phone contract problems

cameronadams96

Hi, in February 2014 my mum took out a phone contract for me for 24 months. I stopped using it around December 2015 and got a new phone. The contract expired in February 2016, however my mum has been charged for it until December 2016, when she cancelled the direct debit. she has now been informed that she faces legal action for a service that she has not actually received, as both the phone and sim card are broken and haven't been used for a year. Although im sure they have something in the contract allowing for this, is there anything we can do to avoid paying the fee (and ideally recuperating some or all of the money overpaid after the contract ran out, as neither me, nor my mum can afford to lose £400+)?

mobilejunkie

No. Contracts don't "end"; unless she gave 30 days' notice OR asked for and exercised a PAC within 30 days she was correctly charged and is now in debt. Legal action against her is highly unlikely and is probably being threatened now by debt collectors. Worse, her external credit files will be wrecked for the next 6 years.

Since from what you've said she presumably paid all the direct debits before cancelling in December you would do well to pay the one or two months which were not collected and give immediate notice to cancel.

You could throw yourself on the mercy of the network but legally you haven't a leg to stand on. Alternatively, if her credit status is not going to be a problem in the next six years (and that is usually highly unlikely) she could sit back and ignore it.

Legally, she did receive the service; she renaged on her side of the contract and didn't pay for it. A common mistake.

The contract isn't a problem; it's the fact she didn't read and understand it.

indesisiv

cameronadams96 wrote: »

Hi, in February 2014 my mum took out a phone contract for me for a minimum term of 24 months. I stopped using it around December 2015 and got a new phone. The minimum term was reached in [STRIKE]contract expired in[/STRIKE] February 2016, however my mum has been charged for it until December 2016, when she cancelled the direct debit. she has now been informed that she faces legal action for a service that she has not actually received, as both the phone and sim card are broken and haven't been used for a year. Although im sure they have something in the contract allowing for this, is there anything we can do to avoid paying the fee (and ideally recuperating some or all of the money overpaid after the contract ran out, as neither me, nor my mum can afford to lose £400+)?

I have corrected your text a bit ...

Now can you see the problem? You signed a contract, you can't just stop a direct debit without giving notice to cancel the contract.

Throw yourself on the mercy of the contract provider and offer to pay the outstanding (you may even get a discount if you are lucky)

macman

Your mum can't afford £400, but she didn't look at any of her bank statements between February and December 2016, nor did she cancel the DD when she thought the contract had ended? Hmm...
As pointed out above, the biggest potential damage is her trashed credit file, not the £400.

boatman

The £400 is already lost. They might let you pay the lowest tariff they offer for the past couple of months, but that's probably about it. Start paying your Mum back....