need help asap

nikinik90

Hello, Im a 19 year old girl who has taken out 2 contracts, 1 for myself and one for my ex boyfriend (who has done a runner without paying me the money for the contract). The contracts are both for £20 a month in my name, ive spoke to a family member as i am unable to pay the bill this month (this month and last month) due to being off for 5 weeks and having no money, i have put in a claim for sick pay but have not recieved and this is why ive started to panic about paying the bill, i contacted the family member as i didnt want money being put onto of this bill and they told me it would be better to cancel the contract as i didnt know when i am returning to work. but im in a 18 month contract with t-mobile, and dont think i can cancel at this point.

Dates of the start of each contract:
28/11/2008
04/04/2009

when i took the contracts out i was working and earning enough to pay for them but recently had a operation in which ive been unable to work.

studioeng

I think Citizens Advice maybe a good starting point for this.

Guys_Dad

nikinik90 wrote: »

Hello, Im a 19 year old girl who has taken out 2 contracts, 1 for myself and one for my ex boyfriend (who has done a runner without paying me the money for the contract). The contracts are both for £20 a month in my name, ive spoke to a family member as i am unable to pay the bill this month (this month and last month) due to being off for 5 weeks and having no money, i have put in a claim for sick pay but have not recieved and this is why ive started to panic about paying the bill, i contacted the family member as i didnt want money being put onto of this bill and they told me it would be better to cancel the contract as i didnt know when i am returning to work. but im in a 18 month contract with t-mobile, and dont think i can cancel at this point.

Dates of the start of each contract:
28/11/2008
04/04/2009

when i took the contracts out i was working and earning enough to pay for them but recently had a operation in which ive been unable to work.

I don't think you are going to like the advice members will give you.

1. You took out 2 contracts and they are legally binding. The mobile companies don't care about your personal predicament - that's your problem, not theirs. They will pursue you for the money and if you don't pay, you will get a bad credit rating that will affect any application for credit you make in the next few years.

2. You may be lucky and persuade them to change the tariff on the first one, but they will not let you cancel. (If they do, it will be the first I have read on this forum).

3. It would be pretty pointless me or any member lecturing you about the folly of underwriting anyone else's debt - I bet you don't do that again - or, indeed, the folly of taking on a contract unless you are 100% sure you have sufficient funds to pay it off come what may.

Throw yourself on the mercy of T-Mobile. They are the only ones who can help.

This may sound harsh, but sometimes life is, indeed, tough.

But good luck anyway and hope you get better and get a job soon.

barbara_anne

The above poster is correct, it's unlikely that they will let you out of the contracts at this stage.

My only advice for you, if you've not done so already, is to get the network to block the number that your ex boyfriend has, so he can't use it.

Blakey1982

1 - call T-mobile and say you dont need the other mobile anymore as you have one
2 - if they wont let you cancel then reduce the packages as small as possible to Combi 15 £13.50 a month saving you £13 over 2 contracts.
3 - cancel the number or bar it whatever


or
1 - Sell the mobile with contract on something like ebay
or
2 - report it stolen to the police next time you're out, then contact T mobile with crime referance number, they should replace phone to be honest. Then sell both phones (old and new) on ebay and use the money to buy out contract. Not very ethical but T Mobile arent IMO.
or
3 - go to phones4you or something like that asking if they will buy out your contracts (both) in order to take a mobile contract out with them (lowest possible value)
or
4 - Recycle both phones on Lovetorecycle or something similar (loads of info on this site) and cash in on the money, or use the money when it comes through to pay the remainder of the contract.

From what you said the one contract has about 6 months (£120) and the other about 11 months (£220). See how much money they will offer you for your phone to be recycled then see how much T-Mobile want for cancelling, but before you actually cancel - reduce the price plan to the lowest possible.

DarkConvict

2 - report it stolen to the police next time you're out, then contact T mobile with crime referance number, they should replace phone to be honest. Then sell both phones (old and new) on ebay and use the money to buy out contract. Not very ethical but T Mobile arent IMO.

Incorrect, they are not responsible and will not replace lost or stolen phones, or damaged phones outside of manufacturer warranty.

3 - go to phones4you or something like that asking if they will buy out your contracts (both) in order to take a mobile contract out with them (lowest possible value)

But then your tieing into a new contract, for the same or more money. They generally only buy out the last 3 months, and to be fair on the mobiles forum the offer to buy out isn't always reliable although someone has taken £180 cash in hand from them before.

Guy Dad is totally correct on this, i would follow his advice.
T-Mobile have changed, and will not let you downgrade tariffs any more until the last month of your contract, but it is worth asking as this option would have been available when you took it out.

If your ex has actually taken the phone, since it is yours you can indeed report it stolen to the police and attempt recovery of it. But all T-Mobile will provide is a replacement sim card.

I won't lecture you, but don't take out things in your name for other people. its a story we have heard many times here.

Whitewillow_2

T Mobile will not let you downgrade at all until last month of contract unless you can prove your circumstances have changed, and then its down to the discretion of the manager (depends on payment history, how long you have been a customer etc)
Secondly, make sure that your ex cannot run up a bill, if you havent already done so. The best way to do this is call tmobile, suspend the sim and get a replacement sent out.
The only option that you really have is to see if you can get someone who is willing to take the contract over for you (this is called transfer of ownership) it can be done free of charge, and will remove the contract from your name to someone elses.

DarkConvict

Whitewillow wrote: »

The only option that you really have is to see if you can get someone who is willing to take the contract over for you (this is called transfer of ownership) it can be done free of charge, and will remove the contract from your name to someone elses.

Good Idea :rolleyes: