Orange phone contract cant pay problem???

mat_H_2

Hi,
I am posting with a problem for a family member. He has taken up a 24 month contract with orange which included a phone. His monthly payment is £30 through direct debit. He is now unable to pay and has had a bank refuse to pay the direct debit and charge him £25 for a letter to tell him that they will not honour the £30 dd to orange. Orange told him that he cannot get out of the contract. His only options are to cancel the contract and pay £400 or similar options. ANyway he is unlikely to be able to pay that much at all.
Does anyone have any useful information on ways out of this mess.
Thanks for anything that could help to clear this mess up.

Mat

halight

Hi Matt,
im sorry but i dont think that there is any way out of a contract for a mobile phone. The best that thay can do if phone orange up and beg them to lower the price plan to the cheepest one that thay have.

All the best Halight

Tixy

I agree, he needs to come to some sort of agreement with orange

-he could try asking for a lower tariff
-he could try selling the phone and using the money to pay off some of the debt
-if he cannot pay then he could cancel the contract and accept he owes the £400, the he could try to set up an monthly repayment plan for this £400 at a rate he can afford each month (but this is likely to have an impact on his credit file as they will default him)
if he doesn't sort something with Orange they may well take him to court for the amount and he could end up with a CCJ (this happened to a friend of mine - orange were pretty ruthless).

Why can he not afford the contract?, is it just a short term cashflow problem or likely to be an ongoing one? How far in to the 24m contract is he? Has he had a significant change in circumstances (such as lost his job)? Has he worked out a budget and his priority costs to see how much he could afford to pay each month?

DarkConvict

I believe orange let you drop one tariff per month, down to £15/20 a month. His problem is that if he fails to make these payments the bank is going to charge him £25 each time anyway.

As above, is this a blip in finances or a long term issue he will face.

savingmummy

I was with 3 and begged - they cancelled my contract.
I explained i had no money for the payments each month and that i couldnt be a contract customer, they gave me all the normal `no sorry` so i asked to speak to someone in charge. After a full explanation and details in full length (pribably bored the poor lad) he agreed! Worked for me.

I hope he sorts something out.

Oneday77

I reckon he is 11 months into his contract if they only want £400 to cancel. As Dark\Tixy says you might be able to drop a tariff. Otherwise he can sell his phone and pay it towards the termination and arrange the rest.

Another alternative is he could pass the contract to someone else, who then becomes liable for it. This would work as he is no longer the owner of the contract but also doesn't get the benefits of it. There should be no pressure on this other person and they would have full control as the contract becomes theirs as if they had taken it out themselves.

mat_H_2

Thank you for your helpful advice. I guess the easiest option would be to beg for a tariff reduction. This should make it affordable to the silly young person who signed up for this deal.
Many thanks to all.

Mat:)