Can't afford my contact, what can I do?

Xeorix

Well about 1 month ago I signed into a new o2 18 month contract. The deal was 3000mins, 1000txts and unlimited internet for £75 a month. I wasn't willing to prepare this so they knocked it down to £45 a month using o2 customer loyalty discount.

I got my first bill today and I find that the cost of the contract is actually £51 because they don't count VAT as part of the contract....

There is no way I can afford this as £45 was pushing it. I dont need 3000 minutes however the 1000 texts and unlimited internet is a must with the phone I have.

Does anyone know what I can do? Can I ring them up and they can lower the amount of minutes by 2500 and then lower my bill?

Sid_Harper

call them up and state you were under the impression the VAT was included... see what they say! Noone here can give you an analysis of what they will or won't do for your particular circumstances!

KimYeovil

If you can't afford to spend £51 then you can't afford £45. Review the viability of your business plan or your social calendar!

proplusplus

if done over the phone you typically have 7 working days to cancel the upgrade. (o2 may offer 14/21 or 28days - you'll have to check with them).

The only other thing would be to ask to cancel any chargeable 'bundles' you may have which you think you can do without.

pS) £45 + 15% VAT = £51.75, so if you're not being charged that amount, you could be charged £45(inc VAT) + a £6 bundle of some sort.

if it is £51.75 (£45 ex-vat) complain, and say that stating prices ex-VAT is not normal practice and as a result very confusing. I believe you have 28days to cancel and upgrade if you believe you were missold your contract. (you'll have to check that.)

proplusplus

mrcow

KimYeovil wrote: »

If you can't afford to spend £51 then you can't afford £45. Review the viability of your business plan or your social calendar!

I agree. If £6 per month is going to send you into tailspin, then you should not be signing up to contracts that you simply can't afford.

Unlimited internet access is not a must! It's only a want.......and even then, only if you can afford it. If you can't afford it but still want it, then approach your employer and ask for more work, or get a second job.

redux

If it's a retentions offer, only you and the people you spoke to know what potential deals were discussed and how the decision was reached, but you could probably have had the same 1000 texts and unlimited internet on a 600 minutes for £20 a month contract, so I don't really understand why you went for more minutes than you think you need. I think their retentions offers are on 14 days, so it might be a bit late, but see if you can get a review of what options were given at the time.

Is there some other potential confusion? If for some reason the billing date has changed, the first bill would be for part of a month plus a whole month, shown as two items and making the total higher

4810510

GregHesp wrote: »

I got my first bill today and I find that the cost of the contract is actually £51 because they don't count VAT as part of the contract....

Phone them up and tell them that they aren't allowed to quote the non-VAT price to you as you are a consumer. I would guess that you got a really nice new top end phone as part of your renewal. You could always sell that on eBay and use the proceeds to cover some of your costs.

TiTheRev

It could be that the bill is slightly more this month as you were exchanging phones and it's technically the last week of last month plus the next month in advance (as you pay for the month in advance not the month just gone)?! Last month's bill should have been less than normal in lieu of this too though...

Lardyvegan

Pro rata billing wouldn't normally apply to an 'in-life' customer, but check your bill. I do believe quoting prices ex vat for a non business customer is a little on the naughty side, so call em up and speak to whoever is willing to fix it. (Escalate, but be nice!)

Woby_Tide

sell the shiny new Iphone to cover the bills you can't afford and shouldn't have signed up for. Buy a cheap PAYG phone put the SIM in, use your texts up.

[Deleted User]

O2 will probably allow you to change contracts, just ring their upgrade number (quickest way to talk to them I've found)