Default registered by EE

wstock86

Afternoon all,

This is my first post, after a relatively upsetting afternoon with EE.

After getting a phone on my Orange account for my brother to use (his credit wouldn't allow him to get one), he managed to rack up a £2300 bill through gambling on his phone.

He's 21 years old, and didn't have the money to pay the bill; neither did I. I called Orange, and a payment plan was put in place for £200 per month.

I have paid this every month, on time, since December. I also confirmed several times with them that no default would be put on my account as long as the payments were met; to which they agreed.

So I checked today, and a default has been registered on my account.

I'm extrememly angry about this and upset, as it will obviously now affect me for the next 6 years.

I called Orange and they said a default has been added for the original debt, and another one would be added if I did not keep up with the payments of the arrangement, although there is only one account on the credit file.

Do you guys have any advice as to get rid of this default?

Thanks!

Techhead_2

I'm sorry your brother ran up a debt. The only way a provider can put a payment plan into place is if you don't pay your bill. This is the default that they have recorded. I guess that this wasn't really explained to you.

I'm sure many people will feel for you, being in this position.

wstock86

Techhead wrote: »

I'm sorry your brother ran up a debt. The only way a provider can put a payment plan into place is if you don't pay your bill. This is the default that they have recorded. I guess that this wasn't really explained to you.

I'm sure many people will feel for you, being in this position.

Thanks for the reply.

I did speak to them many times and they assured me that if met the £200 payment each month, no default would be added to my account.

If they record their calls then surely I have evidence to get rid of this as I was misinformed?

oopsadaisydoddle

wstock86 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

I did speak to them many times and they assured me that if met the £200 payment each month, no default would be added to my account.

If they record their calls then surely I have evidence to get rid of this as I was misinformed?

Who did you speak to? If it was the collections team, they can't stop the default. It is a true reflection of the payment history on the account. Unfortunately this is what can happen when you let family loose with your money, which is essentially what you did.

Oh and the chances of you having you call recorded are slim to none. A lot of people don't realise that calls are there for the companies' benefit, not the customers. Only about 3% of the 100's of 1000's of calls get picked up and they're logged against the agent that took the call, not against your number.

Buzby

The default is not manually entered - if the bill is not cleared by the due date, a default is automatically flagged.

Sadly there is no negotiation, their information to you was erroneous at best, misleading at worse but means even if you told them to go whistle for their money, taking you to court would have been unlikely (as a CCJ and their Default would mean you were being penalised twice). They would sell on the debt and let a parade of DCA's try to wear you down.

Silk

wstock86 wrote: »

After getting a phone on my Orange account for my brother to use (his credit wouldn't allow him to get one), he managed to rack up a £2300 bill through gambling on his phone.

How exactly did he manage to do this as it may be a way round the default due to gambling debts not being enforceable using credit ???

Techhead_2

wstock86 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

I did speak to them many times and they assured me that if met the £200 payment each month, no default would be added to my account.

If they record their calls then surely I have evidence to get rid of this as I was misinformed?

If you were to stop paying the £200 each month, then a further default would be recorded. So the collections department are correct that they won't record a default unless you stop paying.

It's going to be difficult to show that you were misinformed as there is a possibility that you misunderstood (due to the stress) exactly what was happening. Did you take any debt advice?

macman

I think the conversation you should be having is with your brother, not EE....
Why effectively give unlimited credit on a phone contract to someone who already has credit problems? Why not just buy him a PAYG phone in such a situation?

wstock86

Silk wrote: »

How exactly did he manage to do this as it may be a way round the default due to gambling debts not being enforceable using credit ???

It's through a mobile casino, you add credit to your gambilng account which is effectively a £10 charge to the mobile.

wstock86

macman wrote: »

I think the conversation you should be having is with your brother, not EE....
Why effectively give unlimited credit on a phone contract to someone who already has credit problems? Why not just buy him a PAYG phone in such a situation?

He had a CCJ 4 years ago from work, which has stopped him getting any credit. He has no other credit and as far as I could see was good with his money.

wstock86

oopsadaisydoddle wrote: »

Who did you speak to? If it was the collections team, they can't stop the default. It is a true reflection of the payment history on the account. Unfortunately this is what can happen when you let family loose with your money, which is essentially what you did.

Oh and the chances of you having you call recorded are slim to none. A lot of people don't realise that calls are there for the companies' benefit, not the customers. Only about 3% of the 100's of 1000's of calls get picked up and they're logged against the agent that took the call, not against your number.

It was indeed the collections department. I feel annoyed that they gave me answers that clearly weren't true.