T-Mobile roaming charges.

JoWest

We've just been to Florida and had a great time. My 14 year old son has a £30 per month contract with the above in my name. He has had this contract since August 2011. At no time has he gone over this figure. However, he took the phone with him on holiday and has incurred additional £579.00 in charges whilst in America. Now I know I should have kept an eye on his usage and I know on his part he has used his 'phone is blissful ignorance. But are there any safeguards which the company should use, ie, text messages to warn users of the charging rate whilst out there. Also, am I within my rights to ask for a period in which to pay these charges? I just wanted a bit of advice before picking the phone up and speaking with the company.

Cheers

Jo

visidigi

You are not covered for any safeguards outside of the EU - in saying that It would have been best placed to have removed roaming capability before leaving the country.

You can speak to T-Mobile about payment terms and see if they will offer any to you.

They are under no obligation to do so though.

grumbler

JoWest wrote: »

...are there any safeguards which the company should use, ie, text messages to warn users of the charging rate whilst out there.

Some safeguards are in place for EU only.

Also, am I within my rights to ask for a period in which to pay these charges?

No rights. They usually agree to this, but this will be reported correspondingly to the CRAs.

NFH

JoWest wrote: »

My 14 year old son has a £30 per month contract with the above in my name.

If you can afford £30/month for a 14 year old, then £579 can't be a significant amount for you.

What were the charges for? If they were for data, then you could ask T-Mobile to recalculate your bill as if you'd bought their most favourable data roaming bundles in advance.

macman

Seriously, what did you think it was going to cost, especially if data roaming was left enabled?
T-Mobile don't have a clue what charges are being incurred until they are forwarded by the local US provider, they are not billed in real time.

mrcamp

As already mentioned, see if Tmobile will work out a payment plan for you. Unfortunately, the responsibility falls on you to make sure your son is aware of the possible roaming charges.

reclusive46

If it was for data, challenge them. I had some huge bill from them. Told them data roaming had been off the whole time, the women checked something and told me all the charges had been taken off as a gesture of good will. Seem suspicious much lol?

Guys_Dad

NFH wrote: »

If you can afford £30/month for a 14 year old, then £579 can't be a significant amount for you.

That's a bit harsh and the OP's finances are frankly not your concern.

Don't assume that because people can afford £30 per month that they have £579 spare kicking about. If everybody had that amount spare, they would go sim free and buy their handsets outright.

Having said that, I am consistently amazed at just how many people don't have the basic clues about roaming and the attendant costs, particularly, as you suggest, re Data.

I still believe that people should have a basic understanding of just how smartphones work and the dangers.

Guys_Dad

mrcamp wrote: »

As already mentioned, see if Tmobile will work out a payment plan for you. Unfortunately, the responsibility falls on you to make sure your son is aware of the possible roaming charges.

If you do reach an arrangement, they will mark that on your credit record till it is paid off. By that, your account will show arrears till then and will remain on file for up to 6 years.

NFH

Guys_Dad wrote: »

That's a bit harsh and the OP's finances are frankly not your concern.

Then the OP should not have mentioned it. The information is superfluous to the problem.

Guys_Dad

NFH wrote: »

Then the OP should not have mentioned it. The information is superfluous to the problem.

No it's not. The fact that it is a contract and son has not spent more than monthly charge since August 2011 indicates a level of responsibility.

The fact that it is £30 per month suggests that it is probably a smartphone with data, rather than a £10, 50 minute, no data, basic handset, thereby giving experienced members something to home in on to make suggestions, such as reclusive46 picked up on.

As I said, a bit harsh and not like many of your previous posts, many of which have been much more helpful, particularly as OP accepted that they didn't keep as close an eye on son's use as she might. I have much more time for people who admit their shortcomings rather than those who must find someone else to blame. OP asked if T-Mobile had safeguards in place, not blaming them for not having them and asked for some advice on a repayment plan. Seems a perfectly reasonable request for advice and help that warranted support rather than a scathing reply. But that's only my view.

Personally, I would not have given any of my sons a contract at 14, unless it was a capped one such as T-Mobile are offering, but, of course, roaming charges don't hit immediately. I would also have ensured that data roaming was off, but as I have said many times on here, too many people don't understand the workings and financial dangers of smartphones, particularly, it would appear, Iphones and their data use. (Not suggesting that son had an Iphone).