o2 iPhone Contract Help

cleggy88

Hey everyone, first post here. Figured someone here would be able to give me some sound advice!.

Basically ~3 months ago I took out a 24 month contract at (£55 incl insurance) on an iPhone 3GS with o2.

I have recently been laid off and will be living off Jobseekers until I get another job. I will not be able to afford the contract.

I've phoned o2 to try and get my tariff lowered but they told me there is nothing I can do until I'm 9 months into the contract. My housemate got an iPhone a few weeks after me but as he knew someone who worked for o2 got the same tariff as me for £15 less per month. This tells me that o2 can do something to help me out....

I can't pass the contract onto anyone else as the bill would still be in my name. I have thought about selling the phone but this would only give me enough money to pay at maximum 6 months of the contract but leave me without a phone and still be paying a contract designed for an iPhone (unlimited internet etc.) Should I still not have a job 6 months in (I hope that isn't the case!) then I'm going to end up in the same situation I am now.

It's seeming like my only option is to cancel the direct debit setup with my bank but I have the feeling that will affect my credit score pretty badly. :think:

Hoping someone can help!

sporedude

They cant do anything to help you, If you cancel the DD it can murder your credit score. As for the discount, They cant help you on that either, Thats for O2 employees + friends only, Not people who have lost their job.

Quentin

All cancelling your DD will do is stop them taking money you owe them from your bank.

Your debt will remain, and if you don't pay your bills then, yes, you will have this recorded on your credit record.

But things will escalate, your account will get suspended, you will be pursued for the money you owe, and if you don't pay will end up getting involved with debt collectors and county court/ccj etc. All this will increase the debt!

Contact them and see if they will come to an arrangement with you (maybe to pay by instalments what you owe without them escalating the issue)

cleggy88

sporedude wrote: »

As for the discount, They cant help you on that either, Thats for O2 employees + friends only, Not people who have lost their job.

Maybe it's just because this is the internet but that comes across as condescending rather than helpful. I appreciate it's not designed for people who have been laid off, but if o2 as a company can offer the same amount of minutes/texts as I get for a lower price, then it's not inconceivable that they can lower my tariff.

Cheers anyway

cleggy88

Quentin wrote: »

All cancelling your DD will do is stop them taking money you owe them from your bank.

Your debt will remain, and of you don't pay your bills then, yes, you will have this recorded on your credit record.

But things will escalate, your account will get suspended, you will be pursued for the money you owe, and if you don't pay will end up getting involved with debt collectors and county court/ccj etc. All this will increase the debt!

Contact them and see if they will come to an arrangement with you (maybe to pay by instalments what you owe without them escalating the issue)

I didn't think cancelling the DD would be a good idea but it's either that or go overdrawn and face the bank charges.

Quentin

Talk to them and tell them you are cancelling the DD, rather than let them find out when their attempt to take what you owe is declined by your bank if you don't want to pay for an overdraft.

I guess you won't be the only one in this boat, so ask if they have a department dealing with customers in difficulties you can speak to to sort out a payment plan with them.

Maybe if you can sell the phone, cancel the contract and pay a lump sum off the final bill (which will include the big cancellation fee) they will take the balance on the drip.

sporedude

cleggy88 wrote: »

Maybe it's just because this is the internet but that comes across as condescending rather than helpful. I appreciate it's not designed for people who have been laid off, but if o2 as a company can offer the same amount of minutes/texts as I get for a lower price, then it's not inconceivable that they can lower my tariff.

Cheers anyway

Yes they can offer it to people who have the right to it, IE the employee benefit, You are not an employee, You are not entitled to it. So no, They cannot lower it. :rolleyes:

cleggy88

sporedude wrote: »

Yes they can offer it to people who have the right to it, IE the employee benefit, You are not an employee, You are not entitled to it. So no, They cannot lower it. :rolleyes:

I think you have misunderstood the point I'm trying to make.

But nevermind, I didn't come here to argue.

DarkConvict

Sporedude point is you are not eligible for the discount as you are not an employee or family member of the employee.

Cleggy88 point is that they do offer it cheaper to certain people (so they can drop the price), so he would like to be put on it due to his situation.

One thing to remember is that as an employee they maybe doing it at no-profit or even under cost to keep them on their own network. As such allowing anyone to be put on it would be servilely detrimental to the companies profits. They could if they wanted give it away for free to employees, so obviously you wouldn't request to be put on that now would you? Its just a company policy.
I brought a laptop from dell but I couldn't get the telephone sales team to drop the price as they admitted the price I got it for from dell directly was under cost (about a £200 loss). The only positive thing Dell got out of me was me using laptop in university as an advertisement to Dell laptops (not that I would recommenced them without 4 years additional insurance).
I understand you are in financial hardship but you should always be aware of the cost of a contract before taking it out, as they company cannot be held liable for changes that happen to yourself.
You maybe able to wind down the charges if you return the phone but legally they have no responsibility to help you.

Abz_2

Cleggy it looks like you're stuck with it for the long run.
There are couple things you can do;
- sell the phone on ebay and downgrade after 6 months

- sell the contract+phone to a relative or friend, that is, you put it under the other person's bank details (direct debit) so the monthly payment + extra bills is taken out of their account.
positives for you- you get rid of it/ no more money goes out
negatives for you- lose phone/ maybe even the initial price
positives for the person- shorter line rental/ negotiate the initial price
negative for the person- it's not under his name

Off topic

DarkConvict wrote: »

I brought a laptop from dell but I couldn't get the telephone sales team to drop the price as they admitted the price I got it for from dell directly was under cost (about a £200 loss). The only positive thing Dell got out of me was me using laptop in university as an advertisement to Dell laptops (not that I would recommenced them without 4 years additional insurance)

Man how did you get a laptop so cheap, i need a laptop, what should i do to get the best deal.