Tanla Mobile & o2 will make us 'PayForIt'

[Smiff77]

It seems that 02 & Tanla Mobile have joined forces in a joint venture, which bring back memories of another a few years ago with B4U & Dialogue Comms.Tanla Mobile have had 4 Icstis adjudications in 2007 and there is 1 outstanding. There are many posts on forums about scams including unsolicited reverse bill texts sent by Tanla Mobile yet it seems they have been granted 'ACCREDITED PAYMENT STATUS', God help us all.

Europe UK : Tanla Mobile and O2 have entered into an agreement under which Tanla may sell or market commercial WAP services to any O2 Subscriber via PayForIt mobile billing services in the UK.

Tanla Mobile - selected earlier this year as an intermediary granted ‘accredited payment’ status across all mobile operators–will work closely with O2 in the delivery of PayForIt mobile payment services.

PayForIt is the cross operator initiative that has been heralded as a future driving force behind making mobile commerce a reality for UK consumers, content and service providers alike. On the 1st September 2007 operators such as O2 are permitting accredited partners to deliver PayForIt (a WAP based billing service) as part of their offering.

PayForIt enables a ‘click and buy’ experience similar to a purchase consumers make on a mobile operator portal or ‘traditional’ internet shopping.

PayForIt is a true micro transaction initiative as consumers can buy goods and services priced up to a maximum of £5-£10 depending on the operator. It is believed that PayForIt will become the de-facto standard for payments of this value as consumers are expected to increasingly use their mobile device for low value transactions.

Nigel Dean, Head of Interactive Sales, O2 UK, said: “The mobile payments market has been growing exponentially with an increased consumer demand for digital content and services. O2 is committed to working with partners such as Tanla Mobile to provide the next generation of mobile commerce through the Payforit mobile payments initiative"

Speaking about Tanla Mobile’s appointment as an accredited payment partner, Gautam Sabharwal, Director for Tanla Mobile, said: “PayForIt will be an important turning point for the mobile industry. There has been much debate and action focused on improving mobile billing. The interest we are seeing from customers supports this; the demand for mobile services has never been greater

Be afraid, be very afraid

[mike99]

Yep!

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/consu...p?cmd=3&id=668

And have you noticed this adjudication against Tanla?

This identifies a website http://www.theeurolotto.eu where you can find the following:

Casey Worldwide Ltd whose registered office is 3rd floor Omar Hodge Building, Road Town, Tortola, BVI.

Now haven't we come across that address before somewhere?

[El Gringo]

Casey Worldwide Ltd

theeurolotto
http://www2.whois.eu/public/whois/Ge...C79B4AE6F2F7F0
Name theeurolotto
Status REGISTERED
Registered October 27, 2006
Last update October 27, 2006 7:04 PM

Registrant
Name French John
Organisation The Euro Lotto
Language English
Address Milton Road
CB4 OWE Cambridge
UK
United Kingdom
Phone +44.8703661286
Email icecold59@hotmail.co.uk

http://www.scamtypes.com/?p=214feed
Whois info for, prizedirect.net:

Registrant:
Prize Direct
137 Earls Court Road
London, London W1 5QL
UK

Domain name: PRIZEDIRECT.NET

Administrative Contact:
Smith, George icecold59@hotmail.co.uk
137 Earls Court Road
London, London W1 5QL
UK
+442073732364 Fax: +442086550202

Technical Contact:
Smith, George icecold59@hotmail.co.uk
137 Earls Court Road
London, London W1 5QL
UK
+442073732364 Fax: +442086550202

Registration Service Provider:
Serverstream, support@Serverstream.net
+44 20 7517 0606
+44 20 8728 2867 (fax)
http://www.Serverstream.net
Serverstream - Managed Hosting Services
Register1 : Low Cost Domain Names - £49 Dedicated Xeon Servers
support@Register1.net
http://www.Register1.net

"ThePrizeDirect is the trading name for Casey Worldwide Ltd whose registered office is 3rd floor Omar Hodge Building, Road Town, Tortola, BVI.

Now Tortola is in the Virgin Isles, West Indies. If you search for ‘Tortola + Scam’ on Google the you will see that the place is quite famous for premium rate phone number fraud, with O2 seeming to be the operator most widely linked to it".

Registrant:
Casey Worldwide Ltd
3rd Floor, Omar Hodge Building, Road Town,
Tortola, CR0 5HF
IO

Domain name: CASEYWORLDWIDEOFFICE.COM

Administrative Contact:
Le Length, Simon icecold59@hotmail.co.uk
3rd Floor, Omar Hodge Building, Road Town,
Tortola, CR0 5HF
IO
293838495003
Technical Contact:
Admin, Domain Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com
9th Floor
6 & 7
Harbour Exchange Square
London, England E14 9GE
UK
+44.2075170606 Fax: +44.2087282867

Registration Service Provider:
Serverstream, Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com
+44 20 7517 0606
+44 20 8728 2867 (fax)
http://www.Serverstream.net
Serverstream - Managed Hosting Services

Register1 : Low Cost Domain Names - £49 Dedicated Xeon Servers

so who are John French, George Smith and Simon Le Length icecold59@hotmail.co.uk

http://www.forums.agriya.com/member.php?u=317
instant messaging
icecold59@hotmail.co.uk
Home Page:
http://www.xero9.com

may be he knows.

Whois Record

Registration Service Provided By: Falcoda Internet
Contact: Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com
Visit: http://www.falcoda.co.uk

Domain name: xero9.com

Registrant Contact:
Xero 9 Ltd
John O'Sullivan (Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com)

Fax: , +.
125-127 Upper Shirley Rd
Croydon, Surrey CR0 5HF
GB

Administrative Contact:
Falcoda Internet
Customer Support (Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com)
08717060010
Fax: none
Communications House
26 York Street
London, London W1U 6PZ
GB

Technical Contact:
Falcoda Internet
Customer Support (Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com)
08717060010
Fax: none
Communications House
26 York Street
London, London W1U 6PZ
GB

[Hamlet]

@payforit: http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t...light=payforit

@caseyworldwideoffice I
http://voice123.com/lv/LTK910542507X.html

@casey/tortola: Bermuda triangle of phone con. Should be a BBC story

Have you ever seen a UK postcode in Tortola?
Where does that postcode belong to?
read here:
http://www.160characters.org/news.ph...n=view&nid=783

New Technology Telecomms Ltd
125 Upper Shirley Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 5HF
Date: 29th October 2003
Sector: Leisure
Public Complaint From: Orkney

Complaint:

Objection to a mobile phone text message for a prize award. It stated "BIG BROTHER ALERT! the computer has selected u for 10K cash or £150 voucher. Call 0906 4018816. NTT PO Box CR01327 18+ BT Landline Cost 150ppm mobiles vary - Sender:+449064018921 ... ". The complainant objected that the message misleadingly implied that:

1. the promoters were connected with the Channel 4 'Big Brother' programme and

2. the recipient would discover, by telephoning the premium rate number, whether they had won a cash prize or a voucher.

3. The Authority challenged whether the claim "£150 voucher" exaggerated the value of the prize, because it seemed to be a £100 holiday voucher.

Codes Section: 2.6, 27.4, 31.1, 34.1, 35.1, 35.2 (Ed 11)

Adjudication: Complaint upheld

Although the promoters assured the Authority that they would respond to its enquiries, they did not. The Authority was concerned by the promoters' lack of response, which it considered a breach of the Code. The Authority reminded the promoters of their responsibility to respond to the Authority's enquiries and asked them to do so promptly in future. The Authority understood that recipients who telephoned the premium rate number were directed to a website; it told them to send a stamped, addressed envelope to the promoters to claim their prize. The Authority noted, from the promoters' website, that the "£150 voucher" seemed to be a £100 holiday discount voucher. The Authority noted the text messages were sent during the time the Channel 4 'Big Brother' series was being televised and considered that the message implied that the promoters were connected with the programme. It also considered that the text message implied recipients would discover, by telephoning the premium rate number, whether they had won a cash prize or voucher. The Authority concluded that the text message was misleading and advised the Committee of Advertising Practice of the problem with the advertisers.

Registrant:
Casey Worldwide Ltd
3rd Floor, Omar Hodge Building, Road Town,
Tortola, CR0 5HF
IO

coincidence. Of course.

http://www.mylocalservices.co.uk/Sur...ero_9_Ltd.html

Xero 9 Ltd.
125 Upper Shirley Road
Croydon
Surrey
CR0 5HF
Tel: 2086550909

[Domain name: PRIZEDIRECT.NET

Administrative Contact:
Smith, George icecold59@hotmail.co.uk
137 Earls Court Road
London, London W1 5QL
UK
+442073732364 Fax: +442086550202]

Xero 9?

Complaint
Members of the public complained about receiving an unsolicited text
message which invited them to call a premium rate number in order to
claim a ‘£150 award’. The text message failed to indicate that calls could
cost more from a mobile phone and omitted the total cost/playing time
of the service (3.4.1 and 5.2.2a ninth edition). It also failed to provide an
adequate description of the award, which was actually a set of holiday
vouchers, and failed to indicate any additional costs likely to be incurred
in making use of the award (5.2.5c and e ninth edition).
The service itself failed to request active confirmation from callers that
they wished to continue, a requirement for interactive competitions that
can cost more than £5.00 in total (5.2.3 ninth edition). Call revenues
were requested, together with full promotional details (6.2.3 ninth
edition).
Investigation and Decision
Xero 9 Ltd did not dispute that potential call costs from mobile phones
had not been provided but stated that there were not enough characters
available in a text message to give this information. They did not dispute
that the total cost of the service had not been given. They did, however,
dispute that the service was required to obtain active confirmation from
callers that they wished to continue as they did not consider it to be an
‘interactive’ competition service.
They did not accept that an adequate description of the award had not
been provided, stating that they had been restricted by the number of
characters. They added that there were no additional costs in using the
holiday vouchers. The requested information was supplied.
The Committee upheld breaches of paragraphs 3.4.1, 5.2.2a, 5.2.5c and
e, and 5.2.3 of the ninth edition of the ICSTIS Code of Practice. A breach
of paragraph 6.2.3 was not upheld. Xero 9 Ltd were fined £5,000 and
instructed to offer redress to all complainants.

quelle surprise!
What are they recording in the recording studios? Have a guess! Win an ipod!

Here: "Red Telecom (Mauritius) & Xero 9"
http://www.icstis.org.uk/consumers/a...p?node=&id=313

Guess which address was used in Mauritius! Win two ipods!
dial 0906-fraud

I was sure - and I was right!

CORPORATE & CHANCERY CHAMBERS, 2/F BARKLY
WHARF, LE CUNDAN, WATERFRONT, PORT LOUIS,
MAURITIUS
source: ICSTIS

FOSTA LTD ( 2ND FLOOR,BARKLEY WHARF, LE CAUDAN
WATERFRONT, PORT LOUISE.MAURITIUS) barred 2005
=
Corporate & Chancery Group
Head Office - Mauritius
Corporate & Chancery Chambers
2nd Floor, Barkly Wharf, - Le Caudan Waterfront, - Port Louis, Mauritius

London Office
40 Gerrard Street, London W1V 7LP ( = Buzzmesolutions, Crescendo Solutions usw.)

It is so frustrating that it's so easy - and it's so easy because the "regulators" are not here to help you - but to assist THEM.
It just takes minutes to see a relationship from wherever you start - if one just WANTS to

[Hamlet]

redundant, sorry! (deleted)

[El Gringo]

It is so frustrating that it's so easy - and it's so easy because the "regulators" are not here to help you - but to assist THEM.
It just takes minutes to see a relationship from wherever you start - if one just WANTS to

Originally Posted by Hamlet

i doubt they even bothered to take a few minutes

http://www.icstis.org.uk/consumers/a...p?node=&id=668
Content and/or promotion provided by Casey Worldwide Ltd
Service provider responsible for Tanla Mobile Ltd

The information provider stated that ACE was not used to make direct marketing calls. It claimed that a live call centre staffed by operators was used to make direct marketing calls using predictive dialing equipment. The evidence provided in support of this claim was a script said to be used by call centre staff and a letter (which was not on letterhead and did not identify any company) stating that a call centre in India would carry out the calls. It further stated that the opt-in list for the calls was collected from the website www.boyzube.com.

www.boyzube.com is spelt wrong. it doesn't appear to exist
but

http://whois.domaintools.com/boyztube.com
Registrant:
Gay TV
Cardiff Road
Newport, South Wales NP108QQ
UK

Domain name: BOYZTUBE.COM

Administrative Contact:
Jones, Jack icecold59@hotmail.co.uk
Cardiff Road
Newport, South Wales NP108QQ
UK
+44.1633814000
Technical Contact:
Admin, Domain Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com
9th Floor
6 & 7
Harbour Exchange Square
London, England E14 9GE
UK
+44.2075170606 Fax: +44.2087282867

Registration Service Provider:
Serverstream, Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com
+44 20 7517 0606
+44 20 8728 2867 (fax)
http://www.Serverstream.net
Serverstream - Managed Hosting Services

Register1 : Low Cost Domain Names - £49 Dedicated Xeon Servers

https://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-journal/...c/2451872.html
Trade Marks Journal No. 6693 20 July 2007
2451872 5 April 2007 (45)
Boyz tube

Social and personal networking services provided by the Internet.

John O'Sullivan, 125-127 Upper Shirley Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 5HF.

but there is nothing here to do with opt-in to anything
and Administrative Contact: Jones, Jack icecold59@hotmail.co.uk appears to the Welsh Patent Office
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...G=Search&meta=

http://www.touchnewport.com/business/list/bid/3980987
The Patent Office
01633814000
Concept House Cardiff Road, Newport, Gwent, NP10 8QQ
The business says:
The Patent Office is responsible for Intellectual Property (Copyright, Designs, Patents and Trade marks) in the UK. The Patent Office develops and carries out UK policy on all aspects of intellectual property. We stimulate innovation and enhance the international competitiveness of British Industry and commerce. We offer customers an accessible, high quality, value for money system both national and international, for granting intellectual property rights.

the "Welsh hub"

[El Gringo]

http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/content...sp?men=5&sub=9
Following the money trail
12:00AM Wed 10 August 2005

1. The scam
The trail linking the scammer to the customer in last week's incident started in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean where IAccess, the company which carried out the ruse, is registered.
[........]
Operators are keen to stress the distinction between a scam and bad practice. Jeremy Flynn, manager of commercial partnerships at Vodafone, makes the point that while there is an intention from Vodafone to address both, the scam is something the operator has a vested interest in eliminating: 'We have absolutely no financial interest in it. It's just a pain.'
[............]
John O'Sullivan of Xero9 reckons there are lessons he has learnt from the episode which he thinks everyone ought to heed: 'I don't think it's our fault in the same way that it's not BT's fault when someone makes obscene calls from their network. But we're seriously considering only dealing with UK-registered companies with UK bank accounts from now on.'

.

[Hamlet]

First of all: sorry @ El Gringo. I have posted so many things you already did mention in your posting. I'm a bit confused at the moment. Deleted most of it now.

The trail linking the scammer to the customer in last week's incident started in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean where IAccess, the company which carried out the ruse, is registered.

IAccess was not in Tortola/BVI when it found its way into the "barred SP list" of ICSTIS (better known as "don't do the same fraud under the same business name-List")

http://www.icstis.org.uk/pdfs/barredsps1105.pdf
-->
http://www.icstis.org.uk/consumers/a...p?node=&id=347

address given by ICSTIS:

1ST FLOOR BARKLY WHARF, LE CAUDAN (1st floor, 2nd floor - remains unclear) (maybe I am wrong)
WATERFRONT PORT LOUIS
again...
It's mad. It's sad.

by the way...

Premium-rate regulator Icstis will try to flex its muscles and hit the company with the maximum fine within its powers: £100,000.

I read "50,000"
http://www.icstis.org.uk/consumers/a...p?node=&id=347
50% discount after the media lost interest?

And I still don't understand this:

15 September 2005
Provider(s) IAccess Network Ltd
Location Tortola (British Virgin Islands)
Telephone network(s) Xero 9 Ltd
(source: ICSTIS)

The SP is in the barred SP list with the same link - but here it's IAccess in Mauritius.
I think that it does not play any role which address is given whereever - ICSTIS will never try to take a look at it, never try to UNDERSTAND what's going on or what it may mean that a UK post code appears in Road Town, Tortola... - and if the media does they always do it for singular cases (even Terry only investigated one case, there was no interest for a follow-up. So the complete picture is still not known. The pattern of fraud is not completely investigated - if it was, the role of ICSTIS would be a VERY interesting topic. Are they really regulating the PR biz or are they in fact regulating the money flow from Consumers to Fraudsters? Statements in singular cases are all the same and they are becalming enough - but if you would hear the same story ten, twenty, thirty or more times, you would get a feeling that something is very rotten - not only in the State of Denmark.)

[Hamlet]

http://www.telemedia-news.com/newsitem.aspx?id=1269

[Hamlet]

http://www.telemedia-news.com/newsitem.aspx?id=1282

Bango today reports positive key performance indicators, based on an analysis of the first million transactions the company has processed since the launch of Payforit in the UK mobile market ...

Bingo, Bango, do the fandango...

...Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) has been presented with the Griff Innovation Award for delivering the first on-portal Payforit service for Dating Direct, at this autumn’s ‘invitation only’ Vodafone Forum, which took place back in late October, it has emerged.

http://www.telemedia-news.com/newsitem.aspx?id=1281

[mike99]

latest news

November 2007

PHONEPAYPLUS PUBLISHES HALF-YEAR SUMMARY

We also welcomed the mobile networks’ introduction
of Payforit, a payment process that should help to
lessen the risk of customers entering into purchases
without being aware of the offer and price.

Well that really sounds like something we can trust then!

[Smiff77]

After 7 months I have received a reply from PP+ regarding my complaint against Tones 2 You and its 2 sister companies for the sending of Unsolicited Promotional SMS. In that time I have been ignored, lied to, put on hold and lied to again by both PP+(or Icstis as it was then) and Ofcom.
Tones 2 You, but no mention of the other two companies in this scam sms4fun & and Mobpart all connected to MTM Technology, have been found in breach of the PP+ Code Of Practice. (For what it is worth)

* A Formal Reprimand - You can hear the worries !!!!
* A £200,000 fine - But how much did they make on the scams ?
* A requirement that the service provider seek compliance from PP+ to ensure that the consumer experience by which the users are asked to 'opt-in' to the subscription service is made clearer. The SP has a period of of 30 working days to ensure that such advice is implemented - Well this is going to stop them !

You are wondering why I have placed this info in this thread ? Well in the additional notes it states: ' The investigation found that the service was operated by 2 companies, TANLA MOBILE LTD & 2Comm Ltd.' There is no mention of any action being taken against them.

Wait a second isn't TANLA MOBILE that most 'trustworthy company' that has access to our mobile accounts via PAYFORIT.

[El Gringo]

@Smiff77

£200,000 fine. who? where? when?

[Smiff77]

@Smiff77

£200,000 fine. who? where? when?

Originally Posted by El Gringo

Hi El Gringo, Happy new year,

Letter was dated 9/1/08, adds that the details of the adjudication will be published shortly. The letter does not say very much just the usual blurb. Just noticed a note on the bottom of the letter that their, PP+, remit will also now cover services on 0871 numbers. That will be interesting!

[mike99]

@Smiff77, El Gringo, Hamlet and all screamers

First of all, happy 2008 and I hope you all had a splendid Christmas. Thanks to a sorry saga involving BT and my business line, I have been (mostly) off-line. They finally came and did the final fix yesterday - uncrossing the wires between my line and my neighbour's line (sic!).

back to the topic ..........

Well done Smiff77 for seeing this through to the bitter conclusion!

Meanwhile, I am waiting for PP+ to publish responses to its latest (budget) consultation and for Ofcom to publish responses to its latest consultation on the PP+ CoP and for the Ombudsman to get back to me on PP+'s refusal to take any action against Dialogue Communications (and their crooked pals in the BVI) for stealing from us - the Ombudsman has at least accepted my complaint.

Specifically on Tanla/O2:

Dear Michael

Thank you for emailing us about Tanla Mobile.

I'm sorry but we're unable to make comments on any commercial agreements we may have with other companies.

[now why would that be? ]

If you've got any issues with Tanla Mobile, you'll need to contact them direct on 020 7494 5600. Alternatively, you can email them at sales@tanlamobile.com.

Thank you for contacting ecare customer service.

We're now introducing O2 Broadband. To find out how you can join, please visit the link below:

http://broadband.o2.co.uk/

When you email, please provide us with your date of birth, postcode and mobile number as it helps us answer your query faster.


Kind regards

Misty
Ecare Team, Glasgow
O2 Customer Service

Whatever O2's views on the matter, I think we should all continue to comment on the commercial arrangements these firms have with each other.

M

[Smiff77]

@Mike99

Happy New Year to You and Yours. Good to see you back and 'up and running'.

[mike99]

In the style of a premium rate quiz ..........

What do the following firms have in common?

• 2ergo (12)
• Bango.net (0)
• Dialogue Communications (8)
• Ericsson IPX (1)
• Hybyte Solutions & Services (5)
• mBlox (I’ve lost count)
• Mobile Interactive Group (4)
• Sybase365 (0)
• Minick (1)
• MX Telecom (22)
• Netsize (3)
• Tanla Mobile (4)
• Opera Telecom (27)
• Win (26)

(PP+ adjudications shown in parentheses)

A There are all crooks?
B They are all honest?
C Scunthorpe?

All wrong!

(NB for those of you who thought the answer was "A", shame on you! Two of these companies have no PP+ adjudications against them at all)

No, these companies represent the complete list of "Accredited Payment Intermediaries" for the new PayForIt mechanism.

Now the best thing that PP+ (who are known for waxing lyrical about the wonderful dynamism and growth of the PRS) was that it was "a payment process that should help to lessen the risk of customers entering into purchases without being aware of the offer and price".

So, in conclusion - though I think that being able to use my mobile as an electronic wallet would be extremely convenient and useful - I rather doubt that I shall be signing up for PayForIt anytime soon.

[mike99]

Tanla Mobile makes its entrance into UK market - 02 October 2006

Tanla Mobile is one of a small number of companies that have passed the rigorous accreditation process. The company will be processing some of the first mobile payments when the scheme goes live later this year thanks to its high levels of operational integrity, reliability and security.

[El Gringo]

After 7 months I have received a reply from PP+ regarding my complaint against Tones 2 You and its 2 sister companies for the sending of Unsolicited Promotional SMS. In that time I have been ignored, lied to, put on hold and lied to again by both PP+(or Icstis as it was then) and Ofcom.
Tones 2 You, but no mention of the other two companies in this scam sms4fun & and Mobpart all connected to MTM Technology, have been found in breach of the PP+ Code Of Practice. (For what it is worth)

* A Formal Reprimand - You can hear the worries !!!!
* A £200,000 fine - But how much did they make on the scams ?
* A requirement that the service provider seek compliance from PP+ to ensure that the consumer experience by which the users are asked to 'opt-in' to the subscription service is made clearer. The SP has a period of of 30 working days to ensure that such advice is implemented - Well this is going to stop them !

You are wondering why I have placed this info in this thread ? Well in the additional notes it states: ' The investigation found that the service was operated by 2 companies, TANLA MOBILE LTD & 2Comm Ltd.' There is no mention of any action being taken against them.

Originally Posted by Smiff77

am i reading writing wrong
or
am i writing reading wrong
or is it a different case

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/consu...eywords=&cmd=2
23 Jan 2008
The Panel therefore decided to impose the following sanctions against Tanla Mobile Ltd:
* A formal reprimand;
* A £2,000 fine; and
* The service provider to seek compliance advice. The service or information provider must contact the PhonepayPlus compliance team within 30 working days after receipt of this adjudication to discuss the process by which users opt in to the service, and put forward proposals to make the process more clear. The aim should be to make the service compliant (in the opinion of the compliance team) within 30 working days of the advice being sought.

[mike99]

PP+ Board Member and PRS scamster Mike Short boosts our trust in PayForIt:

Mike Short, chairman of the Mobile Data Association, said PayForIt had been developed as an alternative to other systems such as premium rate SMS.

Many people, said Mr Short, were unhappy using that payment system because of past uncertainty about how much they would pay and who they turn to if things go wrong.

"It's for those customers who have not felt comfortable with mobile transactions or payments," he said.

Trust in mobile payments would be boosted, said Mr Short because shoppers will know who they are buying from and what they are spending.

PP+ have obviously boosted themselves so often that they are now on a different planet from the rest of us.

[Smiff77]

am i reading writing wrong
or
am i writing reading wrong
or is it a different case

Originally Posted by El Gringo

Just double checked the letter and it states: 'A £200,000 FINE'. Same case, yet why is there no mention of Mobpart, Sms4fun or MTM Technology the companies that sent the txts?

Yet again PP+ are bulls***ing me!

[Hamlet]

Yet again PP+ are bulls***ing me!

Originally Posted by Smiff77

[insiderjokemode on]
That's the way to express yourself when you are full of crap
HORSEWHIP HORSEWHIP
[insiderjokemode off]

[El Gringo]

been reading complaints about Tanla and this lot: Glasgow???

Registrant:
Get-Tone
Suite 132
111 West George Street
Glasgow, Strathclyde G2 1QX
GB

Domain name: GET-TONE.COM

Administrative Contact:
Tone, Get
Suite 132
111 West George Street
Glasgow, Strathclyde G2 1QX
GB
+44 141 222 2527

[HYMO]

The following letter sent to Tanla, Three, Payphone Plus, Ofcom, which magazine, BBC Watchdog, My local MP, and the Serious Fraud Office.

PhonepayPlus Press Office ; Susanne Richter ; Compliance ; which@which.co.uk ; reportingafraud ; watchdog@bbc.co.uk ; OCCtelecoms ; LARHofC@aol.com ; customercare@tanlamobile.com ; customer.services@3mail.com


Dear Sirs

I am sending this to all of you in the hope that someone can do something please read on.

At the end of October 2007 I made the mistake of signing up with Three network, right away I started to receive various promotional texts from them, and one in particular which came up as a service message was a text that said Download a free Rhiana ringtone, the message came about three times and on the third I thought I may as well download as it was free, I downloaded, listened to the ring tone thought it was rubbish and thought nothing more of it.

A short while later 3 Dec to be precise, I started to receive texts from 82600 (the same identical text, three in a row which I now know are called shortcodes) I ignored the messages at first, I had heard of and been charged in the past for responding to mystery numbers.

The 82600 texts stated;

Thank you for using our ringtone service.
New content will be uploaded shortly
SP:need-tone 16+
Text stop to cancel
150p 0871 240 0608

I ignored them at first assuming them to be crossed wires ( I have received texts from orange customer services offering me an upgrade!??) after a couple of weeks I decided to text STOP but the messages kept on coming. When my bills came in I was horrified to find out that I had been charged (£20 in total)

I phoned Three on the 5 Jan they gave me another number to call 08719180999 (the 999 being very appropriate! )
I Phoned the number they gave me (the person on the other end said it was nothing to do with them but they would get in touch with the company who would call me. (I since found out the company that I called were one and the same company that sent the texts, they are rogues known as Tanla Mobile).
On the Monday they called me at work on my mobile (Amazingly they got through to my mobile in an area I cannot get any signal ! )
The person on the phone said I had requested these texts, I asked; how and she said you downloaded a Rhiana ringtown, I said; so the FREE ringtone costs £14 then (not all the charges had hit my bill by this point.) She said; yes you were informed on the WAP page (I have never been to a WAP page, was not directed to a WAP page, never used a wap page in my life !!! all I know is I had downloaded a free ringtone !!! The text asked me to press OK if I wanted to download a free ringtone so I did. It was at this point I blew up and stated they were shysters mere crooks. (I had done some homework so I knew that they had adjudications against them with Payphone plus / Icstis [toothless wonders] ) and said I will be writing to complain to all the governing bodies that may be interested. She immediately offered to send a cheque in the post, even took down my name and address. To date I have seen no cheque, I am more likely to wake up next to a horses head bearing in mind the kind of organisation they seem to be.

Tanla Mobile Ltd
39 Charing Cross Road
London
WC2H 0AR
Tel: 08719 180 999
customercare@tanlamobile.com

It is not just me they are ripping off, there are many others. In my circle of aqcuaintances I have come across an alarming number who have had the same experience. Pro-rata countrywide this would equate to millions, try putting Tanla mobile adjudication into a google search see what comes up ! This is fraud and theft on a massive scale, if you do the numbers they are raking in millions on this scam.

Three Network are more than happy to take the money from their customers, pass it onto these crooks and take their own cut in the process (money laundering or acting as a fence by any other name) Three just say pay up or else, they have no sense of duty to thier customers and will not take up my case, will not assist me in getting a refund, the reason I believe is because Three themselves are a shyster organisation who are in bed with Tanla (behind the scenes). They just keep telling me how wonderful they are for contacting Tanla to put a stop to the texts for me. Funny that, because the way it happened is they gave me the above 0870 number which I called myself at a cost of a further £1 for an 8 min call (don't get me started on 0870 numbers, it seems everone wants money for nothing these days )

Sadly I do not have the original message Tanla sent me on my phone but I do have the at least two of the stop requests and can demonstrate that they have ignored the stop requests. No doubt if Three wanted to help they could get me access to the the original text that started the scam off, but no one is in the least bit interested. ( I need to learn how to set one of these companies up myself, make a fortune for nothing)

I have attached below some sites you can visit but most searches on this subject will lead to hordes of people who are screaming out because they can not get thier money back. Nothing is being done to stop these crookes who will not go to prison for this theft, the worst that will happen is they may be fined or shutdown. This is a symptom of the mess this government has made of this country and if you allow people to continually be ripped off, then ripping people off becomes acceptable in a society. Also if I were to withhold payment of my money I will end up with a bad credit rating and then find it impossible to remortgage which will lead to foreclosure, these people have this power over the consumer in this day and age and they know it.

Please try the search or have a look at the web sites below
http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/s...ad.php?t=25889
http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/showthread.php?p=360398

I am now tied in with Three Network for a another miserable 15 months but I actually fear my phone, another interesting point is when I signed up with these people they gave me a temporary number which had great reception yet once they connected my old number (after the 14 days cooling off period was up) I strugled to get reception all the time. It is a curious fact that Tanla can reach me in an area that has not three network signal. This last paragraph does not form part of my above complaint but if anyone has any information or explanation please let me know.

Please help ! I would like to get the money back but more than that I want to put a stop to this kind of thing.

[mike99]

@HYMO

I can't give you legal advice of course, but if I were ever in this position again (we hadn't even downloaded a "free" ringtone from the premium rate crooks but they still bombarded us with unsolicited reverse charge spam) I should ignore the service provider (in your case Tanla) and their even more crooked "information providers" and go after the network (in your case "Three").

We did get our money back (from the service providers involved) and my wife (the victim) was disinclined to persue the matter further, but if this ever happens to me directly there will be no holds barred.

First of all, you can withhold the money that "Three" have collected from you on behalf of the crooks (taking their cut of course). Pay the rest and make it clear that you are disputing the £20 (or whatever it is) as this is the proceeds of crime. Make it clear that you will go to Otelo if you are are still arguing after 12 weeks. They can't do anything about your credit rating until the dispute is resolved. If they do start to get heavy, in the meantime, go straight to Otelo.

Otelo will ultimately side with the network provider of course (they do not consider that preventing its members stealing from their customers comes under its remit) but this gives you 12 weeks' breathing space. You are unlikely to need it.

Keep complaining to "3" demanding your money back and compensation. If you are up for it, launch a Small Claims case against "3". There is no way a network provider is ever going to try and defend itself before a court. I suspect the merely faxing "Three" a copy of a completed form to launch a small claim "to check that you have got their details correct" would result in instant capitulation on Three's part; but I'd love to put this to the test.

If your need any help or advice (short of formal legal advice which we obviously cannot provide) I am sure that there are at least four posters on this site (myself included) who stand more than ready to aid you.

Best of luck and well done for kicking up a stink about this - things will only change when enough people behave as you have done.

Mike

[Smiff77]

I had to post this comment by a VF employee in an exchange made on another Forum:

The PayForIt service available on Vodafone is a legitimate operation designed to let customers pay for items they've consented to download, like games, music and ringtones. It's a service which has been adopted by many mobile phone networks as it offers a secure method of charging for content. It guarantees peace of mind for customers purchasing items with their phones, and has absolutely nothing to do with any illegitimate premium rate services, even if it's operated by the same company.

Is it me, or what????????????

[mike99]

@Smiff77



You could not make this stuff up.

Are you able to provide the URL to this?

Mike

[Smiff77]

@Mike99

It's 3G forum;

http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/showthre...688#post367688

[Smiff77]

@Mike99

Quote from 'The Pedant':

.....not every service provided by a premium rate firm is crooked even if the firm does run many crooked services.....

Quote from 'VF employee':

....has absolutely nothing to do with any illegitimate premium rate services, even if it's operated by the same company.

Hmmmmmmmmm

[Hamlet]

http://www.telemedia-news.com/newsitem.aspx?id=1486

A significant share of telemedia industry members report lower conversion rates with Payforit compared to PSMS and other billing mechanisms

...such as these wonderful 8kB auto diallers?