Cancelling Unaffordable Mobile Phone Contract

LifeLimit

I have two contract phones with three for my teenage kids. They have an unlimited plan which is due to end in November. I was hospitalised in Feb and I am now unable to work and recently applied for Universal Credit. The prices increased in April, I was not aware due to being in hospital. 

The other day my direct debit failed as the charges for their phones have went up considerably to £60 each and I hadn't left enough in to cover this as the prices have went up. it is unaffordable for me to continue with this contract now I am unemployed and on UC. 

I contacted them for help, advising the price increases are too much for me to manage and I simply cannot afford to pay it now I am on UC. I asked if I could move to their social tariff "Smarty" which is £12 a month for a sim only plan and continue paying off the devices in the meantime. 

They advised me I could cancel my contract but would need to pay the rest of the contract (device and sim contract until November). When I told them I couldn't afford this, plus I would then be paying for something upfront I would be unable to use (as it would cancel the contract) and they said this was the only financial aid they could provide. 

I then asked to complain as that wasn't financial aid, it actually leaves me in a worse position, paying for an account I can't use and they having to pay for a sim only from Smarty. They then said they could reduce the data from unlimited to 12gb for a £4 reduction per month, per contract.  

Is there anything I can do? What do people do when they go from employment to suddenly being on UC and having finance and contracts to pay for? 

Neil_Jones

Your exit fees cost the same (or near enough the same) as it would cost if you leave them to run.

savergrant

LifeLimit said:

I have two contract phones with three for my teenage kids. They have an unlimited plan which is due to end in November. I was hospitalised in Feb and I am now unable to work and recently applied for Universal Credit. The prices increased in April, I was not aware due to being in hospital. 

The other day my direct debit failed as the charges for their phones have went up considerably to £60 each and I hadn't left enough in to cover this as the prices have went up. it is unaffordable for me to continue with this contract now I am unemployed and on UC. 

I contacted them for help, advising the price increases are too much for me to manage and I simply cannot afford to pay it now I am on UC. I asked if I could move to their social tariff "Smarty" which is £12 a month for a sim only plan and continue paying off the devices in the meantime. 

They advised me I could cancel my contract but would need to pay the rest of the contract (device and sim contract until November). When I told them I couldn't afford this, plus I would then be paying for something upfront I would be unable to use (as it would cancel the contract) and they said this was the only financial aid they could provide. 

I then asked to complain as that wasn't financial aid, it actually leaves me in a worse position, paying for an account I can't use and they having to pay for a sim only from Smarty. They then said they could reduce the data from unlimited to 12gb for a £4 reduction per month, per contract.  

Is there anything I can do? What do people do when they go from employment to suddenly being on UC and having finance and contracts to pay for? 

Unfortunately unless you have insurance the only options are to keep paying or default. When you commit to a long term plan you get a slightly saving as opposed to taking a shorter term deal but you give the network a promise of guaranteed income. Some networks will allow you to switch to another tariff as you were eventually offered although it is likely that the vast majority of your monthly payment is device repayment so that wouldn't have a major impact on your monthly outgoings.

jojaca

You have to think worst case scenario before committing to 12/18/24 month contracts, it's kind of your own fault. Buy your phones outright and pick up cheap sims. 

savergrant

If you conplete a statement of affairs and post it on mse people will be able to advise your possible courses of action. It is a case of looking at the bigger picture.

littlemissbossy

Are your kids able to contribute?

LightFlare

Could you sell the phones to cover the remaining contract cost and just buy a couple of cheap phones for them ?

PHK

I think there's a possibility that you might have not completely understood what Three were suggesting.

Generally in this situation mobile companies willsay that you should cancel the contract rather than default. They'll then consider a payment plan to pay off the amount you owe.

They do this because if the contract runs on then there is a risk of further out of allowance charges. And you are already in the position of not being able to pay so will probably default.

I agree with the advice above, you need to look at the whole picture and then make decisions regarding expenditure.