iPhone I didn't order.

[Mr_S]

So I got a delivery from DPD today, a new iPhone 6S Plus 128GB from Carphone Warehouse, the only trouble is that I didn't order it.

Says I am signed up to a 24 month new connection.

The delivery note / invoice has my name and address on it but it also says a payment was made by American Express of £189.99.

I have never had an American Express card.

Assuming it's fraud or a scam I'll be speaking with Carphone and Amex in the morning but what I don't understand is how someone would benefit from this?

[22]

Guessing it should have been intercepted in the post? Thread on here somewhere from a PHer who caught someone in the act (and wasn't the postie as he imagined).

[Toaster Pilot]

Fraud like this via CPW is very common - I used to work for a major mobile operator in customer services and had no end of this

Check your credit file immediately to make sure the card hasn't been taken out using your details and then contact the network to refer the account to their fraud team

[jmorgan]

Is not part of the scam giving the phone to the perceived carrier/owner in he assumption of a mistake?

Therefore putting you out of pocket for losing it?
Edit. Watch out for calls about it
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance...

Edited by jmorgan on Thursday 4th February 20:11

[Grey Ghost]

Toaster Pilot said:

Check your credit file immediately to make sure the card hasn't been taken out using your details and then contact the network to refer the account to their fraud team

This is good advice. A neighbour had an issue a couple of years ago with bank letters arriving for various people at their address. He thought is was strange as he had lived there since the house was built. Culminated with another neighbour witnessing one of the local African brethren trying to kick his door in just after the postie had been. Turns out there was 3 bank cards on his mat and 2 more arrived later in the week.

Bloody scary how easy it appears for financial things to be obtained in your name, especially given how much st the FCA give me about regulations, procedures, controls etc. as part of my day job.

[R1 Indy]

I wonder if this is why when i recently tried to make a purchase from vodafone and it was declined as my credit card is registered to a different address.

[Mr_S]

I have checked with Experian and there doesn't appear to be anything I don't know about.

what's the best way to get this phone back to carphone, I would have reservations handing it back (even in a CPW shop) until I can be sure they won't chase me for payments

[daytona355]

Contact them, and contact Amex, register the issue with plod but don't expect them to investigate, they don't care about fraud unless it's over £1000, even if you had the name and address of the perp.

A while ago, doing a mortgage for a client, he was declined for adverse, couldn't understand it, £50k on £550k, has no credit other than a card he uses and repays monthly, plenty of money etc. Checked file, he had 3, count em, 3, CCJs with wonga for loans he never took out. Turns out someone sat in an Internet cafe got his details from companies house, using his FOUR year old previous address, and requested a £500 loan. When this hit their bank account in a totally different name, they tried for another £300, got it, and two days later, went for the last £200. (Wonga max is £1000, and apparently thousands of these, they go for smaller amounts just in case they pick someone with a loan already to guarantee max success).

Approached plod, couldn't give a damn despite knowledge of the widespread total of potentially millions, under £1000. Wonga tried to make my client pay up, so I threatened we would go for defamation, as on the period in question, clients current account showed almost £100k credit, so why borrow a few quid?. Once threatened, they gave me name on the bank account receiving the money, and completely reversed all information. Plod still did nothing despite an ENGLISH NAMED ACCOUNT, in the UK.

As client had moved before loan even taken out, wonga hadn't bothered to try to find him, just whacked the CCJs on his name and left him to it, this was 2 years AFTER loans taken out! Beware people

[chazwind]

Mr_S said:

I have checked with Experian and there doesn't appear to be anything I don't know about.

what's the best way to get this phone back to carphone, I would have reservations handing it back (even in a CPW shop) until I can be sure they won't chase me for payments

You're quite right to have reservations. Ensure, before returning the phone, that CPW confirm (in writing) that this is their problem, and not yours, and that their contract with you is null-and-void. Also get a crime reference number.

[Toaster Pilot]

Mr_S said:

I have checked with Experian and there doesn't appear to be anything I don't know about.

what's the best way to get this phone back to carphone, I would have reservations handing it back (even in a CPW shop) until I can be sure they won't chase me for payments

Forget Carphone they're a reseller - contact the network directly

[Ajax Treesdown]

This happened to me about 5 years ago. Came home from work one day and the neighbour handed me a parcel that they had signed for as I was at work. It had my name, address on the front and when I opened it, it was an Iphone 4s (new at the time) on O2 on the highest contract available with all the added bolts ons. Think the monthly bill would have been around £100. Knowing I hadn't ordered anything I contacted O2 fraud team who took the order number etc and told me to take the phone to my nearest O2 shop.
It transpired that they had ordered on line with online billing to go to a email address that wasn't mine with a cloned card (wasn't mine either) but were hoping to intercept the parcel at my address. The one fact that went in my favour was the note attached on the front of the parcel where my address was that stated if no one in to sign for the parcel the driver was to ring the mobile number noted below but as my neighbour was in the window when he was trying to deliver he got them to sign and keep it instead otherwise the first thing I would have known about it was when the bailiffs turned up at my door demanding £1000 for unpaid mobile fees as I was the customer on the contract!
I also passed this on to the O2 fraud team as it may be of some interest to them to try and find out who was trying to defraud them.

I made a note of the number and was tempted to try and ring it myself to just see what would be said but I guess I didn't want to come home one day to find some gang of blokes ready to break legs after i'd had a hard day at work!!!

[jesta1865]

Mr_S said:

I have checked with Experian and there doesn't appear to be anything I don't know about.

what's the best way to get this phone back to carphone, I would have reservations handing it back (even in a CPW shop) until I can be sure they won't chase me for payments

i'd get straight onto amex to be honest i think IIRC there are multiple credit reference agencies, so it may not be lodged with experian.

i am basing this on an issue i had a few years back though.

[moffat]

jesta1865 said:

i'd get straight onto amex to be honest i think IIRC there are multiple credit reference agencies, so it may not be lodged with experian.

i am basing this on an issue i had a few years back though.

There are 3 credit reference agencies and AMEX upload monthly to each but it can take up to 6 weeks for the update to happen - it's not instant.

Worth calling AMEX's fraud team anyway.

cheers

[JulianHJ]

I've dealt with similar jobs before - the courier delivers the phone, then minutes later the recipient gets a call saying the phone has been delivered in error and another courier will collect it.

[Alex_225]

JulianHJ said:

I've dealt with similar jobs before - the courier delivers the phone, then minutes later the recipient gets a call saying the phone has been delivered in error and another courier will collect it.

Exactly what I was about to say.

My mum had something similar happen. Neighbour took in a package as my mum was out, then another 'courier' turned up and said it was delivered in error and tried to collect it.

Just keep hold of it and report it to the relevant people (as you already said )

[FurryExocet]

Mr_S said:

I have checked with Experian and there doesn't appear to be anything I don't know about.

what's the best way to get this phone back to carphone, I would have reservations handing it back (even in a CPW shop) until I can be sure they won't chase me for payments

I had to sign up with a credit check company, think it was checkmyfile or similar, as Experian and 1 other said there were no issues, I didn't realise there were more that needed checking.
Took ages to resolve and cost me around £30

[Pints]

Mr_S said:

I have checked with Experian and there doesn't appear to be anything I don't know about.

what's the best way to get this phone back to carphone, I would have reservations handing it back (even in a CPW shop) until I can be sure they won't chase me for payments

Which mobile operator is the contract with?

[jesta1865]

moffat said:

jesta1865 said:

i'd get straight onto amex to be honest i think IIRC there are multiple credit reference agencies, so it may not be lodged with experian.

i am basing this on an issue i had a few years back though.

There are 3 credit reference agencies and AMEX upload monthly to each but it can take up to 6 weeks for the update to happen - it's not instant.

Worth calling AMEX's fraud team anyway.

cheers

thanks for clearing that up, i thought 3 but wasn't sure, makes sense that amex would use all 3.

cheers

[Mr_S]

The contract was with O2 who I have called to advise.

Today I got a crime reference from Action Fraud and returned the phone to a Carphone warehouse shop, took ages in store while they got all the details and customer services completed a fraud form over the phone. The guy in the shop pointed out it would have been untraceable if I had kept it.

I have checked with Amex and there hasn't been any account opened my name or address.

And I have registered with CIFAS to hopefully add a layer of protection over the next couple of years.

fingers crossed that's the end of it.

Thanks for any advice given.

[daytona355]

Double check with Amex no one else in the house has a card that they could have used too, maybe be also an address check too, in case it's a different name using yours as an address. Stranger things have happened, and these fraudsters aren't always the 'Nigerian moron princes' we all love to hate