Premium line scam??

S

Sherib

Guest
Message left early January "Someone in your household
has won one of our major prizes" - phone for Claim Code and prize won. Prizes included a BMW. Told the call would
cost €2.40/min. Fool - I phoned. The prize
a two week holiday in Canaries for two
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. Got claim code and P.O. Box address in UK. Asked to send name, address, phone no., claim code and sae. Couldn't see how an Irish stamp could be used from the UK. (Didn't know about euro stamps then). Did nothing - certain I had fallen for another scam. Was on to Consumers Affairs about Ramada and casually mentioned that call.

Advised to phone Reg Tel 1850 741 741. Immagine my surprize when told it was genuine!! Does everyone know all
premium line calls have to be approved by Reg Tel?

Then queried the stamp issue and was advised to contact "Phonovation" the service provider here. They said yes, go ahead. The sae's are collected and sent back in a bundle and posted here. Presumably they send a voucher for the BMW. Still don't believe it but worth two stamps to see it through. If
the prize
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doesn't arrive within 60 days, I'll get back to Reg Tel. Will keep you posted if anyone is interested.

Ramada is a five page link now which is a pity because they are as active as ever here and elsewhere. Maybe everyone using this site is unlikely to be taken in? A public confession - I was in March 04. Normal antennae were disabled. Consumer Affairs is now helping. A legally qualified woman has dictated a letter for me to send. Apparently under legislation there is a "cooling off period of seven days" and I cancelled within that time. The letter is very strong quoting U.S. legislation under various Acts and laws. I can't write it here in case of libel.

Something else. Since I cancelled my credit card immediately
after the call from Ramada, Consumer Affairs suggested phoning Visa. Did that today but got nowhere. Doesn't apply to Ramada but if it had been "a charge back issue" e.g.
goods purchased over the net and not delivered, there would
have been redress if reported within six months.

Sorry this is so long but I would hate to see anyone else
taken in by Ramada. A link posted here indicated Ramada/
their impersonators are very clever. It is a holdiay but far from how they described it. A horror holiday but one man in the U.S. got his money back after three years. The Attorney General's office in Florida has been involved. Only opened this embarrassing can of worms because of reading about it on this site.
 
Yes ClubMan. But would you look at a post at 7.06 p.m. today from vorisek under Borrowing, Banking and Credit Cards.

Seems to me Credit Card providers are not exactly shaping up. If I pay a bill for a utility using 24 hour banking, the
money is whipped out of my account instantaneously yet takes two-three working days to reach the utility. The money, meanwhile, is twirling around in cyberspace. A cheque in an envelope would get there faster. Given the number of transactions, this must make a lot of money for someone (? the bank). If not, who?

Given that time lag, why can't the same apply to credit card transactions when a person realises they have been conned and notifies Visa immediately? Not all debits hit a Visa
account instantaneously so why can't these unusual
transactions be flagged? In the past, over a certain amount, shops like B.T's have phoned Visa in my presence.

In the not so old days, a cheque could be cancelled.
Is this two steps forward and three steps back?

If this is confusing, sorry, I'm a lateral thinker. You've
been especially helpful in the area of IT - thank you.

PS How do I get the text to go the full width of the page?
 
Nice work Sherib good to hear Consumer Affairs have a heads up on Ramada.
 
(? the bank). If not, who?
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Of course it's the bank. It takes three 'working' days for payment to be transferred from my a/c with BoI to the credit cards section of self-same BoI, whether I do it online or 'manually' from my branch by giro — although in both cases the amount leaves my a/c instantly. Imagine three days' interest on the amount of customers' money BoI has 'twirling around in cyberspace' at any given moment? Every day of the week, every month of the year..? ;)

By the way, 'stopping' a cheque costs you, too. I haven't had to do it in years, but BoI used to charge IE£7.00 per cheque, back in the 90s. I presume that's been appropriately 'rounded up' since the introduction of the Euro...
 
Comment on posts. Ramada is dear to my heart - cost
me €751.86. :eek: Got a very useful link from this site. Almost 600 posts about Ramada and two recent ones from Cork and Clonskeagh. The Credit Card Banks have a role in this which I can't quite put my finger on but it's between them it is and they are not doing the business for us.

Spent a couple of hours researching that site and paid myself
€350 /hour - in advance. One man in U.S. got his money back - threatened them with everything bar hell. I'm going to do the same and it was hopeful to see that some of the wording in his letter coincided exactly with the proposed letter advised by Consumer Affairs only stronger. :mad

Switch to AIB Dr Moriarty. That's the one bill payment that goes straight into AIB Visa's account. On a few occasions I was late by a couple of days. Rang Visa and was never charged interest!
 
Switch to AIB...
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I would, Sherib, but
(a) I walk to work, and there's a BoI branch & Pass machine right next door to my workplace, whereas the nearest AIB branch/Banklink is a 20-min. walk away, downtown
(b) Despite all their urgings I only keep a deposit a/c with them — no Laser card, no chequebook, no overdraft facility ...and no fees or charges.
(c) My employer is with BoI, so my salary & any expenses go into my a/c three days earlier than if I were to nominate, say my NIB freebank current a/c (which provides all the things I don't get fom BoI, but free)
(d) I have a BoI-issued Amex Blue card which earns me about €250 p.a. in cashback :D Of course, I wouldn't dream of missing a payment! One month's compound interest would probably wipe out that cashback bonus... :|

Good luck with the bad ship Ramada...
 
Great news about Ramada!

Posting to Scams to look out for.

Thank you and emaceile for the encouragement.

:shamrock
 
Suggestion for anybody having problems with CREDIT Cards.
When you get your statement ring the Credit card Company and say you know nothing about the debit!
They will then do a traceback (I think it's called) and the originator has to provide the signed slip (obviously none in the case as it's over the phone). When they say it was over the phone just say "I don't know anything about this" and the CC company will then have to recredit you.
 
"I don't know anything about this" and the CC company will then have to recredit you.
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Id say that they record the calls and will have a copy of it with you agreeing to having your card charged.
 
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