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

WTTM

Daughter needs treated like an adult and not a kid.

Make HER sort HER problems out and she might learn from them.


MOMENT

Kilty_2

MTW wrote: »

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

Nationwide gave me a credit card with a £2000 limit when I had a temporary part time job (at the time also 18, and I'm a student)- I still have it despite being unemployed for large periods of time between then and now and also having access to other forms of credit :rotfl:

I think I have more credit available to me at the moment than I earn in a year - excluding a mobile phone contract :rotfl:

"Responsible lending" :rotfl: - but there's nothing in place to stop it.

Back to the point - I used to work for O2 - they'll do nothing for her apart from perhaps put her on a payment plan via Debt Assistance as mentioned (the phone will be barred from the network whilst this happens)

Fire_Fox

MTW wrote: »

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 ?

At 18 you can get married, vote, drive a potentially lethal vehicle, drink alcohol, pay taxes and take out a credit agreement. A credit check looks at whether the applicant is who she says she is, lives where she says she lives, doesn't have a history of defaulting and has sufficient income to meet the contract. By the sound of it your daughter ticked all the boxes.

Your daughters circumstances have changed and she hasn't prioritised the legally binding contract she signed. As a result every late and missed payment will be marked on her credit file for six years after the date the account is closed (account paid off in full). Exactly what do you think your princess is learning by daddy bailing her out?? :huh: It certainly isn't budgeting.

motoko

She should be able to change to a cheaper tariff after certain amount of time, usually 6 months I think, check the terms & conditions of the contract to see. However she will have to pay something for the full length of the contract. I would agree with Jon 01 about selling the Blackberry to cover some of the cost, you can buy a basic pay as you go mobile from about £10 and put the sim in that, just make sure its for the right network so it doesn't need unlocking.

Regarding the credit check, they would only take into account any outstanding debt (I guess at 18 she had none) and whether she's on the electroral role to verify her address (but may accept alternative proof of address if she's not). Mobile phone and other utility companies don't seem to take account of your income in the way a credit card company would, I suppose because the amounts of money involved are much less.

pinkie_pie

I don't know a single person under 30, who hasn't at some point in the early years of getting a mobile phone run up a massive bill and learnt their lesson.

I myself did it - I was offered a contract at 17 (was in a diff country though) and ran up a $200+ bill. Barely had a job much less two pennies to rub together. I learnt a valuable lesson and had to pay it off.

I have no idea why you are doing it, let her sort her mess out, it's a valuable lesson. Best thing you can do is pay it off to keep her credit clear, and insist on her working and repaying under the understanding it will never happen again.

Quicklite

MTW wrote: »

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 ?

Certainly I see your point, and understand your frustration. Credit check is used for companies to determine an individual's credit worthiness; determining an individual's willingness to repay. If she had just turned 18, and does not have negative rating previously, there is no reason to decline her.

However, it's upto the individual to take the contract into consideration, and understand the full implication of it. The credit company may have approved the contract then, but unless she sort it out as soon as possible - credit rating will be get very messy. Even before taking the contract - she should have, but didn't properly assesses the feasibility, whether it was within her means.

Its not be upto the credit rating company, to be responsible for her paying on time; at the time she took the contract, they merely checked her eligibility, and given her trust to behave responsibly as she given them no reason to second guess; why should they have done it differently - in addition she alone signed the contract, and should be accountable personally.

Went to uni, took a contract the first time a year ago, even then, I've made sure I allocated enough fund in advance, and picked plan carefully; all while saving enough to avoid student loan. It's entirely possible to do it right. :j Yes, the credit company should have been more responsible, but had they looked really carefully, how many people could have been approved? for the sake of the few who, doesn't pay on time, should majority go through complicated credit check?

Quicklite

snowedunderitall wrote: »

I don't know a single person under 30, who hasn't at some point in the early years of getting a mobile phone run up a massive bill and learnt their lesson.

I have no idea why you are doing it, let her sort her mess out, it's a valuable lesson. Best thing you can do is pay it off to keep her credit clear, and insist on her working and repaying under the understanding it will never happen again.

I'm nineteen now, used P&G upto last year; though had pay monthly for a year now, yet never exceeded yet. My secret, is to get more mins that I'd need. Picked a 900mins sims plan, got 100 pounds from Quidco - works out at just over a tenner, simple. Then again that's not typical of the age group I suppose .

That said, agree with snowedunderitall - when there is problem, it's often good to directly deal with it, rather than avoiding it - letting it abound.

robt_2

Don't you just love it when five or six month old topics are bumped for no particular reason

talkalot

There is another factor here which may last long after you have sorted this out. In a few years time your daughter might well want to apply for a loan or a mortgage and the chances are she will be declined if O2 have put late payments on her credit file. So this may well affect her for the next six years.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Errrr..... This thread is over 6 months old and I'm pretty sure OP would have come back and posted if they needed further advice. I think people can stop posting on it now.