Mobile Phone Contract

JDC14

May seem like a stupid question, but;

I have a BC Initial and I wondered if I took out a phone contract whether I could put it on there, as opposed to a Direct Debit, for two reasons;

A). Last two contracts we took out, (in my Dad's name as he paid for them) the first month or two came in wrong because for some reason we always end up on the wrong tariff, I had a £15 a month deal come in at £135 the first month as the guy put me on unlimited texts off peak rather than all the time like we'd agreed so he could score some extra commission and I won't have this money sitting in my bank.

I get paid four-weekly, so I'd like to put it on my CC to give me a little more flexiblity with payments so I can ensure there's no missed payments and when the inevitable happens an I am overcharged there's a little more time to deal with the issue and I'm sure a Credit Card company would be quicker to rectify these issues than my Bank.

Thanks,

Curr946

Provided the phone company has this as an option of payment then yes, no issue. You would need to speak to said company first.

JDC14

Do you know of any that do?

Dialaphone didn't have the option when I went through them last year for my phone (in dad's name).

guesswho2000

Not sure if they still do, but Orange always used to allow this. You'd probably have to apply by phone or in store now, and they'll charge extra (about £3 per phone per month).

They used to send a counterfoil on the base of the bill and you could pay by cheque, cash, debit/credit card over the phone in addition to DD.

chanz4

voda always used to allow a continues card auth , but you pay an extra charge a month

izools

I would strongly, I mean really absolutely very strongly advise not to set up a recurring card authorisation for anything whatsoever, let alone a mobile phone contract.

If you have a direct debit amount taken of the wrong amount, you are entitled under the Direct Debit Guarantee to a full and immediate refund for any amount taken in error. All banks I have been with have been able to refund over the phone with funds credited the following working day. You can also cancel a direct debit at any time to prevent the company taking more money if you so wish.

Neither options are possible via a credit card. Not only that, but you would be charged a monthly fee of up to £5 per month by the mobile provider for not paying by Direct Debit.

Just remember your rights under the DD guarantee, and remember to read the contract mediculously before you sign anything, and you'll be absolutely fine

JDC14

Didn't realise that there would be an extra charge.

I will just set up the DD. Maybe the savings account I don't use, but just put there money in there now and then re-imburse it every time I get paid.

samwsmith1

When I was with Tesco Mobile there was the option of charging to a card payment online with no mention of additional fees.

kaych

samwsmith1 wrote: »

When I was with Tesco Mobile there was the option of charging to a card payment online with no mention of additional fees.

i think you can do the same with three mobile, no additional cost

Buzby

Certain firms class DD and car mandates the same, as long as they have the power to call on funds when they want, no additional fees are charged. As noted earlier, there is no DD Guarantee for card payments, but to be fair, the DD Guarantee is so limited for most complaints it is useless.

chattychappy

Buzby wrote: »

As noted earlier, there is no DD Guarantee for card payments, but to be fair, the DD Guarantee is so limited for most complaints it is useless.

Well said as often misunderstood. The so-called DD guarantee is merely an industry initiative to reassure people who sign up to them. The scope is limited. DDs are a UK concept. CCs and CPAs are international. There is no "industry guarantee" as such, but you protected by UK credit law. People get into trouble with them because of the wider range of merchants that operate them (dodgy subscriptions etc) and they fail to cancel with the merchant before moaning to the CC. Or they wrongly assume that by cancelling a CC, associated CPAs will die.

T-Mobile will charge £3 for payment by CC, whether by CPA or not. They don't charge for DD or manual payment by internet banking.