daughters lost phone and big bill

Herongull

zagfles wrote: »

Really? Credit cards do it all the time, don't see much of an outcry. It can't be that hard. Set some sort of credit limit, eg £100 a month, something that can set by the user but with a sensible default. Cut the phone off (temporarily at least) if the limit is exceeded. Wonder why the networks don't do that? Don't tell me it's impossible or too hard, they manage real-time usage monitoring perfectly well with PAYG - if I have £100 credit on PAYG the phone will be cut off after using £100 worth of calls.

Choosing to have a contract phone and then choosing not to cap it means choosing to accept a huge financial risk.

ILW

The OP is a wind up.

zagfles

Herongull wrote: »

Choosing to have a contract phone and then choosing not to cap it means choosing to accept a huge financial risk.

But even capping isn't a lot of use, as there are usually exclusions, like roaming.

It seems the networks use the "delayed notification" excuse for not being able to cap roaming usage. Strange how they seem perfectly capable of stopping PAYG usage when the credit runs out, when it's the networks money at risk rather than the customer's.

Ultrasonic

Herongull wrote: »

Only people who are fabulously wealthy should even consider having a contract phone.

Everyone else should go PAYG. Phones are very cheap to buy outright. PAYG costs nothing if you go for a provider with generous free bundles. You can also use free WiFi to do instant messaging, access internet etc.

I disagree.

I'm currently looking to get a Galaxy S2 and it is definitely cheaper to get the phone on a contract than to buy the phone outright and to go for any of the PAYG options. I may well choose to do the latter due to the concern about being stuck in a contract with an operator and then finding the signal coverage is poor, but this is not the cheapest option. (If you can prove me wrong I'd be grateful though!)

As for the 'fabulously wealthy' comment, nonsense. Surely all anyone needs to do is arrange a monthly spending cap on their phone.

For the OP's case, do we actually know if the contract is in the parent or the daughter's name? Might this make any difference?

Emy1501

Ultrasonic wrote: »

I disagree.

I'm currently looking to get a Galaxy S2 and it is definitely cheaper to get the phone on a contract than to buy the phone outright and to go for any of the PAYG options. I may well choose to do the latter due to the concern about being stuck in a contract with an operator and then finding the signal coverage is poor, but this is not the cheapest option. (If you can prove me wrong I'd be grateful though!)

As for the 'fabulously wealthy' comment, nonsense. Surely all anyone needs to do is arrange a monthly spending cap on their phone.

For the OP's case, do we actually know if the contract is in the parent or the daughter's name? Might this make any difference?

Assumed it was in the OP's name as she seems to be the one advising she can't afford to pay it.

As for contracts Monthly Sim only and Pay as U go phone has always worked out the cheapest for me. Tescos do a Cap and Virgin will cap but the minimum is £50 and I suspect it could be more as their could be the delay between call and charges being applied.

Guys_Dad

I think the following is relevant.

• Most Networks currently do not have capping or the sort of financial scrutiny that some of you say they should. I agree that this would be a good addition and hopefully may come in. In the meantime, however, customers need to know the situation with their network and take the relevant precautions.
  
• Some networks do offer capping. People are free to contract with these networks to avoid these large bills.
  
• Phone networks offer at least 2 levels of protection - pin/sim lock that will prevent the sim being used on another phone and phone lock that means you have to enter a code every time you want to use the handset.
  
• In addition, the screen lock facility can be set to 1 minute or more/less to ensure that you have to use the screen lock automatically.
  
• As said, the PAYG option was always there
  
• The network will cover any call costs incurred after they have been notified of the phone being stolen.

Now it seems that the OP's daughter has failed on all of these security choices. Under these circumstances, I can only conclude that her negligence and sheer stupidity at not reporting the loss at the earliest opportunity has greatly contributed to her current misfortune. Naturally I hope that the networks will show some goodwill and make a suitable reduction on these enormous costs, but it's not their fault people if users don't apply basic security or common sense.

Silk

ILW wrote: »

The OP is a wind up.

I thought that too

At least the thread is following the usual script as always :rotfl:

Guys_Dad

Silk wrote: »

I thought that too

At least the thread is following the usual script as always :rotfl:

I got a bit worried when I read this from the OP.

trace80 wrote: »

my daughter lost her bag last Saturday night or Sunday morning when she was in a club. ..........
I contacted social secrutiy who had helped us in the past with bills and they said they would look into it.

So they stole it?

mickaveli2001

The lack of time to report it appears to be carelessness, which doesn't help to paint a perfect picture when she's out spending money while on the dole and having a 3 month old baby at home. Surely there are better things to spend money on especially since it's nearer Christmas?

You sound like a very supportive mother that likely tolerates a lot, as evident with the fact that it is you that is on here asking the questions about your daughters stolen mobile and not her herself.

As experience with working with a nightclub, I can say that at least half of handbags that went missing were in fact picked up and emptied by nightclub staff - Mostly doorman/bouncers who would empty the contents, then keep them in the office or front desk claiming it was found in the toilets... Make sure there were no Korean security in that nightclub or of Asian background. Also check the original terms and conditions on the contract of your mobile.

You could even write to them (via e-mail or recorded delivery) claiming you had attempted to call them to report the phone on the Sunday morning after verifying with the nightclub it wasn't handed in, and that they cut you off, and tried again on the Monday after getting police involved. A lot of the bill may be reduced leaving you with just a little to pay off