Hi everyone,

O2 are still up to their same old tricks. I paid them £45.00 n January 2008 to settle an account that I closed because they would not port my number withut a huge amount of hassle. (Funny how many of the complaintss here have aisen from closing accounts) They misallocated the funds and paid my money into the wrong account. I pointed this out to them within a month of it happening, and even sent them a copy of the cheque showing that payment had been made. That didn't make any difference. They didn't sort the problem and then they defaulted me without telling me that this would happen, some 4 months later. I only found this out through checking my Experian records. Loads of calls and correspondence ensued. They finally removed the debt but would not change the default notification which had reduced my national credit score from 998, excellent, to 971 which is poor.

They sent me cheque for £100 as a goodwill gesture which I returned to them. All I wanted was my credit record restored. It is important for my business.

I complained to the Information Commisioners Office about breaches of the Data Protection Act because they failed to keep accurate data. I also complained to ICO that they failed to follow their Technical Guidance which says organisations should not default accounts that are in dispute, which mine certainly was.

I informed O2 of the ICO complaint but, this made no difference. This is probably because I was still dealing with a low-level, pen pushing fobber-offer who didn't take me seriously and would not pass my complaint up the management chain or to their Data Controller. In fact, she would not address any of my legitmate queries in respect of misusiing my data. All I would get was the standard one line reply, saying that she couldn't help unless I provided more evidence that I had paid. All I could possibly produce for this was my payment cheque which they had already seen. I threatened legal action. No response

I have now folowed through with my threat of raising a court action. Section 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998 enables victims of organisations who contravene the act to raise a claim for damages and distress. I am claiming £3000, under the small claims procedure, for damage and distress. ( If anyone else tries this, please note that in order for it to succeed you must actually have suffered some damage -you cannot claim just for distress) My claim relates to the damage to my personal credit record which has resulted in denied loans and offers of loans on less favourable terms for me personally and for a small business that I own.

Under section 14 of the Data Protection Act courts can order organisations to rectify,erase block or destroy inaccurate data, so I have included this in my claim. The beauty of the above process is that small claims ar relatively cheap for consumers to raise, with little chance of having to pay costs if we lose. Lawyers are not required. We can represent ourselves and the courts are generally very sympathetic and helpful towards us if we don't exactly know the procedures to follow or what legal speak to use etc.

For O2 and other large organisations it will be pain in the butt. They will probably have to pay Solicitors to defend the action and I will make sure there will be plenty of negative publicity (The David and Goliath story ).Even if they defend the case (which I seriously doubt they will- I expect a lesser offer than my claim ) and we lose, its only a few quid well spent giving them back some of the hassle they have given me. By the way, I live on the Isle of Skye,so they will have to send their solicitors hundreds of miles to appear to defend this action. That will probably cost them 3 grand in itself.

I'll keep you advised of progress, as the case was only raised in yesterday, August 27 2008. The process take around 3 months.

If anyone else wants to try this strategy there is information and leaflets on the ICO website. www.ico.gov.uk Dig around the site. It is large and sometimes confusing but the info is there.

Regards

Neil

I think the claim has a fairly good chance Bertie. I certainly hope it succeeds. It may give courage to a few more people who have been basically defamed by these faceless morons who think they can stonewall customers legitimate complaints.

Thers is probably fairly little chance that the ICO will do much to help when there is only a couple of complaints but, if all the people who are on this forum also complain something may happen.

It may be interesting to learn, under a freedom of information request, how many people have been defaulted for paltry sums like mine. I was with them for over 10 years and, until very recently, my biz was spending up to £800 a month with O2. Never missed a payment - ever.

I moved pretty quick when I realised what they really thought of my business. I'm actually paying more for my service with vodafone but I couldn't continue to do business with an organisation which happily took money from me every month while at the same time they tried to ruin my reputation.

Things will certainly be moved along. One key thing with all complaints is 1) state exactly what the issue is and how it has affected you. 2) Don't state anything that they can either object to or what 'watersdown' your argument, and 3) Set time limits on how long you are prepared to wait for action and what you will do if the matter is not amicably resolved.

Of the above, many people spend too long let the matter lie in limbo and bouncing around with staff who either do not wish to do anything, or cannot do anything.

Finally, you may be surprised with how the ICO react. They do only need 1 complaint to do anything, and for similar organisations numbers of complaints totally 20 is often regarded as a very large number.

RESULT

I received a letter from the court today which confirmed that the Summons had been served on O2. Checked my credit report with Equifax and Experian shortly after and guess what? The default has been removed. My credit score has gone up from 971 to 999. Now all that remains is that they pay me for the damage and gross inconvenience that they caused.

Why they wouldn't see sense long before now is really quite beyond me. I was a longstanding loyal customer of over ten years, spending hundreds of pounds a month. For a £45.00 debt (that I never owed them) they lost my business and, I hope, the 3 grand that I hope to take off them if this goes to court.

I can feel an offer of settlement coming on. It better be a good one because I really want my day in court to expose these clowns.

WELL DONE!

If you do get an offer, and still decide to go to court, remember that if the court decides that the offer made was reasonable (even if not exactly what the court actually does offer), then the court could make you pay the court costs and even the legal costs of yourself (if any) and O2. So be careful that the amounts you are claiming have a basis!

Good luck!

You are quite right about the damages award, Bertie. I am very confident that we have plenty of evidence that would actually exceed the small claim limit of £3,000. The only reason I went the small claims route was the lack of hassle and the restriction in award of costs in the VERY unlikley event that we lose. In balance, I'm happy to take the chance on throwing away a few hundred quid to expose these schysters. It's not really about the money for me any more.

They fact they took my money and then, basically, called me a liar when I tried explain the truth of the matter to them. That hacked me right off. I'm secretly hoping they don't want to settle.

Well, it's all over. O2 left it to the very last minute before they returned the small claims Summons to court. I actually thought I had won by default. (In Scotland, if the defender doesn't reply to the summons by a certain date, all you have to do is ask for judgement in your favour and it will be granted in full without you having to appear in court.)

With a couple of days to go before the hearing of the case a nice lawyer-type phones me to discuss the case. After a couple of emails and calls are exchanged we settle on a figure and it's all over to everyones satisfaction. Unfortunately I can't say any more because the terms of settlement include a confidentiality agreement. All I would say is that, if you think you have a case pursue them all the way. It is definitely worth it. I learned, during negotiations, that it's O2 policy not to remove defaults until the customer demonstrates that they are serious. They will completely stonewall you as long as possible. It appears the only way to let them know you are serious is to raise an action. They removed mine pretty quickly after they received the summons.

Good luck all and don't let the *** grind you down.

So there I am, thinking "why this is only happening to me" and as I read the pages of complaints I realise the comforting reality that i'm not alone.

I paid my bill (almost £1700) as final settlement after moving abroad in 2006.

O2 maked my account as settled and it has remained so ever since.

Jan 09 Equifax alerted me to the fact that my previously settled account is now showing as defaulted.

For 3 weeks i have tried to contact someone at o2 and have had no luck - they cannot find my details on the system.

Last week I managed to get through to a manager who clearly understood that o2 were the root of all evil and between us managed to locate my account, archived in "another" system and with a misspelling of my name.

After several further converstions and emails the excuses began to fly out.

- there was a system error

- your account was ghosted

- it has been paid and there isnt a default

- you did not pay and we defaulted you in 2007

The last point they made is now their sole focus. They told me how they had "up to 6mths" to raise the default and that payment was not allocated to my account - actually i had two accounts, settled on the same day - the other one is fine (settled) - for now! o2 told me that this default was not registered in Jan 09, but March 07. Imagine her surprise when i emailed her a copy of my file every month from the date it was settled to Jan 09.

Now they are simply being stubborn. They are saying that payment isnt allocated and therefore they will not remove the default. I need to provide them with a reciept or credit card statement to show payment. I told them that the amount was paid on a foreign cc acount which is now closed and since there wasnt any dispute over payment at the time, when i returned back to england i didnt keep any statements.

I emailed and posted letters to their CS, CR, Legal and Credit teams and gave them a deadline of COB yesterday before i would look at legal proceedings. I have heard nothing - not even an acknowledgment of the letters.

Calling them this morning i have found out that the emails have been circulating around o2 and it has gone to some department and they "should have called you by now". I told the manager that I would now start a claim online for the outstanding balance. I do not want extra money from them, just to close the account and return it to settled! For the record, they have no intention of pursuing me for the money they claim to be outstanding.

The forms are all filled in - I am putting the defendant's details as:

Telefónica O2 UK, 260 Bath Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4DX

I have told o2 that as a gesture of good will i will give them another 24hrs to get someone to at least communicate with me.

Throughout this whole process, o2 have not called me or written to me once. I have had to chase them continually. surely there is some sort of rule about registering defaults without telling you and a better way than having to take them to court to get them removed...

Vacman - is there any chance you can get in contact with me? I would be really interested to know the best way to handle this moving forward - i will almost certainly issue them a claim form tomorrow...

Kal-el,

Your case seems quite similar to my own, with the exception that you do not appear to have any proof of payment. This would be helpful. I was able to send a copy of the cheque although, strangely, that was not enough for them to remove the default. They still insisted that the default would stand. They appear to hold out until you actually lodge the summons in court. I think they bank on most people giving up and going away. My default was removed fairly quickly after the summons was delivered, but I received no communication from them that they had done so. Open a free account with Credit Expert or Equifax to keep an eye on your credit file. Only the 1st month is free so be careful to close it down as soon as your finished with it. While your account is open you can append a notice to your file saying that you disagree with the data and that you are suing the provider. They will have some info on theirt site on how to do this.

If O2 remove the default it's a sign of admission that they are in the wrong. Why else would they remove it.

As well as submitting a small claim I also complained to the Information Commissioners Office. I felt this might show O2 that I was serious. You will find a complaint form on the ICO website. By the time the ICO had replied to my complaint the case was settled. For this reason you may consider missing out this step, although it may help in the unlikely event that they appear to defend the case. Don't be put off if they make no contact after the summons is sent. I think it is a tactic that they use in the hope that you will capitulate. DON'T phone them after you lodge the summons, it will give the impression that you are nervous.

They didn't respond to my summons until the very last day, when they faxed the court to indicate that they would defend the action. The very next day a very nice chap phoned to try and settle. Be tough. The first offer is very low. Laugh at him and tell him that you wouldn't have bothered submitting a claim to settle for such a derisory offer. Tell him how upset you are and what damage the default has done to your impeccable reputation. Perhaps you have been turned down for loans. You might tell him that you are happy to let the judge decide as he might find the damage caused to be worth substantially more than their offer. I can't tell you how much I received but I would hang around until there is around three zeros after the figure

This is how I worded my small claim

The pursuer held a mobile phone under contract with Telefonica O2 UK Ltd. The contract was signed at ADDRESS ADDRESS ADDRESS which is within the jurisdiction of XXXX Court. The mobile telephone number was 000000000. On xx January 200X the defender received payment from the pursuer and cashed a cheque to the value of £XXX in respect of the mobile telephone credit account held with the pursuer. The defender misallocated the above funds and thereafter produced data that claimed that the above account had not been paid by the pursuer. The pursuer claims that the defenders contravened the terms of section 14 of the Data Protection Act 1998 whereby they failed to maintain accurate data in respect of the payment made by the pursuer in relation to the above mobile telephone account. The inaccurate data was disclosed to third parties including Credit Reference Agencies, Equifax and Experian. The distribution of this inaccurate data significantly damaged the pursuers long-standing excellent credit rating, causing the pursuer considerable distress and causing damage personally to the pursuer and to a small business operated by the pursuer whereby personal and business credit terms were, or could be, denied or offered on less favourable terms. In accordance with section 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998 the pursuer seeks liquidated damages in the amount of £x,000 along with interest on that sum of 8% annually from the date of service (together with the expenses of bringing the action).

The pursuer further seeks an order requiring the defender to comply with section 14 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and directing them to rectify, erase, block or destroy all inaccurate data held in respect of the pursuers mobile telephone credit accounts and to notify all third parties to whom the d ata has been disclosed of the rectification, blocking erasure or destruction of the data.

Best of luck and don't give up.

regards

Neil

Hi Kel - Al

Yuor claim is similar to mine without unfortunately the proof that you paid.

My claim was worded as follows :

· The pursuer held a mobile phone under contract with Telefonica O2 UK Ltd. The contract was signed at Address, Address, which is within the jurisdiction of Address Adress Court. The mobile telephone number was 000000000. On 0^th Month 200X the defender received payment from the pursuer and cashed a cheque to the value of £XX.00 in respect of the mobile telephone credit account held with the pursuer. The defender misallocated the above funds and thereafter produced data that claimed that the above account had not been paid by the pursuer. The pursuer claims that the defenders contravened the terms of section 14 of the Data Protection Act 1998 whereby they failed to maintain accurate data in respect of the payment made by the pursuer in relation to the above mobile telephone account. The inaccurate data was disclosed to third parties including Credit Reference Agencies, Equifax and Experian. The distribution of this inaccurate data significantly damaged the pursuers long-standing excellent credit rating, causing the pursuer considerable distress and causing damage personally to the pursuer and to a small business operated by the pursuer whereby personal and business credit terms were, or could be, denied or offered on less favourable terms. In accordance with section 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998 the pursuer seeks liquidated damages in the amount of £X,000 along with interest on that sum of 8% annually from the date of service (together with the expenses of bringing the action).

· The pursuer further seeks an order requiring the defender to comply with section 14 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and directing them to rectify, erase, block or destroy all inaccurate data held in respect of the pursuers mobile telephone credit accounts and to notify all third parties to whom the data has been disclosed of the rectification, blocking erasure or destruction of the data.

They will stonewall you until you submit the summons. It appears to be a tactic they use in the hope that you'll go away.

My credit default was quietly removed from my file quite quickly after the action was raised.

Open an account with CreditExpert or Equifax to keep an eye on it. It's free for the 1st month. When you do , you can append a notice of correction to your file saying you disagree with the data and that you are pursuing legal action against the company who supplied it. Don't forget to close the account before the month is up or it'll cost you around £10 - 15 per month

The mobile company will probably do nothing about the summons itself until the very last day. They faxed the court on the last day with min,e indicating that they would defend the action. However, the very next day a very nice chap called to try and settle the claim. Their first offer is very low, so laugh at him and tell him it is derisory. Does he think you went to all this trouble for a paltry couple of hundred quid. Why, your time preparing the case has cost more than that. You are gutted, stressed etc etc at the offhand way you have been treated. Your reputation has suffered a massive blow - Credit crunch etc etc . You have been turned down for loans etc etc etc. Make it tough for him. Ask him to hang up and think about it for a while. You are quite prepared to go to court, as you are sure the judge will see it your way. It will cost them a grand or more in lawyers fees to defend your action, so tell him that. They are looking at the wrong side of £3-4 grand of they defend and lose

If he does as you tell him and goes away to think about it, some time later that day you'll get a call with a much improved offer. Tell him that you'll accept XYW (add at least 15-20% to his first offer ) You should hang out for a figure with at least three zeros.

Best of luck and don't give up.

Regards

Neil

Thanks Neil,

I did just receive a phone call to tell me that "someone is definitely looking in to this".

You're right, i dont actually have physical proof of payment however the fact that they recorded my account as settled for 28 consecutive months must count for something?

The numerous misallocation of payments and the multiple errors that customers experience means that they must have known they had these issues and they should have contacted me before issuing the default.

As much as i would love to sue o2 for direct losses, the reality is that i caught this before it could do any real damage to my credit agreements, only wasting my time and undue stress which i might be lucky to get £100 for! However if this is not sorted soon it will have a negative effect on my ability to get a mortgage and if that happens, i will go after them for everything i can.

Will keep you posted.

Thanks for your help

Oli

Wow, I can't believe I've suffered the wrath of O2 in silence all this time!!! I've been getting demands from CSL debt collections regarding an O2 account I had in 2006, I cancelled this contract in Sept 2007 after my 12 months was up, I paid the last direct debit and I never heard from O2 again. In November 2008 I received the first of many phonecalls from this CSL debt collection demanding I pay £286 I owe O2!! Now O2 had NEVER contacted me regarding this amount, I took the account out over the phone with O2 so had no way of checking an online account. I refused to pay CSL and contacted O2, who told me they were unable to speak to me because the debt had been passed to CSL!!!!!! Needless to say I was livid as I knew I owed O2 nothing!! Anyway, 6 weeks passed where I was phoned by CSL demanding money from me 4 and 5 times A DAY!! Still I refused to pay anything because I knew I owed them nothing. In January 2009 I received a letter from CSL saying I had 72 hours to phone and pay the full balance of the baliffs would be on my doorstep, so I phoned CSL and told them I would pay £20 at the minute but I would be speaking to CSA about this. I paid the £20 and was waiting for my appointment with CSA when it suddenly occured to me to check my credit report. I checked this and to my delight read that I owed O2 £0 and the credit was settled on 18/09/07 with NO defaults (which I knew anyway)!! I phoned both O2 and CSL and finally was refunded my £20 after being branded a liar by CSL (they refused to believe my credit report showed the balance as settled) and having to email them a copy of my credit report. When I was finally able to speak to O2 that day the nice man I got on the phone said that I had owed them £35 (monthly line rental, partly my fault as I cancelled the direct debit before the last payment was out) but that I had phoned and paid it when I noticed by mistake, however O2 pass the debt to CSL within 3 weeks, but basically that CSL had left the debt to accrue a years worth of interest (hence the £286) before chasing me for it!!!!

All sorted now though, but thankfully I'm in the clear, all thanks to my credit report, or I'd probably have gave in and paid the debt for fear of being taken to court.

It's nice to see that i'm not the only one to have an issue with 02!

I moved home in July 2007 and had an outstanding bill to settle with 02. I didn't think I would be able to afford to pay the ball in full so I contacted 02's Customer Services Dept. I had a very friendly chat with a guy (he supported the same football team as me, as I remember!) and arranged for a final bill to be sent out (I was confused by the online bill), seeing as my contract was up and I wanted to cancel. I never received a bill.

I noticed last month when checking my credit report, as I do sometimes, that I had a default AND a CCJ from 02 for £273. I was obviously frustrated and angry about this seeing as they agreed to send out a final bill for me to settle; I received no bill and no notification of the default or CCJ. Just before I moved home, I changed my address on the 02 website so that they had up-to-date records and it clearly shows on my credit report that my new address was linked to the old one around the same time I moved, i.e. this proves that I changed my address at that point.

It defies belief to me that they can justify destroying my credit file when they failed to carry out something which they had agreed to. The fact of the matter is that they had my new address from July 2007 and issued the CCJ in March 2008, yet I received no information about it. They also AGREED to send me a final bill so I could setlle it; I obviously had the facility of paying this bill online, however I was unable to do this due to a lack of internet access at the time and had therefore requested the paper bill.

How can they justify doing this, when they actually broke their promise and failed to act as they had agreed?

I'm looking to apply for a mortgage within the next year so I need this to be resolved otherwise my dreams of owning a home will not be fulfilled for at least five years...

FAO: ROB BARNES!!!!

Hello Rob,

I am also having major issues with a default o2 have put onto my credit file without informing me. There was a balance on my account, which I was not aware of and instead of sending me a letter or advising a default was going to be put on my file they just went ahead and put the default on. I never received any correspondence from them and funnily enough it seems likely they no longer have copies of the apparent letters that are alleging they sent to me?!.

Can you please e-mail me details regarding your issues and which chairman/director you wrote to? I am unable to get a mortgage/bank account because of this default.

Any help would be appreciated.

Many Thanks

Rocks