daughter took out contract phone for boyfriend

sweetnest

greenwich wrote:

I know this is going to make me sound like a mug and a fool, but just because there are people on this forum who are happy to recommend crime, it doesn't mean you have to go and commit it. Reporting a phone as lost or stolen when you know that's not true is a criminal offence (insurance fraud). Apart from being wrong (I know, I know, no one cares about that round here) it might be pretty stupid in this case, if the ex-boyfriend rings up the phone company to tell them the truth.

I'd follow the advice from Mr Skint to call the phone company, explain everything and take it from there.

havent had chance to speak to my daughter since yesterday, but my advise to her would have been to have got the phone back off of ex boyfriend, if he refused then get hold of the company or police etc explaining the situtation, then after reading the replies on here i would have advised her to down grade the package to the minimum

Thanks everyone for your comments, i will pass them on to her, trouble is she is too trusting and maybe he will pay for the next few months, but who knows how he`s going to be after that, new girlfriend, daughter long gone from his life etc etc, so first thing is getting the phone back

bonvonnie

As most of the sensible posters have suggested, get your daughter to call up the Company.

You can only downgrade to a cheap tarriff after 3 months, I think.

if the 3 months isnt up yet, then ask your daughter to ask the network to bar out going calls, tell them that you have financial problems, and cant pay more than the line rental.

if you dont ask you dont get, the worst they can say is no

jimclark1967

greenwich wrote:

I know this is going to make me sound like a mug and a fool, but just because there are people on this forum who are happy to recommend crime, it doesn't mean you have to go and commit it. Reporting a phone as lost or stolen when you know that's not true is a criminal offence (insurance fraud). Apart from being wrong (I know, I know, no one cares about that round here) it might be pretty stupid in this case, if the ex-boyfriend rings up the phone company to tell them the truth.

I'd follow the advice from Mr Skint to call the phone company, explain everything and take it from there.

Very much agree with the principle but in this case surely since it's her phone, if he refuses to give it to her then he's stolen it? He could maybe argue that it was a gift which would probably apply if it was on pay as you go. A contract, however, goes on indefinitely. Is she really supposed to pay his (large by the looks of it) phone bill for the next 20 or 30 years?

JC

bonvonnie

jimclark1967 wrote:

Very much agree with the principle but in this case surely since it's her phone, if he refuses to give it to her then he's stolen it? He could maybe argue that it was a gift which would probably apply if it was on pay as you go. A contract, however, goes on indefinitely. Is she really supposed to pay his (large by the looks of it) phone bill for the next 20 or 30 years?

JC

contracts not really indenfinate, just the usual minimum 12 months long.

I mean she could surrender her contract, and pay the outstanding line rental for the remainder months.
maybe alot of money, but better then having more hassle later

greenwich

bonvonnie wrote:

she could surrender her contract, and pay the outstanding line rental for the remainder months.
maybe alot of money, but better then having more hassle later

That's worth remembering in the weeks to come. Presumably the boyfriend got himself blacklisted because he's not creditworthy and/or has got up to no good in the past. If he now decides to make expensive calls and then not pay the bill, presumably it's your daughter who'd be chased for the debt as it's her name on the contract. If that starts to happen, then she should act fast to terminate the contract even if that means paying the remaining line rental.

sweetnest

greenwich wrote:

That's worth remembering in the weeks to come. Presumably the boyfriend got himself blacklisted because he's not creditworthy and/or has got up to no good in the past. If he now decides to make expensive calls and then not pay the bill, presumably it's your daughter who'd be chased for the debt as it's her name on the contract. If that starts to happen, then she should act fast to terminate the contract even if that means paying the remaining line rental.

that is our worry,(myself & husband), he is a very untrustworthy character, 11 yrs older than her and thinks he`s jack the lad. He still owes me £40, doubt if i`ll see that now

looks like i`m going to have to be a nagging mother for a while as i can hear her saying, but he wont let me down, i can trust him etc etc

when i get to speak to her tomorrow i`ll direct her here so she can see all your replies, she may take notice then of how serious it could be and then demand the phone off of him

Fergal_3

I suppose asking him for the fone back is out of the question ? How about getting a couple of big body builders to ask him ?

sweetnest

good idea, except he is a club bouncer with very shady mates !! out of al this, i`m just glad my daughter saw the light and left the fool.

happyhunter

make sure your daughter is not on a cashback deal if she intends to downgrade the price plan.

tammy_3

Play him at his own game. Say you want it back but if you dont give it you will report it as stolen andhe will have to face the consequences- THe condition of him having hte phone was because he wa\s going out with your daughter. If he does not give it, ring up the company (eg orange o2 etc) say it is stolen and they will block the sim....you can then have a new sim reissued to ur new address.....up to u if u want to report it to the police after that......also if he does agree to pay up then say you want one months line rental in advance every month......again call up customer service put a passowrd on the account, and say you want to put a max credit limit of £1 on there above the inclusive calls already available. If he is tursutworthy explain that if he wants to make chargeable calls then he must pay £20 or £30 in advance (on top of line rental) and set the credit limit to what you agree with him

i think its quite simple really.......if he doesnt agree to anything, block the sim by reporting it stolen

and by the way why are girls always so silly to give money to bf? i have had two friends do exactly the same! one lost out on 15k! never trust a man unless u have a ring on ur figner!