Stolen Phone

menacer

Hi i was out a while ago an i got pick pocketed, i was not 100% sure at the time so i rang orange the next day who said the phone has not been used so they did not think it had been stolen.

I decided to then call round all the places i had been that night however they did not have my phone. I then called the police station however they did not have it either.

I phoned orange again and told them i had no luck finding it and to bar my sim card and send a new one. They did so however when my bill came through the post £350 with calls to Algeria.

Where do i stand on this? Can i refuse payment?

Thanks Adam

Jon_01

You're liable for all calls until you report the phone lost/stolen.
You should have had them place a bar on it at the first call until you found it. It sounds like it wasn't found until after you called in the first time which would be why there was no usage showing.

menacer

But it was the guy that bumped into me, my zippo fell out and hit the floor so i was distracted to pick that up. Then i thought hang on he has my phone. I confronted the guy but he oulled out a nokia 3310 and said this is my phone. But it must have been him. I had a lock on the phone so it may have taken him a while to break it.

menacer

Also i did report the phone but did not bar it as he said it had not been used?

Guys_Dad

When you lose a phone or get it stolen, the use of the airtime is theft, just as if you had been mugged and someone stole your money from your wallet or credit card.

So think of it in these terms - somebody loses when a thief gains. Banks and mobile companies can bar use of the stolen item once they know, but why should they take the hit - which they would have to pass on as higher charges to the likes of me - if you don't follow what their t&c say.

You goofed in 2 ways (1) not protecting your property and (2) not getting on to the network and barring the phone - as per all their instructions in t&c.

They, in turn, will be hit with costs from the Algerian network too for the time used.

I know it's tough, but that's what happens when thieves strike.

Annie._2

Your phone had probably been used when you first called but the overseas calls information was not available.

Orange should have advised to to have your SIM barred immediately and an IMEI block put on your phone.

Unfortunately, due to Orange's incorrect advise, you are going to be the one to pay for the thiefs calls.

Guys_Dad

From the Orange monthly t&c http://www1.orange.co.uk/mobileterms/paym_network_terms_20091126.html

2.2 You must inform us immediately if the SIM Card supplied to you is lost, stolen or damaged. You will remain liable for all Charges incurred until you do so. We will send you a replacement SIM Card as soon as reasonably practicable, but we reserve the right to charge you for doing so.

So, If you complied with this - and can prove it - it seems that if Orange have not barred the phone, then they have goofed. But it is more likely that it is late charges from overseas network as above. You need to check and see if any calls were made after you reported it stolen, though, and to do that you need sight of the bill. These you are not liable for, but you need to be able to prove exactly when you reported it stolen and that will be the last call you made to 150, I guess

menacer

Thanks for your replies