Woman in dispute with mobile phone company over £117 ‘scam’ call to USA
Public warned after EE refuses to issue refund
A woman is warning people about a possible new scam after being billed for a bogus phone call that she never made.
Agata Wasilewska was shocked to see that she had been charged £147.05 for her phone bill in February.
She usually only pays £29.75 for her phone, but saw an additional £117.30 had been taken from her account to pay for a call to an American number, which she says she never made.
After looking up the number she found it was linked to a fire brigade in Colorado.
Agata, who is originally from Poland but now lives in Scotland, contacted EE about the call, and they offered a 50% refund of the call charge to resolve this, but Agata rejected this and wants the full amount back and has been locked in a dispute with EE since. She said: “They are trying to tell me that I made a phone call to the US on a Friday morning, around the time I drop my son off at school, but I didn’t make the call.
“I contacted customer services and was accused right away that I had made the call, even though I told them that I didn’t.
“They are still trying to tell me this hasn’t been a scam, and that I haven’t been scammed, and the code charge is correct and being made via my sim card. When I looked into it, I found that there were many more people affected by this who contacted EE and were made to believe they made those calls and never did.
“It’s definitely not just me, and they are making me believe that they are not trying to find the reason. They should protect me from scams like that.”
“I am a person who lives from one month to another. I do not have any savings and a big company like EE should protect customers from hackers and scams.”
On the EE website forum, several other customers have reported being charged for calls to US numbers that they never made.
One person reported being charged £54 for 10-12 latenight calls, each lasting seconds, but said they did not make them .
The person noticed charges as the bill came out of their bank overnight and contacted EE, concerned their phone had been hacked.
They were told that EE could see the calls. The company said the customer had made them, and only refunded 50% of the costs.
Others on the website say they have escalated their complaints to Ofcom as the company would not refund them, with another stating that they had contacted the ombudsman about the issue.
Citizens Advice Scotland said that they urge people who feel they have been scammed to get in touch for advice.
They said: “If people feel they have been scammed by an energy company or anyone else we would certainly encourage them to get in touch with their local Citizens Advice Bureau. Our advice is free, confidential and impartial.”
Agata has also escalated her complaint to Ofcom which stated that mobile companies have rules for charging customers and if they are unhappy they can take it to the ombudsman.
It said: “Our rules require mobile companies to charge customers only for calls or services that have been provided. They must also have processes in place to investigate and deal with any incorrect charges. If you’re concerned this hasn’t happened, raise a complaint with your provider. If you’re unhappy with how they handle it, you can take it to an ombudsman for an independent ruling.”
The Communications Ombudsman said: “While we occasionally see cases regarding disputed call charges, this specific issue hasn’t been flagged to us or in our review of the provider’s data and cases.
“If consumers are unhappy with the service they have received, we always suggest that they should raise this with their communications provider in the first instance, who’ll aim to find a resolution.
“If they’re unable to reach a satisfactory solution, and the dispute is open for longer than eight weeks, then they should contact us.”
An EE spokesperson said: “We have thoroughly investigated Agata’s complaint about an international call charge on her bill and determined there is no evidence of an error.
“As a goodwill gesture we offered to remove half of the call charges, and this was declined. It is unfortunate that we have been unable to resolve Agata’s complaint and have explained how she can take her complaint further if she decides to.”