Am I committing fraud by having a phone contract under 18

smac99

Hi, a friend of mine got a phone contract out when they were 16 and lied about their age to get it. They live independently in a different city from their parents so needed a phone and had no one else they could use. They have been paying it normally and plan to do so until the contract has finished.

Is anyone able to give some advice on what they may be able to do after the contract finishes, for example can they change the DOB on the phone contract account and then take out another. I thought it may be best to go in to the store and just ask for a new account and act as though the previous account wasn't them but they said they would like their credit score to be improved if possible. Lastly, another idea was to phone up when they turn 18 which is before the phone contract ends and ask for them to be the holder of the contract (I'm not too sure how well this would work only as it is the same name and bank account just different age).

Im not too sure how this is treated, eg as fraud etc so any advice would be great.

Many thanks!

grumbler

smac99 wrote: »

Hi, a friend of mine got a phone contract out when they were 16 and lied about their age to get it. They live independently in a different city from their parents so needed a phone and had no one else they could use.

It's very easy to get a phone without a contract. It's called a SIM-free phone + PAYG SIM.

They have been paying it normally and plan to do so until the contract has finished.

Is anyone able to give some advice on what they may be able to do after the contract finishes, for example can they change the DOB on the phone contract account and then take out another. I thought it may be best to go in to the store and just ask for a new account and act as though the previous account wasn't them but they said they would like their credit score to be improved if possible.

It is fraud to lie about the age.I don't think that anybody, including the current provider, will give your friend a new contract knowing about the fraud.

Even with other providers your friend is likely to have problems because of the ghost person fraudulently created in CRAs with the same data except the DOB.
And it makes no sense to maintain the credit history of a person with incorrect DOB - unless your friend wants to keep committing fraud.

Lastly, another idea was to phone up when they turn 18 which is before the phone contract ends and ask for them to be the holder of the contract (I'm not too sure how well this would work only as it is the same name and bank account just different age).

It's not that easy, requires both persons' consent, and the provider is likely not to want to transfer the contract to some new person without any history. This is ignoring that both persons have the same data except the DOB that by itself is more than suspicious.

Im not too sure how this is treated, eg as fraud etc so any advice would be great.

It is fraud. If caught your friend can get to fraud prevention databases and will be unable to get not only phone contracts, but even bank accounts.

I suggest cancelling the contract as soon as the minimum term ends, switching to PAYG and waiting at least for year before trying to get a new contract.

LadyDee

Was this you or your friend? You seem a little confused.

J_B

smac99 wrote: »

They have been paying it normally and plan to do so until the contract has finished.

Is anyone able to give some advice on what they may be able to do after the contract finishes,

Remembering, of course, that the contract doesn't 'finish' is simply carries on unless 'your friend' cancels it.

PHK

I think there are two issues here what your friend does about the contract and whether this is fraud

Regarding the contract. I would follow Grumblers advice and cancel it then move to PAYG for a while.

I don't think this is necessarily fraud and, as long as the contract is paid I doubt the provider will care.

I say this because it's perfectly okay for a minor to form a contract, it's just that providers won't normally do this because the minor can't be held to the contract.

Secondly, no harm was done as this was a minor deception, no money lost etc. (unless your friend also pretended to be an older relative)

Thirdly, there are two parties to the contract and the provider should have done an ID check at the least and if there was a phone involved a credit check plus internal security check. This should have picked up that your friend had given the wrong age

Finally, we're talking about a 16 year old, living without parental oversight away from home. That seems quite a good defence. I think it's very unlikely that a phone company would take any action (as long as the contract is paid up).

As Grumblers says, the wrong date of birth may cause an issue. Given that there will be existing bank records with the correct date if birth, as time passes I doubt this matters

AndyPK

let the contract complete, get a PAC code to keep your number, and sign up elsewhere when you are 18 using correct DOB


Get the phone unlocked when you are 18.