To make dd sell her some of her processions to pay for her phone bill?

[blurredlines]

So got dd a phone contract with 4gb data. When she hits her limit it cuts of all other services so I haven't capped her spending.
She keeps going over her data and has spent an extra £50 this month bringing her bill to £60.
So we were having a clear out and we find her old Nintendo 3ds which she never plays on. Managed to sell it on eBay for £70 but told her she has to give me £50 towards the bill . Aibu?

[blurredlines]

She's 11 btw

[DontTouchTheMoustache]

How easy is it for her to track her usage? Just for future, she might not be able to easily determine what she is using. It might be worth getting a contract that caps the usage so she can't go over (as eventually she will run out of things to sell)

[MiniAlphaBravo]

Not at all. I wouldn't even see why she should be giving you the money. You get to keep it and give her £20 if you feel like it. If this is a recurring thing I would hold on to the £20 and take other money out of pocket money or part time job earnings as this is not acceptable imo.

[blurredlines]

I have managed to upgrade to a 14gb a month contract now but still have this bill. I've told her not to use her data when she runs out but she did.

[MiniAlphaBravo]

Does an 11 year old need access to any data on her own device? Doesn't sound like a great idea for me.... if she wants to use the internet I would limit it to family laptop or iPad...

[ilovesooty]

How does an 11 year old use that amount of data without you monitoring her usage?
And yes, you should keep the money from the eBay sale.

[PizzaPlease]

I think it's reasonable, but maybe you need to keep tabs on her usage on her online account so she can't keep going over like that. It would be significantly cheaper to add an extra gb than let her exceed her usage. But at 11 she should really beabld to do that herself I think too, so I'm torn! If you put her on something like giffgaff she wouldn't be able to go over as there is no contract.

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

Cap it for her. A lot of adults struggle to manage data caps. Most of the tracking apps have a delay, and there's the issue of wifi/no wifi/apps updating etc.

A cap will be much better for you all. And it'll mean she doesn't need to sell loads. After eBay and PayPal fees, she'll see nothing from her DS if she pays you £50 - and she'll run out of things to sell!

[mum11970]

If it cuts off after she hits her data limit for that month how does she run up a £50 extra. My 11 yr old has a monthly bundle for £10 (not contact) but when his data runs out he's just left with his calls and texts, until we put another £10 on the next month.

[BombadierFritz]

at that age i'd say it is your contract, not hers (it actually is as well I expect) and your responsibility to ensure she sticks to her data or that you have got an appropriate plan. just cap it for goodness sake!

[DontTouchTheMoustache]

14gb is a huge amount of data!!! Even 4gb is a lot, does she not use WiFi when at home?

[blurredlines]

She has an hours bus Journey for school so mainly for YouTube and games . She's not allowed Facebook or Instagram etc

[VoldysGoneMouldy]

How on earth is she using that much? Why has she got data on her phone at all?

Speak to the company about a way to cut off the data and not calls / texts, there is a way to do it.

[SueDunome]

It should be easy to set a data usage warning within the phone settings. I also agree that you need to phone the provider and get the data usage capped so that this doesn't happen again.
I don't think you should make your dd hand over her money; the contract is in your name and is ultimately your responsibility. Check that she is not using apps such as Instagram which eat data constantly because you can't stop the videos playing.

[VoldysGoneMouldy]

Tell her to take a book for the journey and cut off her internet completely.

[lastqueenofscotland]

That's a huge amount of data! I have 6 and that covered most browsing mums net when our wifi went down for three weeks.

[IAmNotAMindReader]

Nope YANBU.
My DS1 has always been indulged by his Grandfather. Everytime something like this came up. We would try to enforce similar but noo DGF would say he is only young and who doesn't make mistakes when they are young and would pay up on his behalf often without our knowledge.
While that is true, as a consequence of never having to face the consequences of his actions we now have an adult who runs up debt and has brought bailiffs to our door expecting a magic wand to be waved and it will all go away. Except this time Grandad doesn't have enough money to cover it and neither do we.
This afternoon was a harsh lesson in. When you get in over your head, the longer you leave it, the harder it gets to dig your way out. Now he faces a higher debt and appointments with debt management specialists to see if they can help him work out a repayment plan.
Had he been allowed to falter and face the music earlier with albeit softer repercussions life would not be slapping him so hard in the face now.

[Darkswan]

I have 2gb, use the Internet loads and only once have come close to my limit, how isis she using so much?! As pp said, does she not use the wifi at home?

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

It's YouTube I think. My 16 yo downloads it and runs out of data quickly.

[AndNowItsSeven]

Yabu , she is 11 too young for a contract! Get a giff gaff sim.

[Flumpsnlumpsnstuff]

Both my dad's have phones with contracts they are capped as it saves any arguing and grief, just cap it and yes keep the eBay money

[blurredlines]

Just be clear I only upgraded to 15gb yesterday . I think she's probably turning data on when wifi is slow.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Giffgaff £20p/m unlimited 4g (no fair usage policy or anything)

[blurredlines]

I can't cap spending without cutting off the other services . I want her to be able to call me if needed as she makes her way to school alone .