Unauthorised payment by a well known Mobile phone Network?

Question

Hi,

A certain mobile phone network took money out of my account with out my consent yesterday. When I rang them they said they had no record of it - so I faxed through a statement - it is now being called fraud by my bank. Am I right to fight for compensation? The amount they took was 20 quid - so not a huge amount but surely this is theft?

Yep, I have an account with them. I spoke to the bank - and they have stopped my card for now. THe mobile phone company have said they will refund in a FEW days (which itself is bad) but shall I fight for compensation above and beyond this? is it worth it?

The bank are saying that someone at this mobile phone company is using my card in a fradulent manner.

Answer 1

The mobile phone network will not be to blame as they cannot take money without your permission. There are measures set up to prevent this from happening, for card payments they need someone to say 'yes this is my card, yes you can take x amount of money from it' they also need the card details and security number (not stored on their computer systems).

It will be fraud, it does not happen very often but it sounds as though you have done everything right – they should take the issue up with their fraud department, you would be asked to provide a copy of your bank statement, and if worst come to worst they will check phone calls to check your claims are correct – it will not come to this, when it comes to fraud if you do all you are supposed to and they do all they are supposed to you'll get your money back.

Of course you are right to fight for compensation, if it is fraud it is more than just £20 it is someone using your card without your permission.

Saying you'll get a refund in a FEW days is their way of avoiding telling you the actual time – I use this a lot myself to avoid our customers kicking off because quite frankly the time it takes is a bit lengthy – it should take 14 days to get the money back to you.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Do you have an account with this phone company? If not, Someone probably got a hold of your banking/ credit card information. You're right - first dispute the charge with your bank - if this was mastercard or visa they will charge it back (you get everything back & the dirtbag that used your info will probably need to pay by wire transfer in the future). Every bank has its own policies regarding how to handle potentially fraudulent activity - you absolutely did the correct thing by notifying your bank. You can call the phone provider, but due to privacy concerns, they probably won't give you any information. In that case, ask to speak to a supervisor and request they send an email to their fraud department (they will need your contact information, as well as informaton regarding the account that was used to make payment & the dates of any transactions). If this is a company you do business with - was this a pending transaction, or had it already been deposited? Upon a declined payment, sometimes your bank will tie up funds for up to 10 business days. This means the funds would have a hold on them that would only be released after your bank was sure that noone is going to collect that money.

Answer 4

"It is now being called fraud by my bank".

As in the bank is saying that someone committed fraud in posing as the mobile company and took money out of your account? As in the bank is saying the mobile company committed fraud by taking it? Or as in the bank is saying you are committing fraud by trying to get the money back?

The first two: fight for compensation. The bank will have a record of what account the money went to, so it can be chased down.

The third one: you might need a lawyer. Which would cost more than you're going to make back. So you could be in a pickle with that one.


But yes, provided your bank helps you, fight and get your money back!

Answer 5

i had a the same sorta problem with Vodafone they took 750quid outs my account then claimed they had only taken 75quid so i can kinda understand the mistake they made and it was also a direct debit so they did have pemission to take my bill amount out but i sure wasnt a happy bunny when my mortgage bounced because of it!! i had to send them bank statements etc too at first they said they would keep the money and knock it off my next bill yeah right!! i'd have been bill free for years lol but after kicking off big time they put the money back into my account payed my bank charges gave me 6 months free billing and a brand new top of the range phone

Answer 6

fisrt contact should be your bank,this happened to me a few years ago,the bank should refund you in time ,although they do take ages,keep onto them ,keep your statements as evidence of the transaction,but to use your card someone must know your card details etc, as these days its harder fro fraudsters to use a card without all the relevant info,but if a payment has been taken just get the card stopped by your bank,this will stop it happening again, if the bank dont help ,call in the police, fraud is fraud no matter how large the amount of money taken from you.

Answer 7

I know it's annoying, but in all likelyhood it's probably a genuine mistake on their part (I'm assuming you're a customer of theirs - if not you may need to seriously consider the possibility that you're the victim of some form of ID fraud).

If you're getting your money back from them, it's unlikely to be worth the trouble to try & get any more out of them, and unlikely you'll succeed if you do try.

Answer 8

do you have an account with this network? or did u have one - either way if this is not an authorised direct debit you must complain and get ur money back. ask for some advise from your bank and call them repeatedly or report them to ofcom which is the regulatory body.

Answer 9

I would certainly look into it (perhaps ask Citizen's Advice Bureau), as if they did it once they could do it again, and who else could do it too? Just wondering which bank (DON'T TELL ME) - my ex-husband got accused of stealing £32,000 cos his bank (Barclay's) put in in his account by mistake! (What's more they did it again a few months later and accused him again!!!)

I would freeze the account and open another one if I were you!

Best of luck!

Answer 10

Fight it. Don't let them get away with it. They make enough money already.