Cancelling a phone contract of an ex

PEAB23

Hi all - new user so please be forgiving. I have a friend (no it's not actually me!) stuck in the following situation:

He has recently broken up with a girlfriend of six months. In January he took out two new phone contracts (with O2 I believe) - one for him and one for his partner - but both were in his name. Since then the two have parted ways, less than amicably, and she continues to use the phone and the contract. My friend has kindly asked that she return the phone but she has so far refused and is clearly taking him for a ride. This seemingly only leaves him with the option of leaving the situation as it is, or cancelling the contract with O2 but still having to payout the remaining two years. Either way he loses out on a lot of money and remains without the phone.

So basically I'm seeking advice on the way to go here. Is it best to cancel the contract and maybe also request the phone be blocked? Or, more importantly, is there any legal stand point to make her return the mobile? Obviously he will have to pay the remainder of the contract but if he could at least sell the phone that would allow him to recoup some funds. A life lesson learned I think!

Cheers for any help. Apologies if this is in the wrong area of the forums.

oopsadaisydoddle

As he took out the contracts then he is liable for the payments. Most networks allow you to transfer a contract to someone else but they would have to pass a credit check (I'm assuming she wouldn't and that's why he got them in the first place).

If she won't return the phone then he could report it to the police as stolen but I'm not sure if they would/could do anything.

If she really doesn't play ball then all I can suggest is for him to ring the network and bar the SIM and blacklist the phone. Then at least she cannot benefit. I would do this anyway because she could be a batch and run up a HUGE bill and he would be lumbered with it. He could also order a replacement SIM and change the number if he knew of someone else who might use it.

honizz

My friend had exactly the same scenario, but 4 payments were missed and this stopped him getting a mortgage. Be careful

H

john1

Can your friend report it as mislaid and request temporary bar?.

That might force ex to talk sensibly without resorting to permanent phone bar which could then be difficult to restore to UK service.

PEAB23

Cheers for the responses people. :T

Ideally he would transfer the contract but she is now unemployed and would much rather continue the benefits of a free phone it seems! He has threatened to report the phone as stolen should it not be returned but I agree, I can't see anything coming of that.

It looks as though he's going with blocking the sim short term or permanently as a must and then going for the permanent phone bar should all else fail. If there is no way of securing the return of the mobile at the very least it will stop him feeling more of a mug.

A costly lesson unfortunately but I will remind him of the need to keep up the payments in case it hurts him again further down the line.

keith1950

Hi, this happened to a contract I had for my son's ex partner.

We rang T-Mobile and they agreed to make the phone unusable ( even with another sim in ) and for a £10 fee they sent us a replacement sim with a different number.

macman

I suggest he gets on with reporting it lost and getting it blocked. At present she could sell on the SIM (or just lose the phone and have it misused) and he will then be facing an unlimited potential liability for any bills arising.
The contract is not 'of an ex'; both contracts are in his name, it's irrelevant whom he then allows to use the phone.

albionrovers

Phone providers are pretty sympathetic when couples split up aren't they? Eh, no!

Hope your friend has learned a good lesson.