Ending 18 Month contract on orange early ?

horizon

Hi

My son stupidly signed up to an 18 month contract with orange, so he could have a decent new phone.(and be like his mates !)

I implored him not to sign up to anything, but as usual it went in one ear and out the other !

He has now lost his job, and has no way of meeting his monthly rental agreement, let alone the cost of the calls. (and there is no way I'm paying )

He has only had the phone for 5 months, so has 13 months to go.

I contacted orange, who say he has to continue the contract or he can buy it off them for £400 !!

This is not an option as he has no money, and owes me a small fortune already.

Is there any way I can get him out of this contract without him having to part with any more money ?

I have told him to cancel his direct debit tomorrow, so they can't make him go overdrawn.

Any advice gratefully recieved

shellsuit

I don't think there is anything he can do to get out on the contract I'm afraid.

The only thing I can suggest is for him to ring and see if he can downgrade the price plan which could save him some money.

If he cancels his DD, Orange will still want paying plus they add a little extra on each month for non DD payments.

teeb

shellsuit wrote:

I don't think there is anything he can do to get out on the contract I'm afraid.

The only thing I can suggest is for him to ring and see if he can downgrade the price plan which could save him some money.

If he cancels his DD, Orange will still want paying plus they add a little extra on each month for non DD payments.

I believe you're not allowed to downgrade until 9 months into an 18 month plan, unfortunately.

matrix999

Not possible to cancel a contract within the minimum contractual period, if you fail to pay the montly line rental or cancel the direct debit then they will pursue the debt by passing his account onto a collection agency ie debt collectors!

shellsuit

teeb wrote:

I believe you're not allowed to downgrade until 9 months into an 18 month plan, unfortunately.

Ah thanks for that - learn something new everyday

tightbarsteward

How much is the phone worth? See what they are selling for on Ebay or try & get as much as you can for it & pay off the contract.

MarkyMarkD

There's no point "paying off the contract". The cost of paying it off is the cost of the remaining payments.

You might as well keep the SIM, sell the phone, and buy an old phone, or use one you can get free off someone. And then make sure you don't exceed the contract minutes.

horizon

matrix999 wrote:

Not possible to cancel a contract within the minimum contractual period, if you fail to pay the montly line rental or cancel the direct debit then they will pursue the debt by passing his account onto a collection agency ie debt collectors!

If the debt collectors get handed this case, there won't be anything to collect.
The only things he owns are his clothes !

johnsto_2

Erm, now this could be considered very naughty and/or illegal (I really don't know!), but you could get the IMEI number off the phone and report the handset as stolen? That way the phone becomes useless and because of that, surely the contract is terminated as well?

Or would that count as fraud?

Edit: actually, thinking about it, I'm sure that's both illegal and no doubt the phone operators keep charging the rest of the contract anyway, as it would be a bit too convenient!

reehsetin

^fraud, you have to report a stolen phone to the police and get a crime reference number and would not excuse him from the contract! they will keep charging line rental and if asked send a replacement sim or through insurance
just sell the phone and lock the sim card in a draw so he cant exceed the mins, cancel any extras like itemised billing etc

mike_wall15

johnsto wrote:

Erm, now this could be considered very naughty and/or illegal (I really don't know!), but you could get the IMEI number off the phone and report the handset as stolen? That way the phone becomes useless and because of that, surely the contract is terminated as well?

Or would that count as fraud?

Edit: actually, thinking about it, I'm sure that's both illegal and no doubt the phone operators keep charging the rest of the contract anyway, as it would be a bit too convenient!

I'm sorry, but that's awful advice, and is just as bad as any other crime :rolleyes:

The best advice I would offer is for your son to find another job. I get offered a few everyday so I can't see it being too hard. Next time he may not be so quick as to sign up to an 18 month deal :beer: