Mobile phone contract in ex wifes name

jezzp

Hi,


I am at a complete loss. For some reason when applying for a Vodafone mobile phone contract back in October 2014 I was not approved but my wife ( now ex wife) was. Im not sure why as she had a bad credit rating and my credit rating at experian was 987 at the time.


Anyway the marriage has broken down and I am trying to cancel the contract as I am paying for a phone that is past its 2 years contract ( its nearly 3 ) but the charge every month is still the same. I'm essentially still paying for the phone even though it was paid off 2 years ago. The bills are also high quite a few of the months and I can not get a reason for this as I am not the account holder. I am therefore forced to pay an amount that I know is wrong because I need my phone number for work purposes. I am at a loss as what to do as my ex and I are not on speaking terms. Vodafone stonewall me every time I try to explain the situation and I really exhausted with getting no where.


Please help me, as I am now 10 months over a 2 year contract, with an old phone that I pay an extortionate amount for and a contract I can not stop. I cant be the only person in this situation

lewishardwick

Tell your ex-wife she needs to cancel it, via your solicitor if necessary. If she refuses, remember the contract is in her name. Cancel the DD and the debt collectors will hound her.

mobilejunkie

You are not paying for the phone; you are paying for the contract. It sounds like your bundle is too low (hence the higher charges some months) for your use. It's also not a 2 year contract; it was a two year minimum term.

The network won't do anything unless your wife instructs them, since their contract is with her. I would approach her (nicely) and ask her to give notice. If she refuses it would seem you could then inform her that you will cancel the direct debit; since the contract is in her name the subsequent debt and wrecking of the credit files for the next six years would be hers, not yours. But don't make threats to her at this stage. If her credit files are still wrecked she may not care about doing them further damage and it won't help your chances of persuading her.

jezzp

Hi thanks, I need the phone number though.

jezzp

mobilejunkie wrote: »

You are not paying for the phone; you are paying for the contract. It sounds like your bundle is too low (hence the higher charges some months) for your use. It's also not a 2 year contract; it was a two year minimum term.

The network won't do anything unless your wife instructs them, since their contract is with her. I would approach her (nicely) and ask her to give notice. If she refuses it would seem you could then inform her that you will cancel the direct debit; since the contract is in her name the subsequent debt and wrecking of the credit files for the next six years would be hers, not yours. But don't make threats to her at this stage. If her credit files are still wrecked she may not care about doing them further damage and it won't help your chances of persuading her.

The contract expired after 2 years? I took out a 2 year term and then I am now 2 year and 10 months into it. The contract was a phone repayment and contract. I always check my data usage and it never goes over and has not ever since ive had the phone. I cant even enquire why my bill is so high.

pmduk

You're not the only person in this situation, but you're all in the same boat. The only person with control is the person whose name is on the contract. You can stop the DD, but the service and number will be suspended. Your best bet is to apply for a new contract in your own name. Note that this would be with a new number. Your wife has control of the existing number; whether she'd release it via a PAC is between the pair of you.


As explained before the two years is a minimum period after which the contract reverts to a 30 day rolling contract.


Your network, Vodafone in this case (though they will all behave similarly) cannot discuss any of this with you as you are not party to the contract.

jbainbridge

As I see it there are 2 ways forward -
1. Get your ex to contact Vodafone and obtain a PAC
2. If 1. fails cancel the DD and accept you will need a new phone number

Jon_01

The answer about are the only two options I can think of as well.

Voda (or any network) can only talk to the acc holder named under the DPA, there is no wiggle room allowed.

d123

jezzp wrote: »

The contract expired after 2 years? I took out a 2 year term and then I am now 2 year and 10 months into it. The contract was a phone repayment and contract. I always check my data usage and it never goes over and has not ever since ive had the phone. I cant even enquire why my bill is so high.

It's not your account and if you haven't been authorised to access the account the Data Protection Act prohibits them from discussing the account with you.


As already said, contracts don't expire and aren't for fixed terms, they continue until cancelled or renegotiated.

Get the account holder to phone and cancel, if you wish to keep the mobile number ask her to get a PAC from Voda, using the PAC will cause the account to terminate.