Early Termination on Mobile Contract?

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sleepyjones
sleepyjones Posts: 6,087 Forumite
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I know this gets said a lot but this is actually for a friend :)

Was out walking the dog with a pal and he said he got a letter from a company saying he owed 300 and something pound on an old mobile contract ... I bought this phone off him when he was done with it, so I think he was telling me in case they lock it or something? I'm pretty sure they can't do that ... or would have done it already if they could, it's on a GiffGaff sim now, think it was 3 or O2 originally.

Anyway, he basically went to New Zealand for a year and just stopped paying the phone. I don't know the specifics but he thinks he was about 18 months into a contract which was presumably a 24 month contract, at £30ish pounds a month ... that would be around £180 ish, which still doesn't equal 350 or whatever it is.

My question is, if your contract is £30 a month and they cut off the phone, can they still charge you for the service even though you have no service? ... ie, He should pay £20 a month as part of the payments he should be making for the actual handset, but should they / can they / do they charge you the whole monthly contract rate (or charge you for a service that they are no longer providing you?)

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  • Jon_01
    Jon_01 Posts: 5,870 Forumite
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    If he signed a contract for a minimum term of 24 months and stops paying at 18 months, they will cut him and hold him to rest of contract. It's a legal document, you can't just walk away from it when you feel like it. He'll also find that his credit record has been trashed due to none payment, and that will remain on their for 6 years from the point it was recorded by the network.
  • sleepyjones
    sleepyjones Posts: 6,087 Forumite
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    ok thanks ... I just wasn't sure if they'd charge him for a service he wasn't receiving. I'm not really "up" on this kind of thing, I understand that there's a contract and it's there for a reason, but seems a bit "shady" to charge someone for a data allowance and that kind of thing when they're not providing it anymore.

    Hence I never get anything on credit ... if you can't afford it, don't get it.
  • custardy
    custardy Posts: 38,365 Forumite
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    sleepyjones wrote: »
    ok thanks ... I just wasn't sure if they'd charge him for a service he wasn't receiving. I'm not really "up" on this kind of thing, I understand that there's a contract and it's there for a reason, but seems a bit "shady" to charge someone for a data allowance and that kind of thing when they're not providing it anymore.

    Hence I never get anything on credit ... if you can't afford it, don't get it.

    you may find your handset will stop working too.
    They can bar it regardless of sim.
  • sleepyjones
    sleepyjones Posts: 6,087 Forumite
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    custardy wrote: »
    you may find your handset will stop working too.
    They can bar it regardless of sim.

    Well, that could be a problem for me, I'm still using that handset to this day :angry:
  • mobilejunkie
    mobilejunkie Posts: 8,460 Forumite
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    sleepyjones wrote: »
    ok thanks ... I just wasn't sure if they'd charge him for a service he wasn't receiving. I'm not really "up" on this kind of thing, I understand that there's a contract and it's there for a reason, but seems a bit "shady" to charge someone for a data allowance and that kind of thing when they're not providing it anymore.

    Hence I never get anything on credit ... if you can't afford it, don't get it.

    The only "shady" thing is your friend reneging on a valid contract and running off without paying what he contracted to. In any case, the contract wouldn't stop even at the end of the minimum term - unless he terminated it at that point. It was his choice not to use his allowance - and his to try to cheat on his contract.
  • sleepyjones
    sleepyjones Posts: 6,087 Forumite
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    I suppose, I'm not defending him ... just what I was thinking at the time. I don't really deal with this kind of thing (the only thing I've ever had on credit is a mortgage).
    I just said I'd ask about it 'cause I'm on the forum all the time.
    So, thanks for your replies.
  • d123
    d123 Posts: 8,621 Forumite
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    sleepyjones wrote: »
    ok thanks ... I just wasn't sure if they'd charge him for a service he wasn't receiving.

    So when you go away for your holiday does your mortgage stop because you're not using your house? or your car payments stop because you're not using it and it's parked in the airport car park?

    The service is/was still being provided, just because your friend didn't use it didn't make it disappear.
    ====
  • sleepyjones
    sleepyjones Posts: 6,087 Forumite
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    That's a wee bit of a bad analogy.

    But that's neither here nor there, the question has been answered ... I don't necessarily need or want your rhetoric, thanks for taking the time to post a useful and informative reply though.
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