Gomo Refuses to Close an Account a Relative Set up Which Debits My Credit Card Account

Lkuco on 20/10/2022 - 13:00
Last edited 20/10/2022 - 13:44 by 1 other user

Gomo (an Optus subsidiary) offers cheap SIM cards that are marketed as "No Lock-in Contract - Stay Because You Want to, Not Because You Have to"

I was recently visited by a close relative and she got a Gomo's sim card and asked me if she could use my credit card details to pay for it. I accepted it.

She left the country in July, destroyed the sim card and forgot which password she used for their online services and app. Then she remembered to close the account and as she could not find any working way to contact them other than the complaints form, she used that to request her account to be cancelled.

I have also contacted them and explained how they are charging my credit card and that I no longer consent to it as my relative has already sent them a cancellation request.

Gomo wants her to either use the app (which she no longer has access to) or contact them directly (they know she has poor english and lives in a place with 12 hours time difference). They repeat the same again and again even though their "solution" is completely impractical.

So OzBargain community, what should I do? Any ideas?

Poll Options expired

  • 58
    Cancel the credit card and stop wasting my time
  • 5
    Contact the Telco Ombudsman (done)
  • 0
    Contact a consumer organisation to raise awareness of dodgy practices (which one?)
  • 1
    Post my case everywhere on the net to warn potential customers
  • 0
    Contact the ACCC about false/misleading advertising
  • 0
    Post the complaint on Twitter and tag Gomo and Optus
  • 11
    All of the above
  • 23
    It is all your fault, toughen up princess
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Comments

  • pegaxs on 20/10/2022 - 13:06
    +5

    Go to your bank and put a stop on the auto debit. They will block further payments.

    • kuco on 20/10/2022 - 13:29
      +1

      I talked to my bank, but as it is a credit card they said they can't block further payments from a particular vendor, all they do is to cancel the card, issue a new one and try to get the money back from the vendor.

      • GG57 on 20/10/2022 - 13:52
        +13

        …cancel the card, issue a new one…

        Just do that.

        • thatonethere on 20/10/2022 - 15:40
          +1

          You may find that cancelling the card and getting a new one doesn't help as the credit card agencies will advise people who have direct debits the new number.

          Even leaving the bank sometimes doesn't help. I had that once with an Amex which had a rogue 10 pound bill from the UK I couldnt' stop. Even after I completed cancelled with Amex - after a year Amex sent me a large bill as they kept charging the card even after I cancelled. After some correspondance they eventually gave up.

  • Duckie2hh on 20/10/2022 - 13:19
    +8

    Should have just bought a pre-paid sim

  • AndyC1 on 20/10/2022 - 13:24
    +1

    Did you make a phone call so they could create an issue? Phone calls in 99% of cases does not ensure a complaint is logged as they will log an issue.

    Make a formal complaint via the web site, not a issue or request, but a formal complaint.

    • kuco on 20/10/2022 - 13:35
      +1

      I wrote Gomo/Optus 5 times already, but I feel I am talking to a wall as they do not address the points I raise and keep saying the same again and again. It is their way or the highway, no matter how impractical that is.
      I am missing the times when the customer was always right

      • djsweet on 20/10/2022 - 13:39
        +3

        Whether the customer is always right or not is a bit irrelevant when you aren’t the customer. I’m sure your relative would find a way to cancel the contract if it was her credit card being charged and not yours.

      • AndyC1 on 20/10/2022 - 14:04
        -1

        How did you "wrote" to them? Snail mail, email and was it to the complaints department or to the billing?

        The customer is always right, but you are NOT the customer. Your relative is the customer.

        • kuco on 20/10/2022 - 14:07

          email to the complaints department

          The customer is always right, but you are NOT the customer. Your relative is the customer.

          of course, but I am the one paying.
          What if you give a phone to a daughter or a son. if you are the one paying, you should be able to cancel it or at least to remove the payment method.

          • jjjaar on 20/10/2022 - 14:53
            +3

            @kuco:

            What if you give a phone to a daughter or a son. if you are the one paying, you should be able to cancel it or at least to remove the payment method.

            If the son or daughter is over 18, and the account is in their name, it’s a breach of privacy laws to deal with anyone who is not the account holder. What if there was an abusive parent and the son or daughter had to flee? Could you imagine if that abusive parent had access to their phone account just because it was their credit card? Sure, close the credit card, but getting access to the account could be dangerous for the son or daughter.

            The payment method is a separate agreement between you and your relative. You will need to work with them to sort that out.

            • kuco on 20/10/2022 - 15:13

              @jjjaar: I fully agree with you re: privacy and that "the payment method is a separate agreement between you and your relative", I also realise it is my fault.

              That said, my problem is how unreasonable the company is, they don't listen when you explain the situation and they are happy to keep the account open (and charging) even though the customer has fully indentified herself and requested in writting to close the account. Really what other information do you need to do something as simple as that?

          • AndyC1 on 20/10/2022 - 15:13
            +1

            @kuco: If you give a phone then no you cannot cancel it as it will not work without a SIM card on a plan.

            You need a Phone and a SIM to make and receive calls.

            If you give them a SIM with the phone then if you activated the SIM then it will be in your name and you can cancel it, but if it's not activated then it will be up to them to set it up and activate it. If you allow them to use your credit card or DD details then, unless you are also on the account as being able to control the account you cannot do anything, apart from going to your bank and changing account numbers in order to stop the payments.

            • kuco on 20/10/2022 - 15:16

              @AndyC1: Yes, I am going to end up doing just that👍
              it is the winning option so far (by a small margin🤣)

          • AndyC1 on 20/10/2022 - 15:15

            @kuco: Interesting in that gomo complaints are via a web page and I cannot find a complaint email address for gomo.

            • kuco on 20/10/2022 - 15:18

              @AndyC1: you first send the complaint using their form on their website (even though they mention a chat that did not show up anywhere at the time)
              After that you get the response by email

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 20/10/2022 - 14:18

        I am missing the times when the customer was always right

        Common belief, but not correct.

  • Unorthodox on 20/10/2022 - 13:32
    +8

    I mean I get where they're coming from lol

    Imagine if I asked to cancel someone else's account without a power of attorney or authority or if some random sent in a complaint form to cancel an account.

    There are proper means of cancelling a service, which they've told you. Download the app again and reset/forgot password to reset or ask for Direct Method of Contact that is viable.

    • kuco on 20/10/2022 - 13:42
      -2

      I agree with what you say, but in this case, she has fully identified herself, twice.

      Imagine if I asked to cancel someone else's account without a power of attorney or authority or if some random sent in a complaint form to cancel an account.
      They haven't requested one or giving any other alternative

      The other problem is that they keep charging my account, but instead of saying, "gives us proof it is yours and we'll do it", they just send the robot response.

      • mbck on 20/10/2022 - 14:15
        +6

        That's your fault for allowing your relative to use your card. If anything you should be complaining to your relative for putting you in this position.

        Gomo has nothing to do with you. The customer is your relative. You have no authority.

        Why don't you do a zoom call with her and get her to call gomo. Then you can coach her through the process.

  • djsweet on 20/10/2022 - 13:42
    +4

    You aren’t the customer. So not much you can do about closing the account. You are the card holder though, so you should be able to revoke permission for them charging your card if you can prove the card belongs to you. Probably easier said than done though. And I have had the bank block certain billers before, although only for direct debit, not credit. Sure it must be possible.

  • kuco on 20/10/2022 - 13:46

    Lesson learned though🤔, next time someone visits me, I am getting a sim card under my name 🤣🤦‍♂️

    • [Deactivated] on 20/10/2022 - 14:07
      +7

      or get an actual pre-paid sim

  • foxmulder on 20/10/2022 - 14:19
    +2

    Sounds more like - Stays Because You Have to, Not Because You Want To :)

  • freefall101 on 20/10/2022 - 14:32
    +1

    Get a new gomo SIM, contact them on the app to port over the account, cancel it from your phone.

    I've had friends who've had their phone accounts hijacked that way, surely it can't be too hard to do it if you legitimately have the details.

    • Mechz on 20/10/2022 - 15:33

      I think now, you need to receive an sms on your old sim before porting to the new sim.

      • freefall101 on 20/10/2022 - 15:58

        It’s the advice they put on their site for a lost or destroyed sim.

  • JimmyF on 20/10/2022 - 16:28

    Gomo wants her to either use the app (which she no longer has access to) or contact them directly (they know she has poor english and lives in a place with 12 hours time difference). They repeat the same again and again even though their "solution" is completely impractical.

    All reasonable requests….. Do a password reset on the account if you have to.

    Ask them to send out a replacement sim card if needed.

    Surely your friend can call early in the morning or late at night for them when the times line up?

    Your 'solution' is for Gomo to accept some random person telling them to stop billing a credit card that a paying customer supplied.

    • kuco on 20/10/2022 - 23:31

      Just please put yourself for a second in my relative's position. Let's say you go to Korea (assuming you don't speak/read korean), you get a sim card so you can be independent and travel around while your relatives work. After you come back to Australia you realise that you forgot to cancel the sim card.

      You don't remember the password of the app you don't understand, the mobile company does not help either as they insist on talking to you in korean even though you have explained many times that you have very poor understanding of korean.

      In the meantime, the relative who agreed to let you use their local payment method has been unabled to cancel the debits because he is not the account holder, so what is his option? Pay until there is no money on his account? How is that reasonable?

      My solution for Gomo is to use common sense, they do know that the sim card has not been used for more than 4 months and was last connected to an antenna near an international airport, they do know they have someone with exactly the same name/DOB/etc as on their files asking for her account to be cancelled, they do know they could ask me for proof that I am the owner of the credit card. Have they done any of this? No
      (anyway my solution is going to be to cancel the credit card and hope they send my relative any notice of account cancellation, I will remember though to never ever have anything to do with Gomo or Optus)

      • CodeXD on 20/10/2022 - 23:40
        +1

        Just please put yourself for a second in my relative's position.

        Putting myself in your shoes, I would never give consent for someone to use my credit card for a reoccurring payment.

        Why didn't you help them get the sim card in the first place under your name, especially since they have poor English?

        She left the country in July

        For a credit card, you should be checking your monthly statement, it shouldn't have taken this long to notice it.

        Like someone else have said, your only chance is to pretend to be them and cancel it. Ask them for consent to their email account used to sign up for the service.

      • JimmyF on 21/10/2022 - 09:28

        You don't remember the password of the app you don't understand

        Well someone set it up for them if they can't understand english…. I'm guessing you.

        In the meantime, the relative who agreed to let you use their local payment method has been unabled to cancel the debits because he is not the account holder, so what is his option?

        That is the risk you take by allowing someone else to setup a reoccurring debt attached to your card.

        My solution for Gomo is to use common sense

        No, you're asking them to basically cancel someone elses account that you have no rights to cancelling. That isn't common sense. You are not the account holder or customer, if your friend has such poor english etc, then you should have put it in your name or not setup a reoccurring payment or forgotten the account password.

        They have given you many options, you just don't want to do any of them.

        Do a password reset on the account, cancel the account.

        Have your friend call up and cancel the service.

        You call up acting as your 'friend' and cancel service.

        Cancel your credit card.

        I will remember though to never ever have anything to do with Gomo or Optus

        Optus/Gomo have done nothing wrong here, you are not the account holder, so they can't process some random persons request to cancel another persons account. All Telcos are the same.

        • kuco on 21/10/2022 - 12:37

          Well someone set it up for them if they can't understand english…. I'm guessing you.

          Yes

          That is the risk you take by allowing someone else to setup a reoccurring debt attached to your card.

          Lesson learned

          No, you're asking them to basically cancel someone elses account that you have no rights to cancelling. That isn't common sense. You are not the account holder or customer, if your friend has such poor english etc, then you should have put it in your name or not setup a reoccurring payment or forgotten the account password.

          No, I am asking them to stop charging my credit card and I have all the rights to do so.

          Let's say your credit card data was part of a data leak (they are very common these days) and someone uses it to set up a recurring payment, how would you stop it? You are not the customer. Shouldn't you have a right to stop it regardless of who the account holder is? Gomo should have a procedure for these cases. As they are part of Optus, they should be working on one quickly.

          • JimmyF on 21/10/2022 - 14:34
            +1

            @kuco:

            Let's say your credit card data was part of a data leak (they are very common these days) and someone uses it to set up a recurring payment, how would you stop it?

            You cancel the credit card and move on with life.

            Gomo has given you many paths to resolve this with 5 mins work, it seems you don't want to do any of these. You have all the account details, call up as your 'friend' and cancel the service or reset the password, cancel the service. Both of these take less than 5 mins to do and resolve your issue.

  • Seraphin7 on 20/10/2022 - 16:43
    +1

    The problem stems from the fact you are not the customer.

    Had you signed up to be the customer and given the SIM to the relative, this should be all over by now.

    Rightly or wrongly, companies don't give two hoots about the person paying for the service, only the identified "customer" (or anyone who might have authority to operate the account) they have on their records.

  • PunX0r on 20/10/2022 - 17:25
    +1

    If you have their details, name/DOB/etc how are Gomo to know it isn't your relative ringing up when its actually you just saying you are? I would just call say I am them (regardless of gender, they are not going to ask why you have a such a deep voice for a women) and cancel the account.

    • kuco on 20/10/2022 - 17:35

      I would just call say I am them (regardless of gender, they are not going to ask why you have a such a deep voice for a women)

      🤣
      I thought about that option as I do have all that info (I missed it when I posted the poll ;), but I wanted to do the right think, I just didn't expect Gomo to be so unreasonable…yes, I guess I am a bit inflexible too🤣

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