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Mobile phone "scam"
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BobQ
Posts: 11,181 Forumite
Interesting article in Which? Magazine in October, I do not recall seeing it reported on MSE or elsewhere but does not hurt repeating it.
Apparently with PAYG Mobiles if you do not use for a period specified in the contract then Ofcom asks the provider to end the account to recycle the number. What is less well known is that there is no guidance on what should happen to the remaining credit.
The providers often state that the credit is non-refundable so they effectively pocket the credit which is no doubt a nice little earner for these multinational firms.
The case illustrated by Which? was a 91 year old who died. She had apparently been adding credit to the phone on a regular basis (perhaps not realising it was unnecessary) and when she died the credit was £185.
Orange at first refused to refund the credit saying this was normal practice in the industry, except in the face of bad publicity they relented and refunded it.
I wonder how many people die and their loved ones never even think to check the balance? I also wonder how much money these avaricious firms legally confiscate over the years?
Apparently with PAYG Mobiles if you do not use for a period specified in the contract then Ofcom asks the provider to end the account to recycle the number. What is less well known is that there is no guidance on what should happen to the remaining credit.
The providers often state that the credit is non-refundable so they effectively pocket the credit which is no doubt a nice little earner for these multinational firms.
The case illustrated by Which? was a 91 year old who died. She had apparently been adding credit to the phone on a regular basis (perhaps not realising it was unnecessary) and when she died the credit was £185.
Orange at first refused to refund the credit saying this was normal practice in the industry, except in the face of bad publicity they relented and refunded it.
I wonder how many people die and their loved ones never even think to check the balance? I also wonder how much money these avaricious firms legally confiscate over the years?
Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.
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That's a specific case-but realistically how would you refund .38p to millions of users..?
Mobile phones are a boon to elderly people-that's a positive.0 -
When a loved one dies I honestly couldn't care less what the credit was on their PAYG mobile. You have to be a bad person if that's something you would try and claim back.
Are you also expected to claim the tesco club card points they had?This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
when my Gran died all we did was give her phone to another relative, so they could use what credit was left on the phone, even if the phone companies did refund any unused credit for users that have passed away, then the only person that could claim this back would be the executor of their estate.0
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When a loved one dies I honestly couldn't care less what the credit was on their PAYG mobile. You have to be a bad person if that's something you would try and claim back.
Are you also expected to claim the tesco club card points they had?
I do not agree with your "bad person" comment.
Speaking personally, when I die I would expect my family to claim back anything that might be a worthwhile contribution to charity. Knowing my older relatives who have died they would also expect it.
The very point of highlighting this is that most people do as you and forget about it. I can accept that it is not reasonable to expect a refund of 50p but if its more than a few pounds how ethical is it for the mobile firms to pocket the money when someone dies.
If they said that they would repay sums over £10 if claimed and donate the rest to charity I would have far more respect. We could be talking about millions?Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.0 -
That's a specific case-but realistically how would you refund .38p to millions of users..?
Mobile phones are a boon to elderly people-that's a positive.
I agree but half a million people die each year in the UK if half of them have a mobile and half of these are on PAYG (the most popular tariff) that is 125,000 phones. Assume average balance of £20 and you get £2.5m being pocketed by the providers for nothing.Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.0 -
I agree but half a million people die each year in the UK if half of them have a mobile and half of these are on PAYG (the most popular tariff) that is 125,000 phones. Assume average balance of £20 and you get £2.5m being pocketed by the providers for nothing.
No I don't assume the average balance is £20, and even less assume they have payg.
!!!!!!, what would you suggest as a solution? Sending cheques out for. 39p -get real -it's business.
Bob -come up with a solution..0 -
No I don't assume the average balance is £20, and even less assume they have payg.
!!!!!!, what would you suggest as a solution? Sending cheques out for. 39p -get real -it's business
Whether you like it or not it is a statistical fact that 40m people have mobiles in the UK, its also a fact that more than half of them are on PAYG tariffs, and its a fact that half a million die a year. Its also a fact that the average spend of those on PAYG is £15-20 so it is plausible that the average credit is about this.
As I said above "I agree" with you (REPEAT "I agree with you" )that its unfair to expect small refunds of that size. I do not agree that the firms should keep whatever amount the credit is.
I posted this for information not to get into an argument about the issue or accept abuse from apologists for the mobile phone industry (you know the people who rip us off with indefensible roaming charges!).Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.0 -
The way credits operate is strange
I am a webhost and have the facility for clients to place funds in their accounts to use for future invoices/services which is fine. This means they have a credit on their accounts, but i am not allowed to refund them any of these funds even if they leave our hosting as to do this i need to be registered under the consumer credit act. i dare say this would also apply to mobile phone operators.0 -
Did it also mention that if you don't use the phone within a certain period, the number is lost and the credit disappears?0
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Did it also mention that if you don't use the phone within a certain period, the number is lost and the credit disappears?
Yes it did, so I suppose that those of us who leave a PAYG in the car etc in case of emergencies and then never use it can lose out too.Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.0
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