Phone bill debt collection

Throwaway185729

My sister was on a 1 month rolling contract with ID Mobile, under my name. In December last year the phone was stolen along with the sim of course. We reported this to the police and let ID know immediately that the phone was stolen, so they blocked the sim. No replacement sim was sent or anything and we entered a contract with a different provider so we assumed thatwas that.

Except a couple of days ago I happened to look at my junk folder on my email only to find Lucas credit services had sent multiple threatening emails on behalf of ID claiming that I had an outstanding balance of £60 with them. It turns out that ID had continued charging the monthly cost for the 3 months after the sim was reported as stolen.

This is the first time I've been in this sort of situation so I don't really know what to do or what my options are. What happens if I refuse to pay? If I were to pay, should it be through Lucas Credit Services or ID Mobile?
Because both are demanding payment to themselves.

worried_jim

Just call ID mobile and get them to sort out.

Throwaway185729

I spoke to them. They told me I'm still liable for the charges because I didn't cancel the contract, even though the sim was blocked and another wasn't sent? I'm not sure how that works.

I really don't want to pay them, mostly because I'm seriously annoyed at this all went down, but I don't know what would happen if I did that. I don't think they'd send bailiffs or whatever over £60, but I don't really know for sure and they claim that if I don't respond the "debt" could increase.

Atasas

Throwaway185729 wrote: »

Except a couple of days ago I happened to look at my junk folder on my email only to find Lucas credit services had sent multiple threatening emails on behalf of ID claiming that I had an outstanding balance of £60 with them. It turns out that ID had continued charging the monthly cost for the 3 months after the sim was reported as stolen.

This is the first time I've been in this sort of situation so I don't really know what to do or what my options are. What happens if I refuse to pay? If I were to pay, should it be through Lucas Credit Services or ID Mobile?
Because both are demanding payment to themselves.

spam folder indicates it being spam

when you say they want £60, then you say, they charged you already... bit confusing TBH

My advice is to not to stress and
1- ignore- it's most likely just a scam
2- get confirmation from ID directly of you cancelling, with dates and particulars when you called them.

tricky part of it is, even if it was 30 day contract, if you have no proof of cancellation, in theory they could be asking for the money service provided or not.
0333 003 7777 is the number and I do highly recommend to demand speak to their office in Ireland, not the main South African contact centre.

d123

Throwaway185729 wrote: »

I spoke to them. They told me I'm still liable for the charges because I didn't cancel the contract, even though the sim was blocked and another wasn't sent? I'm not sure how that works.

I really don't want to pay them, mostly because I'm seriously annoyed at this all went down, but I don't know what would happen if I did that. I don't think they'd send bailiffs or whatever over £60, but I don't really know for sure and they claim that if I don't respond the "debt" could increase.

Unfortunately if you didn't specifically cancel with 30 days notice or obtained your pac and used it you are still liable.

The fact your sim was stolen was unfortunate, but didn't absolve you of your contracted termination procedure.

You might want to check, there's a chance you might also have a default on your credit file due to this.

Atasas

Throwaway185729 wrote: »

I spoke to them. They told me I'm still liable for the charges because I didn't cancel the contract, even though the sim was blocked and another wasn't sent? I'm not sure how that works.

I really don't want to pay them, mostly because I'm seriously annoyed at this all went down, but I don't know what would happen if I did that. I don't think they'd send bailiffs or whatever over £60, but I don't really know for sure and they claim that if I don't respond the "debt" could increase.

(didn't see your response, when posted earlier)
still confusing...
even for a 30 day contract you end up with Direct Debit or whatever else term for a continued payment, that should have been deducting money monthly, doesn't make any sense, as why would they be demanding lump sum now


Advice "2" still stands- speak to their Irish office, be adamant you implied cancellation, due to circumstances and them NOT sending new SIM

...............................................................
considering everything, as is, I doubt they will end up sending bailiff if you don't pay, BUT all of them have ability to ruin your credit rating and trust me £60 is nothing in the scheme of current affairs.
Not speaking to them, not trying to resolve the issue is the last worse thing to do.

Throwaway185729

Just to clarify, I don't have a direct debt with ID. I paid them through their app every month and stopped paying them when the sim was reported as stolen and blocked. So the amount due has been increasing every month and is currently at £60. I checked my account on their website and it says I need to pay £60 to come out of collections, so it seems legit.

My confusion on this point is why I'm being given the option to pay directly through my ID account if they've given the debt to a credit agency. If I pay through one way will they both leave me alone?

I reported the sim as stolen through their website, when I go on it now it still says that the sim is blocked and has been blocked since 20th December.

I spoke to their South African call center and they were of no help whatsoever. I'll try their Ireland office. Thanks!

Throwaway185729

It's hard not to feel shafted given that I haven't been receiving any of their services because the sim was reported as stolen and a new sim wasn't sent.

Still, aside from my credit file I would like to know what is likely to happen if I simply don't pay.

d123

Atasas wrote: »

Advice "2" still stands- speak to their Irish office, be adamant you implied cancellation, due to circumstances and them NOT sending new SIM

You cannot "imply cancellation" by reporting the sim stolen. The contract is clear about needing to give 30 days notice or obtaining and using a PAC in lieu of notice.

Those are the only ways for the customer to contractually terminate an account, (barring dying or going bankrupt).

d123

Throwaway185729 wrote: »

It's hard not to feel shafted given that I haven't been receiving any of their services because the sim was reported as stolen and a new sim wasn't sent.

Still, aside from my credit file I would like to know what is likely to happen if I simply don't pay.

If you don't mind debt collectors, a possible CCJ and a trashed credit file for 6 years (meaning almost no mainstream credit for that 6 years), then don't pay, as it's unlikely they'll send the boys around to break your kneecaps

Throwaway185729

The debt collectors and credit file don't concern me to be completely honest. But I don't know what the CCJ entails. How likely is it to come to that and how much would the money I have to pay increase if at all? I don't want to be in a situation where £60 turns into something far more substantial.

And if I were to pay, should it be to Lucas Credit Services or ID directly? It's Lucas Credit Services that's sending the email.