Mobile phone network O2 has won a legal battle against a Welsh sales company whose agents have been calling O2 customers and persuading them to switch to rival networks such as Orange and 3.
The practice is known in the trade as slamming and is a major problem for the networks as well as being very lucrative for the sales companies, who often earn substantial commissions.
Landmark Marketing Services was apparently ringing O2 customers offering upgrades and duping them into switching contracts. O2 has now won £500,000 in compensation from Landmark after a number of complaints were made to Ofcom, the regulatory body.
We asked O2 about the deal and a spokesman confirmed:
Landmark has recently entered into a settlement with O2 where it has agreed to put a stop to the practice of mis-selling and has paid £500,000 compensation. We are already involved in pre-litigation correspondence with another company and are lining up several others for actions in the near future.
What can I do if a sales agent rings?
- Don’t give your name. Most use random automated diallers so they don’t have any of your details before the call.
- Tell them you are not interested. If you show the slightest interest, they will keep ringing you until you cave in. Or tell them you have a company phone and that you don’t pay the bill.
- Register with the Telephone Preference Service. This makes it illegal for people to call you in this manner, but some still might.
- Remember you have seven days to terminate your contract. If you sign up and are unhappy, just cancel.
