused point blank to compensate their victims for their loss and inconvenience, and when the victims complained they were treated abominably, and even threatened with legal action (we have copies of letters and e-mails showing this). Cellnet's serial fraud against me and my company prompted this Internet campaign, to assist other victims and draw media attention to Cellnet's disgraceful behaviour. They refused to cooperate with victims, or the Police, in tracing the fraudulent phone user, leaving people exposed to repeated theft. Cellnet preferred instead to protect their dishonest customer.
You can still click on these links to read a précis of the
appalling story, and visit our
media page. The other material, inlcuding dozens of e-mails and letters, remains available on request.
And what about O2? Oh dear. The "oxygen of publicity" backfired on BT Cellnet. In French, O2 is pronounced "Odeur"!
address to :
Website ©
Steve & Judy Pardoe
Cheshire, England
[Site directory & e-mail]
[Home page]