O2 is chasing my 86-year-old father for a £169 debt after he was scammed: CRANE IN THE CASE

My father is 86 years old and has been pursued by debt collectors working for O2.

In March, she received a call telling her that as an O2 customer she was entitled to a “free gift pack”. She realised it was a scam, so said she didn’t want it.

She called O2 to report what had happened and was told by customer services to cancel her direct debit until the fraud was sorted out, which she did.

But shortly after, she received a letter from O2 stating that she had signed a contract for a new iPhone.

The phone is supposed to have gone to the scammer’s address and the father must have given enough information to have it sorted into his account.

The problem is that they have never confirmed to him that the fraud has been resolved, so his direct debit has been cancelled.

During April and May we called O2 to try to pay directly over the phone or restart their direct debit but were told their account was not visible in the online system and we were unable to pay.

In May, she received a letter threatening to disconnect her phone unless she paid £168.59. We called O2 but were told we couldn’t speak to the fraud department and that they would get back to us within 10-14 days. The phone was then disconnected.

Shortly afterwards, she received a letter from debt collection firm Moorcroft offering her a deal to pay £84.73, including a £15 reconnection fee.

My father told Moorcroft that he did not want his phone reconnected and paid him £79.73 (the amount less the reconnection fee).

However, in June she received another letter from O2 demanding payment of the original £168.59, with no mention of the £79.73 payment made. It has now issued a default notice. KK, Teesside

Helen Crane, consumer rights campaigner at This is Money, replies: I’m sorry to hear this happened to your dad.

Crimes involving mobile phones are rife, whether it’s tricking someone into ordering the latest iPhone from a criminal or snatching their device, as in the story I’ll tell below.

Although he was in his eighties, his father was alert enough to realise that the person who called him pretending to be from O2 was up to no good.

But unfortunately, she had already provided enough account information for them to log into her online account, place an order for a new iPhone on contract, and have it shipped to the scammer’s address.

You’ve been confused by receiving bills with different amounts, so you can’t work out the exact cost, but a high-end iPhone with unlimited data can cost as much as £70 a month. You’re also not sure when the contract for that phone was cancelled.

By cancelling his direct debit, his father also stopped paying his current phone bill, which was around £30 a month.

The last bill you received suggested that your father owed £169 for the period March to July.

When you contacted me, I suspected that the advice your dad had been given to cancel his direct debit was incorrect.

However, I understand why he did it. It was what the person he spoke to told him and he was afraid that the scammer still had access to his O2 online account and could order more phones or sign up for another contract.

Businesses rarely advise their customers to cancel a direct debit for a service they want to continue receiving. Why would they? If they do, they are much more likely to default and end up in debt.

But you and your father went to great lengths to try to pay O2 the money he owed. You made regular 30km round trips to his house to call the phone network together and ask him to pay the bill over the phone or restart the direct debit.

But every time you did it, you were basically told that the computer said no.

She couldn’t make the payment because she wasn’t in the system, but warning letters kept coming, and then letters from a debt collection agency started coming.

Call: The father recognised the call was a scam, but too late. He had already given the scammer some of his O2 account details, allowing them to order a new iPhone in his name.

After this, he decided he wanted to pay up, close his O2 account and go somewhere else.

I spoke to O2 to ask them to clarify exactly how much their father owed and ask them to pay his bill.

O2 admitted that the agent his father spoke to gave him incorrect advice when he asked him to cancel his direct debit. O2 said it issued regular reports to its telephone operators and would speak to this person to ensure it does not happen again.

O2 has written off the debt on his account as a gesture of goodwill, as well as refunding his most recent payment of £74.23 and a further £60. It has also promised to rectify any changes to his father’s credit history.

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A spokeswoman said: “We apologize (to the customer) for the trouble you experienced in resolving the fraud on your account.

‘We have cancelled all the debt and offered a gesture of goodwill for the customer’s poor experience, which has been accepted.

‘Unfortunately, this fraudulent activity was possible because (he) was tricked into handing over his security information to the scammer.

‘We urge customers to be vigilant when they receive unexpected calls. We will never call you and ask you to read out your one-time passcode over the phone. The best thing you can do if you suspect you are speaking to a scammer is to hang up and call us back by dialling 202 from your O2 phone.’

O2 claims my Sim is “not an O2 number”… even though I bought it from an O2 store

In June, whilst walking back to my hotel in Bournemouth, my phone was stolen. The phone had an O2 device and a calling plan which cost £75.67 a month. I reported the theft to the police but have not received a response.

I bought a new phone and tried to get a new SIM card with the same number. I asked O2 for this three times but was told it was not possible due to “technical issues”.

I was about to go on holiday abroad and was keen to get a working phone, so I visited the O2 store in Salisbury and took out a new SIM only contract, with a new phone number, for £16.99 a month.

Nickel: CMG had its phone taken from its hand and had trouble cancelling the contract

But I haven’t been able to get any signal on that Sim, so it was useless.

When I called O2 customer services, I was told that the number associated with the SIM card was “not an O2 number”, even though I had proof that it had been purchased from an O2 store.

I can’t cancel the £16.99 a month contract and I’m still paying £75.67 a month for the stolen phone and the other contract I couldn’t cancel. Can you help me? CMG, Wiltshire

Helen Crane responds: This is a mobile disaster of considerable proportions. I am sorry that you have fallen victim to the ruthless gangs of phone thieves who terrorise the streets of Britain and who sadly show no sign of going away.

The advice is to keep your phone in your pocket or bag when you’re out and about, but that’s a lot easier said than done when we rely on them for everything from getting directions to paying for parking and storing train tickets or hailing taxis.

Fortunately, they were unable to access any of your banking applications or steal any of your money.

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Your real problem started when you tried to get a replacement phone before a trip abroad.

Buying the phone was easy enough, although getting a new phone with the same specs cost a painful £1,099.

But getting a new SIM card with the same number proved impossible, for reasons you say O2 could not explain.

About to go on holiday and desperate, you went to an O2 store and got a new Sim-only contract with a different number for 24 months, but even that didn’t work as the Sim never received a signal.

You were baffled when you were told it wasn’t an O2 SIM card, even after you had produced the receipt and contract you were given at the O2 store. What on earth was going on?

When I contacted the company, I was told that the SIM card I had purchased (which was indeed from O2) had not been activated correctly due to an error.

He has apologised to you and cancelled the airtime agreements for both the stolen phone and the new SIM only contract.

It’s not that simple: Our reader tried to transfer his phone number to a new SIM card after his phone was stolen, but was told by O2 that it wasn’t possible.

It has also written off the remaining balance on the stolen phone’s loan, which is good news. Mobile phone companies aren’t required to do this when a phone is stolen, and many customers are left paying for a phone they no longer own.

He has also paid you £200 as a gesture of goodwill and you will be able to get your old phone number back if you wish.

An O2 spokesperson said: ‘We have spoken to (the customer) directly to apologise for the experience they had.

“Due to a technical error, the SIM card he purchased after his device was stolen was not activated. We have closed both accounts, waived any outstanding charges and provided him with £200 as a gesture of goodwill.”