4 posts tagged “spreadmobile”
The guy behind this is known as being a bit shifty*. He's sent out a bucket load of unsolicited crap and charged folk on the receiving end for the privilege (including moi). He's been ticked off by the regulator before but keeps coming back, 'cos the regulator doesn't give a damn.
The joker has the cheek to run a site that claims to put a stop to what his other companies do. Crazy that, isn't it? Well let's see what PhonepayPlus have to say about it (yeah, I like wasting time!)
*Did I forget to say he sent me a 'goodwill' check that bounced?
That's not a typo, I meant SPANNER, 'cause that's what they are... tools! Oh, enough of my never ending wit already...
I would love to hear from those of you that have had a run in with PhonepayPlus/ICSTIS maybe even OFCOM or OFTEL, PayPal or PalPlus. Whatever they like to be called on a Tuesday! Crikey, it's Tuesday already!
Of equal interest to me and presumably the majority of the people reading my Fraudwatch posts (remember don't have nightmares, goodnight and good luck) are the perpertrators and enablers, the likes of mBlox and the Tanla's and Spread Media's of this world. Anyone got any stories about these less than savoury folk (oh I hate biting my tongue!)
The world (okay the UK) needs to hear your story, so please get in touch. I know you're reading as lots of people were checking out my latest Fraudwatch posts, from across the country - and they can't all be Andrew Bud (scroll to comments for a treat) or David Shepard.
BTW for those new to my blog, Andrew Bud's company is in cahoots with the scammers and he is also The Regulator - I'll be back... to steal your money!
I've just received a letter from the company that overlooks premium rate phone services in the UK, PhonepayPlus. I say 'company' as that's what they are, they're not a Government regulator - no, they're a non-profit making company made up of the companies they regulate.
Now to the letter I received and why...
The main points in the above are:
- PhonepayPlus received 90 complaints
- Spread Media were found in breach of the Code of Practice
- The company were Fined £20,000
- 'A 6 month bar on premium rate services promoted by reverse billed SMS...'
- Those wishing to get their money back need to handover their full name and address as well as a copy of their phone bill to the fraudsters (contacting them either by premium rate phone number or by snail mail)
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand £20,000 isn't enough but on the other, other companies have gotten away with just £500 fines for similar breaches. The letter is a bit sketchy as regards to the details and how they came up with their conclusion as well as their fine. Instead they leave most of the juicy bits for the website HERE. It looks like Spread Media weren't the only shady company involved in this - I'll be delving deeper into this at a later date.
What exactly will the 6 month 'bar' mean to the company and the guy that runs it? Maybe he just needs to set up another company (he's had lots of practice). Where does it leave this little gem? That's way too funny and will need its own post!
Do PhonepayPlus really think it's a good idea for those of us scammed to hand over our full names, addresses and phone records to a company that clearly can't be trusted? It's bad enough they stole money from us, should we set up friends, family and colleagues for a future scam? And would you want to hand over your details to a man who's just lost £20,000 partly because of you? Yeah, I figured not!
Thinking out loud... there were 90 complainants - how many more were conned and:
- didn't realise it
- thought they'd subbed to the service when drunk
- thought their friends had subbed to the service for a laugh
- thought their kids had subbed to the service (and gave 'em a right rollicking over it)
- had no idea who to complain to
- sent STOP and couldn't be bothered to complain as they didn't have the time to chase it up?
I bit the bullet and text 'STOP ALL'. (Hopefully) stopping the premium rate service that I never asked for. It cost me 10p which is a measly amount but that's not the point - I had to give money to fraudsters in order to not be defrauded out of even more! These were the instructions of the industry regulator!
Now I've come to the real challenge. I want my £1.50 (plus that 10p) refunded. To do this I need to contact the scam artists on a premium rate number. I'm now willing to do this. However, it's just dawned on me that I have to give them my address in order to receive a cheque from them. It's bad enough these thieves have my mobile phone number, I don't want them to have my address too.
Isn't it common sense to not give out your address to criminals? I've learnt over the past week that some of these reverse-charge shortcode scams are connected to organised crime, money launderers and generally unsavoury figures. Yet the phone companies and regulators advise us to contact these people in order to get a refund and to do so we have to give them our addresses!
I still want my money back, even if it is just £1.60 - but it's way too risky giving these guys my address for that amount. I'm going to have to pester 3 (my mobile company) for the money instead. Meanwhile, I'm gonna dig even deeper into Spread Media's dodgy dealings (another reason why I don't want them to have my address!)
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