Owe Orange £664

nursekaz

I have received a huge bill from Orange for £664. My son who is going off the rails for want of a better phrase took a redundant mobile from my house and also took a sim card which I confiscated from him(because he ran up a previous big bill). The sim card was still on contract and i thought i had destroyed it.
Anyway, he gave this phone to an undesirable, who never gave it back. She continued to use it fraudulently and landed me with this massive bill. The sim card and the handset has all been blocked and the mater reported to the police.
However, the bill is still to be paid. I have informed Orange that I cant pay it all at once. They said I will have to wait for a final reminder before they can sort out a payment plan.
What exactly does this mean with regards to debt collection
I have paid off £100 yesterday. Obviously I am aware that my line rental will continue to accrue charges even though I am not using the phone at all. How long do they wait before They send a final reminder and I start getting people knocking on my door.

crossleydd42

Reporting it to the police will help your case. If Orange are talking about arranging a repayment plan, which both sides must accept as realistic, and is adhered to by you, then you will not get anyone hammering at your door. I would try and pay off small amounts in the interim, too, as it shows willing.

black-saturn

You should report it to the Police straight away because it was essentially a stolen phone. My ex boyfriend (thank god) had his phone stolen and whoever did it ran up huge bills. He didnt have to pay the bills as it was reported stolen. He did report it straight away though.

kiwichick

Hiya Nursekaz,

Whilst it must be hard to hear I agree with the other posters in that you ought to report the theft to the police.

It may be adifficult decision for you as it involves "shopping"yourson but it might just be the "wake up call" that he needs to shock him out of his recent behaviour?

I would also make a check of the house to ensure that anything else valuable (monetary or senitmental) has gone walkabout. Maybe hide a few bits away just in case. My little brother went through a similar period of "wild" behaviour which my mother tried to ignore, she ended up loosing most of her late mothers jewellery as my brother pawned it.

I hope you manage to sort things out soon,
Al.

nursekaz

Thanks for your replies.
I have already involved the police and it is hard even tho it is my son.
I do however agree that this could be the short sharp shock that he needs.
I have also hidden things in my room and put a lock on my bedroom door.

I didnt realise immediately that the phone was missing so i will have to pay the bill, but as long as it gets paid i cant do anything about that.

crossleydd42

I think you've done the right thing. They call it 'tough love'. It's tough on both sides and I hope he realises the effect it's had on you, both financially and emotionally.
Good luck!

crystal_clear

A few things pop to mind
You said it was a contract phone and you are still paying for the contract ?? how = ? Direct Debit from your bank. If the answer is yes cancel DD quick or they will auto take all due in one go and if unable to because of funds then bank will run up charges aswell
You said you are still paying the monthly contract fee ? why ? if unused phone
Contact there collections dept and explain to them you cannot pay in full and only so much p/m ask them to suspend monthly line rental the phone would then revert to incoming calls only but no monthly charges will be mounting on to the bill.
I do know this as my eldest thankfully took out orange contract in his own name PHEWWWWWWW!!!! he did much the same as your son/friend had done just constantly on phone and bill came in to high then next one followed and as phonebill was not paid from previous month they cut off out going calls and he managed to agree with them to pay it of £100 p/m for 5 1/2 months but they stopped charging him any monthly line rental.
he is now on PAYG for all outgoing calls and both for incoming but he realises just how much he is spending these days.

Also if the police dont do anything about your sons friend running up the bill you can i believe take up a civil action to recover the money from them
hope that helps in some way