Can not afford any longer ? help please

Bella79

Hi all

I took two contracts out in oct (24month) with orange for 2 samsung galaxy s2, there £35.00 pm each.

This week i have had a huge change in cirumstances and i can no longer afford them, theres ages to go on the contracts, ive never owed anyhting to anyone before, and im scared about what till happen if i dont pay them?

I did contact orange, but the were not very helpfull! There not even able to reduce the tarriffs for 12months, not that that would help as atm i can not afford hardly anything. My situation doesnt look like it will improve any time soon :@(

I think the mortgage, gas,elec etc is more important, ive already canceled sky tv and all other unimportant bills.

Sorry im blabbing, just worried about this

Thankyou x

penrhyn

Sorry but, two phones? The bad news is that £35 contracts are going to increase by around £1.50.

Its possible you can claim this is unfair and terminate?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/phones/2011/11/orange-to-raise-monthly-mobile-costs


It might be too late now though.

Details of early termination charges here:-
http://ebsdistribution.com/files/news/New_Early_Termination_info_for_Orange_NOV09.pdf

reclusive46

Bella79 wrote: »

Hi all

I took two contracts out in oct (24month) with orange for 2 samsung galaxy s2, there £35.00 pm each.

This week i have had a huge change in cirumstances and i can no longer afford them, theres ages to go on the contracts, ive never owed anyhting to anyone before, and im scared about what till happen if i dont pay them?

I did contact orange, but the were not very helpfull! There not even able to reduce the tarriffs for 12months, not that that would help as atm i can not afford hardly anything. My situation doesnt look like it will improve any time soon :@(

I think the mortgage, gas,elec etc is more important, ive already canceled sky tv and all other unimportant bills.

Sorry im blabbing, just worried about this

Thankyou x

Mobile phone contracts are just like anything else. You have to pay it somehow. If you don't the bailiffs wil come just like any other credit facility. Also if you don't pay good luck getting anything on credit for the next 6 years even something as simple as bank account.

You could always try and sell the phones to try and cover the cost of them.

Guys_Dad

Yours is not an isolated case, I am afraid, and, although it may be a little late for you, I urge all MSE members who are currently flush with funds to consider what would be their position if they suddenly found themselves facing £70 per month for what is now, as another MSE member wrote earlier this week, a Millstone round their neck.

Now what can you do? Well you signed a legally binding 24 month agreement that, if you don't keep up the payments, will cause debt collectors to chase you and trash your credit record for 6 years at least.

Orange are not a charity and your personal circumstances are nothing to do with them, so don't expect too many favours there.

You can see if any of your friends/relatives are willing to take over your contracts and then get Orange's agreement to transfer the account to them.

You could sell the handsets. They are worth a few bob and will buy you a little time to see if any other funds become available for the contract.

I am not trying to be harsh or negative, just realistic. Take a little time to search through this forum to see the advice and any results that other members in your position have encountered.

But your post has got to be a wake up call for other readers.

grumbler

In the second half of the minimum term you can downgrade one step to the next cheaper tariff.

PhenoM

You can either sell off the handsets, which will get you about GBP 500 - 600 easy, maybe even more. Or wait for Orange to change any terms/conditions on their contract, which will give you an excuse to terminate the contract.

dreamypuma

Sell the two handsets on something like eBay and you should get in the region of £250 - 300 for each handset.

This will probably make liquid to you between £500 - £600. This will allow you to continue paying your contracts for a further 7month at least. Stick the SIM's into cheap unlocked handsets (available at £10 each) from Tesco's.

After 12month, I think Orange allow you to reduce your tariff, hopefully by then things may have improved for you.

In future, if you can't afford to pay off the entire term of a contract when you take it out, you simply can't afford it.

Bella79

Thank you all for your replies, like i said ive never not paid for anyhting in the past, but this change of circumstance is totally unexpected. I would have never had signed the contracts if i could have seen this happening.

And £70pm is 2 weeks food for us atm

I think im going to have to look into selling to buy me some time.

Oh and i have learned my lesson, payg next time!

Thank you once again

Buzby

Tesco are selling SIM free handsets for £15.97 (Nokias) which will accept your SIMs and let you arrange to cancel the commitment in a managed way.

pelirocco

reclusive46 wrote: »

Mobile phone contracts are just like anything else. You have to pay it somehow. If you don't the bailiffs wil come just like any other credit facility. Also if you don't pay good luck getting anything on credit for the next 6 years even something as simple as bank account.

You could always try and sell the phones to try and cover the cost of them.

This isnt strictly speaking true , baliffs can only be instructed by the courts

Op , you will probably find more helpful advice re money over on the debt free wannabe board

DontGiveUp2011

Can you contact Orange and agree a different payment plan with them to spread the same costs over more months? Explain your situation, the accounts dept or resolution centre might be able to help. Don't give up, or be fobbed off.
If this happened with a credit card you'd still be expected to pay the full amount back, but they would be able to work out a payment structure with you.
If the change in circumstance is due to losing your job - did you have an insurance policy with your mortgage or anything to protect you against job loss? Wonder if this would help in this case?