Business phone switched to personal contract

kilby_007

Hi guys I'm in the process of leaving my company and asked our admin department what they wanted to do about my phone which they currently pay for as I am on-call. I've had the phone for 15 months and the phone is due to be upgraded in 3 months time. They gave me the option of switching the contract into my name under a personal contract which I agreed to so they called Orange for me and then passed me over for my personal details. It turned out to be £42 per month which I thought was a bit pricey but I was happy to do it to save the hassle of finding a new contract and being able to keep my number and phone.

After everything had been arranged the admin boss said I'd have to hand my handset back in during my last week - something she'd ever so conveniently forgotten to tell me earlier. So now they want me to hand my handset in and pay £42 per month for a sim card?!

My argument is that part of the monthly fee (which I'm now paying!) is paying for the phone itself and if I'd known previously I wouldn't have agreed to pay £42 per month for it.

Where do I stand? Anybody got any clues?

grumbler

If the contract has been already transferred to your name, then you have to pay unless you persuade your boss to get it transferred back.

IMO, the handset is a 'private' matter between you and your boss. If it was a part of the contract, I don't see why they want to keep it, but I think they have a right to do this.

kilby_007

Thanks for the advice. I am currently in posession of the phone so it's a bit of a stand-off. They say they want to give it to the new guy but is he really going to want a battered up old iPhone? They're going to have to take out a new contract for him anyway!

Cycrow

you say you can upgrade in 3 months, so i assume its an 18 month contract ?
so you will only be paying for 3 months worth, whereas the company has been paying for 15 months, so will have more right to the phone.

but one thing to remember is that althou you pay extra on the contract to have the phone, the phone and contract are separate.

you could try asking them if they could cover part of the remaining contract, ie £20 a month for the next three months, or otherwise try to get them to transfer it back.

kilby_007

Cycrow wrote: »

you say you can upgrade in 3 months, so i assume its an 18 month contract ?
so you will only be paying for 3 months worth, whereas the company has been paying for 15 months, so will have more right to the phone.

but one thing to remember is that althou you pay extra on the contract to have the phone, the phone and contract are separate.

you could try asking them if they could cover part of the remaining contract, ie £20 a month for the next three months, or otherwise try to get them to transfer it back.

They tell me I can upgrade but whether that's true I'm not sure. I might suggest the £20/month idea to them but I doubt they will agree. They've also refused me my training certificates and taken a £250 call-out payment off me which is paid pro-rata so I should be entitled to but anyway that's another story...

Frozen_up_north

kilby_007 wrote: »

I've had the phone for 15 months and the phone is due to be upgraded in 3 months time

By the sound of it, the contract is for both the phone and the SIM/airtime... SIM only deals (a) don't get "upgraded" and (b) are cheaper. Therefore if you take over the contract you also get to keep the phone.

If the phone is in reasonable condition, consider switching to a SIM only deal in 3 months as an "upgrade" will tie you into another contract for 12 months or more.

Buzby

I'd be very careful - you will be taking out a contract with a fresh minimum term unless explicitly told otherwise. Your boss was disingenuous, of course you wanted the handset and SIM.

If this is not to happen, advise cancellation and do your own thing. I'm only paying £6.90pm plus a £1,20pm cashback deal - your deal without a phone seems bad value,

Cycrow

Frozen_up_north wrote: »

By the sound of it, the contract is for both the phone and the SIM/airtime... SIM only deals (a) don't get "upgraded" and (b) are cheaper. Therefore if you take over the contract you also get to keep the phone.

its not actually true, they are separate. The phone isn't linked with the contract its bought on, you can use any phone on the sim.

The phone is a free gift, but you have to pay more for the contract to get it. So while technically part of the contract covers the cost for the phone, it doesn't exactly work that way

tyllwyd

I think your boss has been sneaky - of course you assumed that the phone went with the contract unless it was specifically agreed otherwise.

How about a compromise - you tell them that you need the phone until the end of the remaining three months when you can upgrade or end the contract. (That's only fair, otherwise you would be paying for a new phone on top of the existing contract.)

kilby_007

Cycrow wrote: »

its not actually true, they are separate. The phone isn't linked with the contract its bought on, you can use any phone on the sim.

The phone is a free gift, but you have to pay more for the contract to get it. So while technically part of the contract covers the cost for the phone, it doesn't exactly work that way

Thanks, so does that phone legally belong to my company then? I hate this game that they have played. Very crafty indeed because if I do give in to them and let them have it back, I'm technically paying about £75 towards the cost of the phone and I don't even get to keep it...

Cycrow

legally, it'll belong to who ever took out the contract in the first place, which i assume was the company ?

so transfering a contract wont technically transfer the ownership of the phone.

sounds like your boss isn't going to be very resonable about it, so the best you can hope for is to work out some kind of arrangement.
The best option is to transfer the contract back to them if they will agree to that.

Then you will be free to get your own one, but will lose your number.

Remember if you have to give the phone back, not only will you be paying extra for the phone, u will also be without a phone to use yourself