Can an O2 contract be suspended when student goes abroad?

alun4

custardy wrote: »

lol,nice try
look at you twisting and turning any way to argue that your son is not at fault and its all the companies fault.
many 000's of 18 year olds takes out contracts every year.your idea is that they should what,need mummy and daddy to hold their hand until when?21,25?
perhaps in those 18 years you had a little bit of education on calanders and responsibility would have been more prudent.
however im sure he has learned how to pass the buck

No, I know he should not have done it and there should be improving responsibility - that is part of growing up. But, if you are of similar age to me, you would not have reached the age of responsibility at 16,17 or 18. At 16 you would have had 5 more years to attain the age of majority (changed in 1970).
However, I would not expect any institution to lend to circumstances I have detailed but he should not have asked !

And his older friend (the 23 year old salesman) I am hoping, (though possibly suggesting otherwise) filled in the application for credit form with absolute honesty.

grumbler

alun4 wrote: »

With your experience, would the circumstances of my son have given a credit agency the idea that this was "a character of good financial standing"?.

Credit Agency just collects the information and provides the information to companies. It's up to the companies to score customers.

I have ever seen these forms but had imagined the information requested would (if filled in properly) indicate he was a very uncertain risk!

Roughly, there are three types of customers:

1. with good credit history
2. with no credit history
3. with bad credit history

I think for the second category presumption of innocence (innocent until proven guilty) has to prevail when obtaining such minor credit like a mobile phone contract.

I think that by paying for your son you may be doing more harm than good. With this fictitious credit history he will be able to rack up much bigger debt than mere £1K. Who is supposed to protect him when he comes back and what checks do lenders have to do then? A default in his credit history could have served him a lesson and protected him in the nearest future until he grows up a little.

alun4

grumbler wrote: »

I think for the second category presumption of innocence (innocent until proven guilty) has to prevail when obtaining such minor credit like a mobile phone contract.

I think that by paying for your son you may be doing more harm than good. With this fictitious credit history he will be able to rack up much bigger debt than mere £1K. Who is supposed to protect him and what checks do lenders have to do then?

We will have to disagree that amount in these circumstances is minor.

I do believe you are correct about paying the bill. I have thought long and hard. I have done the best I can. I have written to the phone company and withheld payment then sending it "under protest" by "signed for" post - each time saying that his mother and I consider they should not have entered a contract with him in the circumstances. I have not paid until the monthly threat but recognise this is probably pointless.
The (probably hopeless) intention being to get some sort of caution on his history without a default -just trying to remain a dad with an under age adult!
If they had said it was going to be this hard we would have stayed with the labrador! But in honesty, he is a very nice person in all other ways.

custardy

alun4 wrote: »

No, I know he should not have done it and there should be improving responsibility - that is part of growing up. But, if you are of similar age to me, you would not have reached the age of responsibility at 16,17 or 18. At 16 you would have had 5 more years to attain the age of majority (changed in 1970).
However, I would not expect any institution to lend to circumstances I have detailed but he should not have asked !

And his older friend (the 23 year old salesman) I am hoping, (though possibly suggesting otherwise) filled in the application for credit form with absolute honesty.

and what financial record do you think i had at 18 when i went for a bank loan for a car?
using your standards I would have been refused
then i wouldn't have been able to travel to where the work was
so whats your answer?
no credit until you have worked for 5 years?
honestly folks malign the nanny state then others seem to want folks spoon fed through life

alun4

custardy wrote: »

and what financial record do you think i had at 18 when i went for a bank loan for a car?
using your standards I would have been refused
then i wouldn't have been able to travel to where the work was
so whats your answer?
no credit until you have worked for 5 years?
honestly folks malign the nanny state then others seem to want folks spoon fed through life

As a starting position I would not have looked at lending to an 18 year old without positive history. You mentioned you had been working for a couple of years by 18 so you had built up a history. I am (only) guessing that you then made an appointment and discussed the prospect of the loan with an experienced member of the bank staff.

I did not indicate that I would expect someone to work for 5 years before applying for credit.

I think you are indicating a position of responsibility that clearly, my son has not achieved.

grumbler

alun4 wrote: »

As a starting position I would not have looked at lending to an 18 year old without positive history.

If it is the credit history that you mean, then how one is supposed to get a positive credit history without getting any credit in the first place?

If you mean some other history, then there is no way for lenders to check it. And do they really want to know it?

alun4

grumbler wrote: »

If it is the credit history that you mean, then how one is supposed to get a positive credit history without getting any credit in the first place?

If you mean some other history, then there is no way for lenders to check it. And do they really want to know it?

I think you will have guessed that I am not a believer in easy credit. Things were much different and I don't pretend to know the way the system works now. My suggestion to someone looking to the future would be to start with a few building blocks from among the following:-proof of address .... Register of Electors; Utility Bill (my 16 year old daughter requires this to maintain her tax exempt status with Building Society - ours supported by a letter):evidence of savings/ability to fund repayment from income; pay slips; employer reference; guarantee. I would also think amount concious, so it would not be without effort to build.

grumbler

alun4 wrote: »

I think you will have guessed that I am not a believer in easy credit.

Neither am I. 3-year credit on sofa? Pure nonsense IMO.
However, it's the reality that you have to face and be prepared to. Majority of people are capable of resisting the temptation.

My suggestion to someone looking to the future would be to start with a few building blocks from among the following:-proof of address .... Register of Electors; Utility Bill

Do you not understand that this is meaningless and doesn't work? Everyone can register on the roll. There are 4+ members in many families and only 3 bills, one of which often being half-yearly, i.e. useless. These proofs are usually required for verifying the ID in the first place and for chasing the customer if they fail to pay.

evidence of savings

Savings? Generally, it doesn't make much sense to borrow if you have savings. Normally credit is more expensive than the interest you get on savings.

Should I repay debts or save?

income; pay slips;

Income comes and goes. Anyone can become jobless tomorrow. Having said that, they do require this for providing really big credit, not mere mobile contract.

employer reference;

Proves nothing.

guarantee.

Again, may be required from people with bad history. Doesn't make much sense to ask for it for a minor credit.

Wintermute

In the grand scheme of things £1000 isn't very much, students rack up much more than that by just being students. If your son's so vulnerable and careless with money then how can he afford to be in Australia for 6 months and how can he be trusted? Flights to the other side of the world aren't cheap. I really don't understand how your son can be too vulnerable/immature/careless/whatever to enter into a mobile phone contract, but be trusted to spend half a year alone on the other side of the world.

grumbler

It's Austria I think, not Australia