If a premium rate number operator like Zamano which manages the number 57030, take credit from your phone without your permission, you can get it back! You will need to text STOP to unsubscribe from the service, you will then need to contact your mobile phone operator, you should also contact the operator, and finally I would suggest contacting the very helpful Comreg. For further information regarding premium rate services, please check out the Comreg website www.phonesmart.ie .
On the 12th April 2011, I was walking briskly to my 10 AM appointment. My phone was in my pocket. I got an unsolicited text message from a premium rate number. I don’t know what button I pressed next. I just wanted to get rid of the message from the screen. Later that evening I checked my phone credit and thought it was a bit low. I went online to check it out and learned that 57030 charged me €5.95.
Â
I texted STOP to 57030.
Â
I then googled 57030 and found PhoneSmart.ie which allows you to put in the number and find out who is the Operator. In this case it was Zamano. A helpline and email address was listed.
I emailed my mobile phone operator letting them know what happened and that I wanted my money back as a matter of principle. A few days later when I had not received a response I rang them. I pretended to be extremely irate. The customer service person was obviously sympathetic to my case. She advised me to text STOP to the premium rate operator. However, when I suggested that the premium rate operator was offside and should not be sending unsolicited texts, she was very supportive of them pointing out that they were a legitimate operator. I could sense the vested interest! She advised me to contact the operator directly. She did warn me that their helpline was extremely expensive to ring.
After that call, I emailed Comreg to tell them my story and ask them for any assistance that they could provide. (I got a very helpful email back the following day). I sent a short email to the premium rate operator letting them know that money was taken without my consent and that I required a refund. I sent it to them a few times. I also told them that I had contacted my mobile phone operator and Comreg. I got a standard response from their customer services on the 17th of April with a reference number.
A week or two later I got a call from the premium rate operator asking me for my address. Someone else from the premium rate operator rang me again the following day to ask me for my name and address. A week or so later I got a cheque in the post for €5.00. I have since lodged the cheque and topped up my credit again. So if money is taken from your phone without your express permission by a premium rate provider, you can get it back.
I hope this post is of benefit to someone in the future. All comments welcome…
Donncha Hughes (@donnchadhh)
If you have an interest in this issue please check out this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/textstopÂ
Update One – September 2015
Donncha,
Your post “How to reclaim your money from 57030?” has proved a godsend as I am going through the same issue with the shower of *****. As it was easily found online, and very useful, may I ask you to add 2 notes to it?
1) On sending my email, I got an immediate autoreply stating I hadn’t included the premium number or my own mobile number in my initial email. (I had included both details.) But this seems another delay tactic. And you can’t reply to the autoresponse, so need to loop back to your original email, highlight the details and resend. (A nasty little way to increase the “fail and quit” rate of complaints, I assume.)
2) I cc’d my initial email to cs@zamano.com to ComReg, to create a paper trail. and ComReg contacted me advising that I resend the email, requesting, “on ComReg advice” the log files of how my number ended up on Zamano’s system.
Both pieces of info might make people’s complaint journey a little shorter. And rather than putting it someplace else, it makes sense for it to go with the initial information.
Thanks for posting the info online. It really helped when I was frothing at the mouth.
Happy Friday,
Charlotte Breen
A Note to Blog – September 2015
I wrote the article above in 2011. The post is on my business blog but has nothing to do with my business. It is one of the most popular posts judging by the volume of comments. I presume that they are all real.
But the post has come at a cost. At least once a month I get a phonecall from someone extremely irate who rings asking who I am and what I know about the money that was taken from their mobile phone. On a few occasions I had people ringing demanding that I give them their money back. You might think this is funny and if I was not self-employed it would be somewhat. Every time I get a call from an unrecognised number, there is a chance it is such a call.
Unlike my earlier story which has a happy ending, this saga is ongoing and unlikely to be resolved to my satisfaction.Here are some of the detail in chronological order:
1. It started with fairly innocent calls from people who said that their operator had given them my mobile number on basis that I would help them get back their money. Most of these I chatted to but explained that I could not help and that they should read my blogpost – most of the detail of this post I have actually forgotten because so long ago.
2. Then in August 2014 when I was on holidays out of the country. I got an irrate text message from a Meteor customer who said that Meteor told them that I was responsible for taking money from their credit. I responded on my return to explain my situation and to categorically state that I was not responsible. Thankfully the person believed me and kindly obliged me by sending me an email to confirm that Meteor had indeed told them to contact me to secure a refund. I wanted written testimony.
– When I contacted Meteor, initially I was told that they could not talk to me about my complaint because I was not a customer!
– I contacted Comreg and they said that they could not do anything. They told me to contact the Data Protection Commissioner.
– When I contacted the Data Protection Commissioner, I was told that the operator was only giving out information which was publicly available on my website. I was advised to take the number down from my website.
– I went back to Comreg but again no joy and wrote to Meteor and never heard from them. The only good outcome is that I have never heard from a Meteor Customer again.
3. I do still regularly get calls from Vodafone customers. They are usually very annoyed and tell me that Vodafone have referred them to me. I am very careful to ask people what exactly Vodafone have said, and in fairness, they say that Vodafone just say to contact me and that I will be able to help them.Vodafone have never inferred to anyone that I am responsible for taking the money – I think they just want the person off the phone!
– The first time I contacted Vodafone, I sent an email forwarding a copy of the email from their customer outlining the issue. I purposefully did not give them the name of the customer in that email. Their response was that they investigated and that it never happened. When I went back and asked how did they know it never happened and what exactly did they investigate, the complaint was escalated. The next response was that they could not investigate as it was against Data Protection rights of their customer. This is despite the fact that I have an email from their customer allowing me to pass on their name, email and phone number.
– This has happened a few times. I generally request an email from the person who rings. We usually chat for a while, I explain why I need the email and they willingly give it to me. But a lot of people say that they don’t want to get involved, haven’t the time, and only want to get their own money back. When I get an email from the person I duly send it to the operator. One memorable response from Vodafone was an email from someone in Legal saying that Vodafone wouldn’t give out such details as staff as trained not to, so it didn’t happen. This is without any investigation and despite my proof that it did. I have been asked do I know the people who have emailed me and how can I show their ‘bona fides’. This has me stumped – these are people who ring me out of the blue (as if they have nothing better to be doing!). They are after all Vodafone customers so I can only presume that they have ‘bona fides’.
Sorry for the big long spiel. I decided some time ago despite all the above, not to take down the original post – life would be simpler if I did. Why? Because of the comments. It is my own little protest against what I deem a complete SCAM. One which no one in officialdom really cares about – at least not enough to tackle. I suspect that the operators gain revenue from the premium operators so there is a financial incentive not to curb them. BTW, did I tell you I contacted the Department of Communications. I spoke to a lovely man who rang me and assured that what happened could not have happened. He said he would talk to the Regulator and Comreg. I never caught his name as I was in a shop with the kids when I took the call, and he said he would email me immediately. I never heard from him again. The other reason not to take it down is that the calls are a minor inconvenience. Actually I got legal advice on the issue and the consensus is that the operators have no case to answer as there was no damage done to me. Fair point but that doesn’t mean it is fair and should be allowed to continue.
You have probably lost interest by now but if not, here are my requests:
a. Please don’t ring me even if Vodafone or Meteor tell you to – a premium rate number like Zamano would not have a mobile number that anyone can ring! And please understand that I definitely did not take your money.
b. But please follow the instructions and don’t let them keep your money. I wholeheartedly recommend the Phonesmart website. And the comments attached to this post are worth reading too as some are more up to date and more comprehensive.
c. If you work for an operator, I would strongly suggest that you write a post about Zamano and 53070 and knock me of the top of the SEO list for this topic. It would be a service to your customers – that is if you care about those!
If you have an interest in this issue please check out this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/textstopÂ
Finally, to end on a funny note. I got a call from my sister one day about 57030. She had money taken, had rang the operator and got a very confusing response. So she googled it and was surprised when she found my post. I don’t think she even knew that I had a blog. It was funny because she had not read it, and wanted to know what I do, and all I could do was say:
READ THE POST!
She did and got her money back! And so can you. Best of luck!
Hi Donncha,
your story above has been very helpful as I have recently been charged for texts I did not make. Would you by chance still have the email address for Zamano that you used to submit your complaint?
I’ve sent an e-mail via their web site but fear they will not reply.
The web page requested my phone number – laughable really – I put in all zeroes but a valid e-mail address.
I’ve also been in touch with ComReg. I don’t see why my time is being wasted on this and can’t understand how my service provided, Meteor, cannot, as I’ve requested, block premium rate numbers on my phone. As you’ve said I smell vested interested.
Regards,
Sean.
Sean
Unfortunately, I don’t have the definite email address with which I contacted Zamano. I would have sent it from my o2 email account and they have since shut down that service so i have no record of it. I presume it was cs@zamano.com which is the email listed on the Regulator website. I presume that cs stands for Customer Service!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope that you get your issue resolved. Thankfully I have not fallen foul of any more scams but only this week i got a funny text that was letting me know that i won a prize. And two weeks the Dunnes Stores brand was used in a scam on Facebook. The Regulator, the Gardai and the Government need to stop this illegal activity.
Sorry that I can not be of more help.
regards
donnchadh
An update on the current situation (13:41 October 16th 2012). I have contacted ComReg about this company Zamano.
If you are receiving unsolicited SMS messages from Zamano (57030) please take the following steps: –
1. Text STOP (all capitol) to 57030.
2. You should receive a reply with the subject – Free Msg – stating ‘You are not subscribed to any services’.
3. Contact Zamano on 076 6801002 (ComReg advise that this is not a premium rate number and that you should only be changed local tariff) and request a refund.
4. They should agree to issue this and take your name and address.
5. They will tell you that the cheque will arrive to you within 5 working days, although ComReg advise that this can take up to 28 days.
6. If you require it you are entitled to a full explanation of how they got your number in the first place and you can either request this on the phone to them or by email to cs@zamano.com – this explanation should be provided with 10 days.
7. Contact ComReg on 01 804 9668 or 1890 229668 (local rates), or email them: consumerline@comreg.ie or SMS them – Send a text with the word COMREG to 51500 (standard SMS rates apply).
8. ComReg will issue you with a case number (usually 6 digits). Keep this number safe to use if you need to contact ComReg again about this or if your refund does not arrive within 28 days or if they have not supplied you with details of how they got your number within 10 days.
9. If everyone who is being effected by companies such as Zamano were to contact Mr Pat Rabbitte, Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, and explain our frustration and anger at companies such as Zamano we count get them banned in this country. Contact details for Mr Rabbitte are as follows:
Head office: 29 – 31 Adelaide Road, Dublin 2
Tel: +353-1-678 2000, LoCall: 1890-44-99-00 (Note that the rates charged for the use of the 1890 number may vary among different service providers).
Customer Service Helpdesk:
Tel +353-1-678 2070; LoCall: 1890-44-99-00 Extn 2070 (Note that the rates charged for the use of the 1890 number may vary among different service providers).
E-mail: customer.Service@dcenr.gov.ie
Paul
I am amazed with the reaction to my original blog post – huge interest in my post. I think that your comment is a super update.
regards
donnchadh
Hi,
Thanks for your blog and the excellent information above. My daughter got caught for the second time by this scam. I have contacted Meteor and they were of little use. I have emailed zamano using your advice above. I will let you know how I get on
Thanks
Brendan
Brendan
My sister got caught on her bill pay phone and only noticed yesterday. These guys are operating a complete scam for years without any sanction. The minister needs to step in to stop this. Hope your daughter gets her money back.
Regards
Donncha
Hi Donncha,
Received an email today looking for my daughters name & address so they can send a cheque allegedly within 5 days. I will keep you updated.
Thanks again
Brendan
Hi Donncha,
Just to let you know I received a cheque on behalf of my daughter for the full amount from Zamona today. Thanks for you advice in this matter.
Regards
Brendan Martin
That is great Martin. Hopefully enough people will request refunds such that this type of malicious activity stops.
regards
donncha
I had a similar problem, I was charged over €12 for 6 text messages supposedly received in a 2 second period. 3 text messages in one second and 3 text messages in the following second as in 16.44.22 & 16.44.23…..is it even possible to receive more than one text message in a second. However I rang emobile…not very helpful…I told them that it was in their interest to show some initiative for their customers as the charge came through their bill! I rang comreg and they sent the STOP message for me and gave me the contact details for Zamano and told me what to ask for, I rang Zamano, explained & asked for written proof & a refund, but as yet have not received anything so I’ve just sent an email.
Zamano have been fined thousands ….(In March 2012, Zamano was fined a further £50,000 by PhonePayPlus for breaching its terms and conditions in relation to unsolicited reverse-charge premium rate SMS messages.) and more before this time also. They must be making a fortune, imagine all the people with top up credit that don’t even realise that they are been charged!
Hopefully I will get a refund, but I’m certainly not letting it go, its clearly theft, as if they put their hands into my wallet and helped themselves!
Emma
Emma
Nice to hear from you again. I am amazed at how many people i have met who this has happened to. It is an epidemic at this stage. I found this blogpost therapeutic when i wrote and i can feel the emotion in your comment so hope it helped you to vent. I did not know about the PhonePayPlus fine.
Don’t let this go until you get it resolved.
regards
donncha
Having the same problem with Vodafone Irl.But the number is 57495,
They refused to do anything about it.The texts even continued after I emailed Vodafone.Thanks for your help.At least I know all providers seem to be the same.
My brother has got scammed on this today, A call was made to Meteor who passed on the number of Zamano. When they were contacted it was clear that everything they were saying was a lie.They could prove no such information as to when, time, that this ”subscription” was subscribed to. When asked about what address they were at they said Dublin, funny enough even though their region number was for the West of Ireland. When questioned further about this they mentioned 2 different addresses for Dublin, which was quite unusual and was clear yet again it was a lie. The phone operator was finally pushed to her limit after over 20mins argueing that she was in ”FACT” sitting in an office in ”SINGAPORE”.
All same happened to me in February 2013. I did not notice until I received my bill a month later. Meteor could not help and I did follow all the same steps as explained in this blog. GREAT HELP. The Zamano could not help and I did advise my rights based on the information in this blog. Emailed everyone as advised. 3 weeks later the cheque arrived in post for the full requested (the txt rate + VAT). Thanks again for such a detail information… shame that there is no law that would ban Zamano from such business practise.
Thanks indeed. Comreg also explained to me that I would not have seen the Premium text to my phone (i knew I hadn’t) so you are not afforded the opportunity to TEXT STOP, So, basically they are stealing money plain and simple. They government can enact laws overnight to transfer billions of debt on to the irish taxpayer, but will do nothing to stop this type of Cr%^& from happening. I did as you suggested and I was more than Irate, this is the only type of language these people understand, and followed it thru with comreg and i will see it to out to the bitter end. This is stealing plain and simple. Time to stand up people one and all, it ‘s the only way to stop these people getting away with it. Give em Hell in exchange for the 6 or 12 or 18 euros they steal from you and then get it back.
I would not disagree with you Michael – this is definitely stealing and it should be stopped!
So glad I found this! Just realised the same thing had been happening me for the last two months as my phonebill was just paid direct debit so stupidly I wasn’t analysing my bills! Zamano have stolen €55 from me so I’m in the process of your instructions below… fingers crossed! How have they not been shut down already!!
Philippa – best of luck with your reclaim. And yes it is shocking that this continues abated with no action by our government.
just phoned as 19euro was taken from my account, had same problem in june!!! thanks for all your help they are posted me out a refund 🙂
Wanted to stop by and say that this is still happening. I had €12 taken from my account.
Here is the guts of the email that I sent to Comreg and Meteor for what it’s worth. I will also be sending it to my TDs. I advise all to notify their TDs and request that the matter be taken up with the Minister for Communications.
—————-
For the attention of the Premium Services Department, COMREG and METEOR Customer Care Department:
I received my monthly bill from METEOR. The bill included 6 charges of €2.03, for a supposed subscription to a premium service.
I contacted the very helpful COMREG helpdesk to receive
instructions to contact Zomano, the company that Meteor paid “on my
behalf”.
I did not subscribe to this premium rate service. I know this because I never subscribe to these services.
I contacted Zomano where I was successful in demanding a
refund. I have also requested the log file of where they claim the
subscription took place.
Am I happy with this? NO!
To
resolve this act of a third party putting their hand in my pocket and
being facilitated by METEOR I had to spend most of a morning on the
phone, the internet and on email. Having researched the problem on the
internet, these are the steps that I had to and still have to take:
1. Contact METEOR
2. Contact COMREG
3. Contact Zomano – expensive phone call as advised by METEOR customer care
4. Contact METEOR again for complaints department contact details
5. Await delivery of refund cheque
6. Take refund cheque to bank
The problem:
This is NOT A NEW ISSUE. I have identified cases back to May 2011.
Why have COMREG and METEOR not acted to prevent this reoccurring? If for
no other reason than to reduce the number of complaints handled by your
staff.
What recognition has been given to the trends in relation to this
matter? All at METEOR and COMREG, and in the opinion of the customer
service at METEOR, those at other service providers, are fully aware of
this issue.
WHY is there no mechanism for the premium rate company to
refund the service provider, rather than each individual having to chase
the premium rate company? Without this mechanism, every individual
must endure this refund process. How many mobile phone customers do not
realise that they have been charged without their knowledge and how
many do not follow the refund process?
Has VAT been charged on this service? How can the customer claim this back?
I have been informed that whilst there is a process for me to block
premium rate calls on my phone, there is no process to allow me to block
these VALUE ADDED SERVICES on my phone. What barriers are preventing this?
There is a duty of care and responsibility on
COMREG, METEOR and other service providers to act on behalf of their
customers and those that they represent.
Apart from the time needed by me to apply to this problem, I have also suffered
quite an amount of stress this morning as a result of this matter.
Please improve the current controls and processes so that customers and
Irish citizens are no longer faced with this problem.
One simple step can be added to the process to resolve this: The
service provider sends a text to the customer to state that an amount is
to be added to their bill for such services and request a Yes or No
confirmation. Just think about how that would have benefited me and all those affected by this ruse.
———————–
Hope this helps
Fair Play to you Donncha. It was a huge relief stumbling upon your blog. Have you considered setting up a facebook page?
In my case it was 57095.
The naughty message in question was
Here is your new released videos from Tubeflic
tubeflic-Ire.com/etc
My early research led me to believe that texting STOP (in capital letters)
would work. I did this and got back the message “Free MSG: Your auto topup is now off. To reactivate text YES to 57095 etc”
I went on the phonesmart.ie website and found the company was Mobile Interactive Group which was taken over by Velti. I emailed Velti to the effect that they would not be hearing from me again and I would take action and got this reply.
” Dear Customer,
Thank you for your query.
We have investigated the mobile number you have provided, X, and our records show that it has interacted with mobile services from Intrugo Limited (short code 57095). We have contacted the merchant company, Intrugo Limited and requested the service cancellation.Please find below the details to contact Intrugo Limited if you would like to discuss the service.
Customer Care Email: support@intrugo.com
Customer Care Number: 08081349827
We hope this information helps resolve your query.
Best regards,
Velti Customer Care ”
I also rang Comreg who advised me to ring Velti which I did.
They also advised me to ask them how they had obtained
my number and if I had signed up for the service.
I think this is key. If you unknowingly sign up for the service
then companies like Zamano are not breaking the law by
sending these messages.
When I rang “the phone operators are busy. Please hold to go
back to menu” bull**** came back at me. So I rang Comreg back
and they placed a call for me.
On bank holiday Monday, I get a call at 9 a.m. from a private number,
letting me know that I had not indeed signed up to their services and asked
for my name and address and assured me I was permanently taken
off their system. This morning I got a cheque from Zamano.
I just email you firstly to thank you as there was so little info
on the net re this issue and secondly to add to the info. pool
for others who are having similar issues. Lastly I wanted to
ask advice from you or anyone reading this blog who may have
the answer. If the company (Velti) who were according to
phonesmart.ie in charge of soliciting this 57095 number
why is Zamano sending me the cheque. My theory is they
are hiding behind Velti as they know that websites like
phonesmart will not identify them as the culprits.
John, amazing developments in this whole thing. Thanks for the detail. Delighted you got your cheque. And to answer your question I have not thought about setting up a Facebook page for this. Do you think we should?
Thank you,
for the advice via this web page.
I have been hit for the second time from this crook company.
I did get a rebate and was assured that my number would be blocked from their system, however it got there in the first place, and would not receive any more texts. That one did not work.
I have gone through the same procedure again. I wonder if it will take as many texts and phone calls to resolve this time.
I was under the impression the COMREG were the regulators of the airways.
to anyone else , do not let this company away with their theft, keep pressing for the return of your EARNED cash.
best regards
J.J.
I’ve been receiving nuisance texts lately, brushed them off as SPAM. Today, I checked my bank account and noticed that my operate EE had charged me for these text messages. And, I’ve checked my recent usage and noticed a further £22.00 of unbilled out of plan service. This company is Velti, part of a bigger group or whatever. The Network has been totally unhelpful, and I fear this problem is widespread and no one is doing anything about it. I’ve reported it to PayPhonePlus, Trading Standards and my local Member of Parliament.
So I got hit with this, 5 texts at €2.03 plus VAT, So €12.54 total.
First I rang my network provider ‘3’, They knew well of this number, told me it was Zamano, gave me their customer care phone number and email address (076 6801002, cs@zamano.com) but that they cannot do anything about it from their side.
I asked if the Customer Care number was a premium number, I was told that as I am on a plan with a set number of texts and minutes per month, that the duration of this call would simply be taken from my minutes and no premium rate would be charged to my account.
I rang Zamano today and they simply asked for my name and address ans said a refund cheque will be out to me within 5 to 10 working days.
So fingers crossed it will arrive.
I have had a similar experience with premium rate calls charged to my account and not showing until bill received because iphones have a WAP enabler which prevents such calls showing – yet we are charged for no agreed service.The current bill shows 12 calls @ €2.03 each.I called Zamano and I was told they have a log and said there was an agreement for movie service and will let me have it. I advised them this was not the case & I had received refunds in the past and that I was requesting a refund now for this charge,they immediatly did a Uturn & requested the name and address for the cheque payment.
Dont let this Company fob you off, if everyone stood up to them and demanded their money back they wouldn’t be operating here. They are doing very well as they are listed on the stock exchange.
hi just want to say thanks you for blogging this problem about57030.
my wife got billed 15.00 for 6 messages today an bill pay from meteor.
called meteor and got details of the messages that were sent from 57030 bur she never got any of them on the phone. meteor were no help and told me to contact comreg.
i found your blog 10 minutes ago and have a refund on the way from zamano by calling 076 6801002. even on bank holiday saturday. the operator tried to tell me i clicked on a link blah blah. i just kept saying no. no no no would not let him speak until he said refund and asked for my name address and confirmed the refund will be posted in 5 working days and my wifes number is blocked from zamano.what a shower robbing fcukers just like dipping your pockets.
i will keep you posted of the refund.
by the way the phone call took under 2 minutes in total including a good lashing from me. i just had to . so angry at the time
thanks again for the info and i will be contacting comreg with this case asap
regards
colm
hi
my refund check arrived to day.
thanks for the advice
regards
colm
Very useful information. I had this problem last year and got my refund after finding all this information in different places. It happened to my girlfriend now so it was nice that all the info was in one place here.
I really don’t understand how they get away with it, they lie on the phone but if pushed at all will give you a refund as it’s a scam.
Small bit of digging around get’s their linkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zamano
which lead me to a slideshow on their financials and their company:
http://www.slideshare.net/ZamanoPlc/zamano-2014-results
A few interesting slides describing their “Customer Journey” involving entering details and confirming a subscription, then also describing their single tap payment option. They also mention key relationships with telecom operators and others.
I would have thought that these guys develop the technology and someone else is using it to subscribe people unknowingly to them, but the refund comes from Zamano so they must be the cowboys responsible!
Just thought the above would be of interest to anyone scammed looking for information on the company.
Hi Donncha,
Still Happening in 2016!
I had the same problem as you on the 2nd of Feburary 2016. 57030 took the €12.195 euros off me. I contacted Meteor, Comreg and Zamano. Didn’t get speaking to Comreg or Zamano yet but left voice messages. Meteor gave usual unhelpful nonsense.
There is a conspiracy here. There has to be people from the phone companies, government and even Comreg in on this. Why havn’t the Gardi stopped this?
I am reporting this to the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation also.
There are thousands of complaints online to all the phone companies, and at this point it spans years and borders.( UK and Ireland for sure, But they are talking of expanding to other countries)
I think some big contacts, companies, TD’s or CEO’s are getting nice brown envelops to keep the money train rolling for this company.
I hope to get my money back but for me it would be better to get this company banned from trading in the Irish market.
They shouldn’t be allowed to steal like this.
Great finding your blog and having a place to reply and rant.
Best of Luck,
(I will update you with further details)
Dave
Hi,
I discovered that the £2.75 I had been paying every week on my O2 account almost since I started with my O2 phone contract 17 months ago was not due to O2 but to TextPlayWin from Zamano.
I called them and demanded they repay me the accumulated sum that I had never (knowingly) signed up for and had never ‘played”.
Within a week I received a cheque for £126.
Not right as 15 months x £3.75 was at least £225.
So I wrote back a very hard email threatening exposure and reporting to the authorities, and lo and behold another cheque for £144 appears in the post.
The moral of the story is:
1. Always question unknown debits on your phone bill
2. Push Zamano hard and do not accept part-payment.
Damn, I got caught too.
I just happened to be going over some old invoices (Apr 2016) and spotted their premium rate charges. I never subscribe to any of these premium services.
I do recall sending STOP to some SMS messages that I received. As other posters described I got an SMS response ‘You are not subscribed to any services’. So I thought these were simply spam and didn’t think anything of it until I examined my bill.
Anyway I phoned Zamano today. They said they would refund by cheque in a number of weeks…..we’ll see.
19th July and my cheque arrived in the post today. Full refund of charges originally put on my phone invoice.
I simply phoned the number given by earlier posts. They only asked for my phone number and eircode. So try to have your eircode before calling them.
I don’t know what would happen if I didn’t have it.
Donncha, thanks for creating this post. It’s been helpful to one more reader.
Cathal.
Similar story here. One text arrived at 11.04 and 5 together on the bill at 11.05. Only the 11.04 came through to the phone. I got the same you are not subscribed to any services response to the STOP command. Rang Zamano and they have promised to send out a cheque. I have made a complaint to Comreg. I’ve asked them to investigate how it happened as I hadn’t subscribed to the ‘service’. Where are the authorities to protect us as this has been going on for years.
Thanks so much for this. I recently got charged nearly 20 euro from the same number. I got several texts from a girls video site due to a pop up coming up on my phone and when I was trying to get out of it I pressed something by accident and I got the texts thenor. I have just emailed them this minute and they have got back straight away and will be issueing my cheque. THanks again
Similar story recently (2016) with EIR- Told them to get it back from Zamano( They denied they could -a LIE)
Found on Comreg site some submissions from eir/etc where it was given that
for example Zamano gets 66% of the Scam and ” The Operator” (e.g eir) get 33% and I think it was a small % of eir’s take is given to guess who “COMREG”
ps What happened to the multi case taken by Comreg in Dublin District ourt in June. The Judge delayed his finding
In my case I stopped the Direct Debit with eir and I await a legal challenge from them.
The penalty for this type of scam in the UK is approx 250,000 Stg. per offence.
In Uk PRS buckos cannot be paid by Providers for over 2 months after occurance of scam. This keeps the Operator in the frame so that a Customer may notice the Scam before the Scammer is rewarded. (Welcome to Banana land)
By lumping approxd 4000 cases together our Comreg ensures that even if the meet an awkward District Judge the max Penalty will probablby not exceed 4 figures.
Joe. Thanks for your comment. My information is that Zamano are the only ones who can refund the money. I am not sufficiently up to date to reply to the remainder of your comment – but it would be nice if UK style fines could be imposed within Ireland on what I agree are ‘scam’ operators.
this thread was very helpful so i said id contribute in case anyone else is having this problem in 2017. i followed advice and am requesting a refund for the 3 consecutive months that zamano took €12.198 from my account.I sent an email today to cs@zamano.com and cc’d consumerline@comreg.ie. i got an automated reply from both of them saying they would respond within 24hours
I`m frustrated with the network provider (in my case Three.ie) because I know they profit from these scam texts also, yet they pretend there is nothing they can do.
In most countries this is outlawed but comreg.ie who should be able to regulate this don`t seem to be much use.
Myself and family are going to move from three.ie as a protest- not that they will care, but I feel I need to do something!