Bruce Stanwyck, a new customer of mobile phone supplier O2 is having a pretty bad experience right now. Yet somehow, he just found out that he owes £1,072 for a device he never even got. An infuriating charge appeared after a months-long back and forth with O2. Initially, those missives appeared to offer him a sweeter deal on his mobile agreement.
During one of these discussions, O2 informed Stanwyck that a new and unique opportunity was opening up. If he changed to a new contract, his monthly cost for his phone plan would go down from £19 to £12. So within two days of application, O2 was able to send out a £1,000 iPhone 16 Pro Max. Further, just three days after contacting support, they got sent a prepaid returns bag. Stanwyck started to worry when he didn’t receive a receipt for his returned device.
During the months as this situation played out, O2’s customer service reps kept confirming to him that, yes, they’d received the handset. Lo and behold, just a few days later, Stanwyck was stunned to get a note saying they wanted him to pay for the device! He expressed his frustration, stating, “Now I am classed as a thief and owe money I don’t have for a phone that I never wanted and have not got.”
O2 has in recent months doubled down on fighting scams that target its customers. The agency has posted extensive scam alert warnings on its website. To further protect Americans, it has taken steps to stop up to one million illegal scam calls per day. Marina Gibbs is policy director for networks and communications at the UK’s media regulator, Ofcom. She testified recently on the increasing scourge of fraudulent calling that targets consumers.
“Customers endure a barrage of scam calls, and when people get caught out, the consequences can be devastating. The work we’ve collectively already done has led to 1m calls a day being blocked, but we’re always looking for new ways to shore up our defences in the fight against fraud.” – Marina Gibbs
As evidenced by Stanwyck’s experience, even with these measures in place, there are still holes in our system. Indeed, at first he hadn’t even realized the receipt was missing. In hindsight, this oversight made him more anxious about what was going on than he should’ve been. He confessed, “I didn’t know that I hadn’t got a receipt in the beginning. That was a scary mind trip after the fact.”
An O2 spokesperson addressed the situation, stating, “We always aim to take swift action whenever fraud is reported to us, and we apologise that in this case it took longer than it should have done.” The firm has issued prepaid envelope for phone returns and set up returns centres so that customer phone returns can be efficiently managed.
O2 is currently working to improve security and heighten awareness of scams. Cases such as Stanwyck’s are a good reminder of the struggles consumers face when having to deal with navigating a fraudulent scheme. The telecom provider remains committed to protecting its users while addressing concerns regarding customer service delays.