Missold mobile contract

nomoney44

I recently found that I had a Vodafone default on my credit file. I have never had a Vodafone mobile. Several years ago I agreed to pay my sons mobile contract as he did not have a bank account but the account was meant to be under his name clearly it has been put under my name. The account was set up through onecom who have sent me a recording of the phone call. The phone contract that was set up was for a business phone but it is clear on the call that the phone was for my son and not for my business as I have always had a phone with another provider. Do I have grounds to claim this account was missold ? Should they be setting up business contracts when they know the phone is for someone else’s  personal use?

DB1904

nomoney44 said:

I recently found that I had a Vodafone default on my credit file. I have never had a Vodafone mobile. Several years ago I agreed to pay my sons mobile contract as he did not have a bank account but the account was meant to be under his name clearly it has been put under my name. The account was set up through onecom who have sent me a recording of the phone call. The phone contract that was set up was for a business phone but it is clear on the call that the phone was for my son and not for my business as I have always had a phone with another provider. Do I have grounds to claim this account was missold ? Should they be setting up business contracts when they know the phone is for someone else’s  personal use?

I don't see how it was missold to you and given payment was coming from your bank account of course it was down to you. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Isn't Onecom purely for business contracts, anyway?  And presumably you called them to arrange it, so how was it mis-sold?

What solution are you looking for?

nomoney44

My son set up a mobile contract with them but did not have a bank account. I agreed to pay the contract for a few months by direct debit til he could sort out a bank account. Once he did this I cancelled the direct debit and it appears that he paid it for a few months and then stopped and the account went into default. It is only after checking my credit file that I realised the account must have been put in my name as the default is showing. The default happened two years ago but I have never had a bill or anything so did not know about it. I am now in a position where I am not able to get a mortgage because of the effect this has had on my credit file. This seems very unfair. The result  I want is this bill removed from my credit file

TheMilkmansDad

would it not ne the bank account linked to the contract rather then the name on the bill that is causing the flag? did you/your son contact Vodafone at the time to change DD's?

molerat

TheMilkmansDad said:

would it not ne the bank account linked to the contract rather then the name on the bill that is causing the flag? did you/your son contact Vodafone at the time to change DD's?

No, the default can only be against the individual named on the mobile contract.

Aylesbury_Duck

nomoney44 said:

My son set up a mobile contract with them but did not have a bank account. I agreed to pay the contract for a few months by direct debit til he could sort out a bank account. Once he did this I cancelled the direct debit and it appears that he paid it for a few months and then stopped and the account went into default. It is only after checking my credit file that I realised the account must have been put in my name as the default is showing. The default happened two years ago but I have never had a bill or anything so did not know about it. I am now in a position where I am not able to get a mortgage because of the effect this has had on my credit file. This seems very unfair. The result  I want is this bill removed from my credit file

Surely it's a case of your son "mis-buying" rather than Oncecom mis-selling? 

A pertinent question is: How old was your son at the time he contacted Onecom, given he didn't have a bank account?  Was he not old enough to have a contract, hence why it ended up in your name, or was it a case of him being the legitimate, old-enough contract holder but with your bank details for the payment?

I'm sorry to say that to me, it seems that it's you and your son's actions that are the cause of the problem rather than mis-selling.  It looks as if he's either set up a contract he wasn't old enough to set up, or has put you down as the contract holder then stitched you up by stopping payment.  If he wasn't old enough to enter into a contract, you may have a way of reversing things I suppose, but presumably you agreed to the payments and signed the direct debit mandate?  By cancelling the direct debit you've then caused a further problem because just cancelling a DD doesn't cancel the contract.  That's why you now have a default.

MattMattMattUK

nomoney44 said:

My son set up a mobile contract with them but did not have a bank account. I agreed to pay the contract for a few months by direct debit til he could sort out a bank account. Once he did this I cancelled the direct debit and it appears that he paid it for a few months and then stopped and the account went into default. It is only after checking my credit file that I realised the account must have been put in my name as the default is showing. The default happened two years ago but I have never had a bill or anything so did not know about it. I am now in a position where I am not able to get a mortgage because of the effect this has had on my credit file. This seems very unfair. 

One default from two years ago would not stop you getting a mortgage if everything else were in order. I would recommend you speak to a decent broker who will be able to advise you how best to proceed.

nomoney44 said:

The result  I want is this bill removed from my credit file

This is very unlikely to happen as it would appear that the default is entirely correct. A contract was taken out in your name, authorised by you, which was then defaulted on. Unless your son committed deception and you report him for fraud this default is correct and will almost certainly not be removed. 

Pollycat

nomoney44 said:

My son set up a mobile contract with them but did not have a bank account. I agreed to pay the contract for a few months by direct debit til he could sort out a bank account. Once he did this I cancelled the direct debit and it appears that he paid it for a few months and then stopped and the account went into default. It is only after checking my credit file that I realised the account must have been put in my name as the default is showing. The default happened two years ago but I have never had a bill or anything so did not know about it. I am now in a position where I am not able to get a mortgage because of the effect this has had on my credit file. This seems very unfair. The result  I want is this bill removed from my credit file

So your son contacted Onecom to set this contract up.

Why did your son choose Onecom if it was a personal contract?

Why did your son stop paying for the phone contract? It's really his fault that you have a default on your credit file. Not Onecom's fault.