URGENT help needed, EE and abroad

walterwhite1121

hey all

I am posting on behalf of my mum, as i am not sure what to advise her.

Basically, her and my sisters mobile contracts are in her name, my sister is currently on holiday in turkey and my mum is due to go out and join her next week.

My mums phone has just been cut off, ee said because the bill is too high, she has phoned them and apparently my sisters bill has gone to £500+ due to internet usage while in turkey.

Now the issue is, to use the internet abroad with EE, you HAVE to buy a booster, and i quote from their website:

"The internet won’t work on your phone abroad unless you buy a Booster. This is to prevent you running up a large bill for internet usage by mistake."

Now my sister has NOT bought a booster, so how the hell can her bill be for £500+ for internet usage?

My mum asked for her line to be reconnected and they said that it would just get cut off again in 30 mins, she asked them if my sister had bought a booster and they just said "we cant get that information up until your next bill is due on 15th" but having been in contact with my sister using my phone, we can confirm she has NOT bought a booster

Now obviously my mum needs her phone for work, and she is also scared that come next month when the phone bills are due, £500+ is going to be taken from her account.

Can anyone advise me on what to do?

all help is very much appreciated

thank you

ste_wilko

According to EE's website, you buy the data boosters whilst abroad. It also says that when you run out you simply buy another one. What it doesn't say is what the price, or allowance, is.

How sure can your mum be that your sister hasn't been buying the boosters?

walterwhite1121

We are 100% sure. We have phoned my sister using my phone and she has not bought any boosters at all.

Can you advise on what to do?

thanks for your reply anyway though pal

ste_wilko

Short of cancelling the direct debit to stop the money going out until it's sorted (which, is by far not the best solution, just something I'd do personally) there's not really much you can do if the complete billing information isn't available yet.

Also, how can you have phoned your sister if the line has been blocked? Because it will be a chargeable call and therefore wouldn't connect

Has your mum logged into her online account to check?

Anoneemoose

walterwhite1121 wrote: »

We are 100% sure. We have phoned my sister using my phone and she has not bought any boosters at all.

Can you advise on what to do?

thanks for your reply anyway though pal

Is she definitely on EE and not Orange or T-Mobile?

walterwhite1121

T-mobile, now EE. But upon using their website, i selected tmobile, pay monthly, and turkey and I got that quote. I have my own contract with 3, never dealt with ee/tmobile which is why im asking for assistance. Very strange, she has only been in turkey since last friday too, so not even a week yet. Has not bought any boosters, or been prompted/asked too.

Thank you for replying and helping, at a very quick pace too. Its much appreciated.

grumbler

They are lying that they cannot get any information until the the next bill.
It's worth checking the online account too.

And tell the daughter to turn the bludy data roaming off at last!

grumbler

Anoneemoose wrote: »

Is she definitely on EE and not Orange or T-Mobile?

Don't know about Orange and EE, but T-mobile do say:

The internet won’t work on your phone abroad unless you buy a Booster. This is to prevent you running up a large bill for internet usage by mistake.

http://explore.ee.co.uk/roaming/t-mobile/turkey
That said, they seem to say this for Zone A and to offer the boosters for Zone A only. Does this imply that data roaming is impossible outside of Zone A?

ETA: it's the same for EE, but not for Orange.

walterwhite1121

Yeah i thought that, it would show on their system instantly if you bought something right? IF it doesnt, how did they know the bill was over 500, and that was from internet that caused this.

i have told my mum to try calling back and asking for a manager/supervisor, and try to explain to them, Im guessing they wont speak to me personally as it isnt in my name, but any advice on what she should say? who to ask for?

Anoneemoose

grumbler wrote: »

They are lying that they cannot get any information until the the next bill.
It's worth checking the online account too.

They aren't lying - boosters purchased abroad don't always show until the next bill cycle. They won't be able to see full details of the bill until it is actually produced - they should however have SOME info to share.

If it is T-Mobile, I am not sure. Only thing I can suggest is to escalate the complaint.

Anoneemoose

walterwhite1121 wrote: »

Yeah i thought that, it would show on their system instantly if you bought something right? IF it doesnt, how did they know the bill was over 500, and that was from internet that caused this.

i have told my mum to try calling back and asking for a manager/supervisor, and try to explain to them, Im guessing they wont speak to me personally as it isnt in my name, but any advice on what she should say? who to ask for?

Sometimes the fraud team pick up high usage and note the account with basic info and the billing or collections team just reiterate that. Not great of course, but it does happen.

You will need to escalate to a Team Leader first. Or someone might be able to advise if there is a quicker way around it.