O2 Contract - student (no money) mis-selling ?

MTW_2

My 18 yr old daughter took out a contract with O2 just after her 18th birthday (without parental approval or consent BTW) . At the time she had a part time temp job.

She has since move away to uni and after being employed for three months she has been laid off and has had no income for the last three.

Subsequently the O2 Blackberry thing has been cut off but the bills keep mounting up and the problem has landed on dads lap to sort out.

I fully accept that the problems are of her own making and it is going to cost me a few bob. I have written to O2 and they will speak to me once they get a letter from daughter giving her authority,which is on its way.

If someone could advise me on the following points.

1. What kind of reaction can I expect from O2, Will they want the contract honoured or will they look to come up with a middle way solution.

2. Are ther any misselling issues with mobile phones. Surely a proper check would have revealed that the kid hasn't got two halfpennies to rub together.

Thanks in advance

Jakg

No case for mis-selling (she was an adult with a job at the time!)

iamcornholio

All salespeople are just out to sell you something ... whether you need it, want it or can afford it.

There has to be responsibility on the part of your daughter (or any customer) to not enter into agreements which can't be met, and perhaps of the parents to warn young adults about what it's like in the real world?

Jon_01

Not the answers you're going to want, I'm afraid.

As above, she was 18, she passed the credit check there was no reason not to give her the contract, so no grounds for mis-selling.

O2 will probably want all the money owning to them and at least all the missed payments before they'll allow any more use on the acc. They may offer to take smaller payments over a longer time to clear the debt.
She could always sell the Blackberry (if its in good condition) to cover some of the costs and put the sim in a cheaper handset.

robt_2

O2 have done nothing wrong. She was an adult (why on earth would she need parental consent?!) with a job, who made a conscious decision to take out a contract, the credit check of which was passed.

To answer your questions:

1) O2 have fulfilled their part of the contract, your daughter needs to fufill hers. If it is continued to not be paid, the contract will be terminated and passed to a debt collection agency. All of which is going to put marks on her (I assume) untarnished credit file.

2) There has been no miss-selling. People needs to start taking responsibility for their own actions.

Sorry if it is not what you wanted to hear.

jamespir

yes she wouldnt need your consent she an adult

and theres no misseling by the looks of things

so she has to pay back what shes used + remainder of the contract

epatolles

really i'd let this be a lesson to her to take responsibility! you sort things out with O2 and then you either pay it off and then make her get a job to pay you back... or you get her to pay it off herself!

at 18 and at uni she really needs to start looking after her own finances! I don't want you to think i'm being horrible but it IS the truth... especially as you are saying she had no parental consent? she's 18! if you don't teach her this valuble lesson now it may be MORE than a phone contract next time! can you afford that?

robpw2

epatolles wrote: »

really i'd let this be a lesson to her to take responsibility! you sort things out with O2 and then you either pay it off and then make her get a job to pay you back... or you get her to pay it off herself!

at 18 and at uni she really needs to start looking after her own finances! I don't want you to think i'm being horrible but it IS the truth... especially as you are saying she had no parental consent? she's 18! if you don't teach her this valuble lesson now it may be MORE than a phone contract next time! can you afford that?

student loan comes in on 28th march she can pay it her self
or do you keep hold of that and drip feed her ? shes not a child anymore shes an adult

epatolles

robpw2 wrote: »

student loan comes in on 28th march she can pay it her self
or do you keep hold of that and drip feed her ? shes not a child anymore shes an adult

depends if the op can trust her! certainly wouldnt bail her out! i went to uni with people who's mummy and daddies would fix everything for them and i must say i dread bumping into them in the real world because mummy and daddy can't fix everything!

one girl i knew started with her phone contract... had her phone stolen on a vodafone contract... had no insurance and decided to not pay for the contract anymore which ended up with her parents recieving final demands etc to their house! various other cringe worthy things happened throughout uni and at the end she decided she'd buy a house... the house has now been repossessed by the bank... she probably decided not to pay that either!

its a hard lesson BUT its a worthwhile one if the op wants her to grow up into a responsible adult and not someone who's in debt!

that said... if this is her first time doing something like this i wouldnt be drastic and cut her off... just help her manage her finances maybe work a budget out with her?

EDIT - what i meant in the last post is if her parents can afford they could pay off the debt and then she could pay her parents in instalments... you don't REALLY want the poor girl to spiral into debt at 18! if she CAN afford it she should pay it herself!

timberflake

I can't work out why you think for a second that she was mis-sold the contract! She was over 18 and she passed the credit check, what more do you expect O2 to do!?

If anything, your daughter should have had more sense than to get locked into a contract when money was so tight and she didn't have a full time job!

MTW_2

My point is about the efficacy of the credit check. British common law is based around the law of reasonable people. The judge being the reasonably guy that sets a precedent.

How do I know the credit check was suitable and sufficient for its purpose ?
These sharks are out to get kids onto contracts. Would a resonable person give a contract to someone with limited employment history as a saturday girl and no other assets ?
I reckon I am a reasonable person and wouldn't touch the deal with a barge pole.

Has anyone been in this positon themselves and could possibly advise me what happended ?