DO NOT shop with TheOneStopPhoneShop

[Guest hamd01]

I recently ordered a C500 on orange contract from the osps, and Im a little pi**ed off to say the least. The phone wasnt in stock as they suggested it was when I placed the order, and now I have had a direct debit set up by them for something which I never even ordered. I have spoken to them on the phone, and got a very stroppy member of their sales team. I offered to listen back to the recording of my conversation when I placed the order, and they advised I couldnt do that without paying a fee. Below is the email I have sent to trading standards;

I short, stay well clear of these con men!

David.

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Dear Sir / Madam,

On 22nd Sept 2004 I placed an order for a mobile phone and contract from the One Stop Phone Shop (www.oneshopphoneshop.com) over the phone. When placing the order I was told that the conversation was being recorded, and I was asked to answer and agree to the terms and conditions, which I did. I was told that £25 per month would be taken from my bank account, and that I would be given 3 months free insurance, but should I wish to not pay for the insurance after 3 months, I should cancel the direct debit which would be set up. I agreed to this.

In the past week I have received confirmation from Orange that they will debit my account every month, and confirmation from the insurance company that they will debit my account from December. This is fine, as agreed.

However, yesterday morning I received a letter from a company called tmti, stating that they would start taking direct debits from my account on the 14/12/04. The service they apparently offer is technical support for using your mobile phone. I am 100% certain I never asked for this, nor was I told about it, yet the onestopphoneshop.com have obviously passed on my bank account details and issued authority for them to starting taking monies from my account. The letter states that I should write a letter if I wish to cancel my contract with them… which I never even knew about.

Are the OneStopPhoneShop allowed to do this?

What action can I take?

Your help would be greatly appreciated. My contact number is

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[Guest awarner [MVP]]

They are not allowed to pass direct debit details to a third party

unless you have agreed with them.

the first thing you should do is contact your bank immediately and

insist that this debit has not been set up with your concent.

If you do not say that they will tell you to cancel to the company in writing which would still mean you may have already made a payment before the cancellation takes place.

How much are they trying to charge?

[Guest Flubster]

In the Terms and Conditions of onestopphoneshop.....

(In the Insurance Section...)

Your insurance also comes with 10 mins complementary technical support from TMTI (Talk Me Through It). Should you wish to continue this support, £6.99 per quarter will be debited via DD from your bank account. You are covered by the Direct Debit guarantee and can cancel this at any time without affecting your insurance.

http://www.onestopphoneshop.co.uk/termsand...dconditions.htm

(I'm bored at work! Wondered what TMTI was!)

Flubster

[Guest hamd01]

I delbt with the one stop phone shop via the phone, and was never made aware of those terms and conditions.

I have spokent o trading standards and they say there isnt much I can do about it other than cancel the DD. It is a case of their word against mine....they say they told me the terms, I say they didnt. If push comes to shove, they can simply say that they didnt make a recording of my telephone conversation and thus there is nothing I can do about it.

Last time I order over the phone like that.

David.

[Guest the_ugly_north]

It is a case of their word against mine....they say they told me the terms, I say they didnt.  If push comes to shove, they can simply say that they didnt make a recording of my telephone conversation and thus there is nothing I can do about it.

Ermm.

So what if they didn't make a recording or it is their word against yours? That cannot stand as evidence against you or as proof that you accepted the deal. Lets say I state that you offered to pay me £1 million by dd. You renege on the deal. Can I get the money out of you. Nope not a chance. Nada...

Do as I did just cancel the Direct Debit. Not difficult.

[Guest hamd01]

According to trading standards, if they say they didnt make a recording yes.... its their word against mine and there is nothing I can do about them taking these funds from my account. I have canceled the DD, but its the principal of it which bothers me. This is a major loophole in the law.... in future I might just make my own recording.

David.

[Guest awarner [MVP]]

in future I might just make my own recording.

Remember you have to tell them you are making a recording.

[Guest maxh2003]

Of course, you only have to notify the person at the other end that you're recording the call, if the recording will ever be made available to a third party:

http://www.retellrecorders.co.uk/legal/home.htm

(the Ofcom FAQ is now gone from the net, and Oftel appear not to have put up their own FAQ AFAICS)

I always wanted to go through Orange's switchboard - "this call may be recorded for our benefit, but not yours" - then tell the person at the other end of the line the same thing. I wonder how many of 'em would just cut you off? Maybe it would be best to ask for a person's name *before* telling them the call is being recorded, so you can shop 'em if they cut you off.

[Guest philgriffiths]

As far as i understand it to record a telephohne conversation without the persons consent is a breach of their human rights (article 12 i think) so therefore you must inform them they are being recorded.

You said that in your first conversations you were "asked to answer and agree to the terms and conditions" which you said you did. This is I presume where they could argue you had agreed to the DD since it was contained in their T's&C's. Were the terms and conditions even read out to you over the phone or something. or do they simply just say agreee to our terms and conditions. If so thats really dodgy.

[Guest maxh2003]

to record a telephohne conversation without the persons consent is a breach of their human rights (article 12 i think)

I disagree. Article 8 guarantees the right to privacy (article 12 is the right to marry...) but if the conversation hasn't been shared with a third party, then clearly no breach of privacy has taken place. If the conversation *was* shared with a third party, then this would probably be a breach of the Human Rights Act (HRA) - but it would *already* be illegal under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), as I indicated.

More importantly - and this is a common misconception - in Britain, the Human Rights Act only applies to public bodies. So if the Government recorded your conversation without permission, the HRA would be relevant; if I did it, the HRA doesn't come into it. See the BBC's page on the HRA: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ican/A1185527 :

The Human Rights Act 1998 makes it unlawful for public bodies to violate the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. These include:

Police

Government departments

Local councils