Legally, who owns this?

[MyNameHasBeenTaken]

All names have been changed.
Names used for clarity.
Luke is my teen
Fred is Luke's good friend
Claire is Fred's mum
Dave is Fred's dad

I had a minor argument with Luke. Nothing drastic, just typical teen laziness, teen knows everything, mum cant be right ever!
Luke decided to stand on his own 2 feet for a bit and went to stay with fred. Fred still lives with his parents, but has the loft converted to a mini flat.
Fred often has friends over to play xbox or whatever.

Luke stayed with fred for a few weeks, including xmas.

Claire and dave took out a contract phone for luke. This was his xmas present from them.
Luke was given the phone and has been using it.

Luke then had a falling out with claire.
Nothing major. Just teen laziness and teens know everything .
He came back home. All good. Lessons learned all round.
But he has left loads of stuff in Fred's flat.
Including his original phone and the new phone given to him by Clare and dave.

Obviously claire has to pay for this phone or it will affect her credit score.

But who actually owns the new phone?
Claire and dave are (I assume) paying for it for the next 2 years, maybe 3?

But they got it for, and gave it to, Luke.

Hope that's not an essay. Nothing important missing. Making sense.

What is the purpose of the question ? is Claire asking you to pay the phone bill?

Firstly I wouldnt have allowed my son to move into someone elses house for weeks especially over Christmas.He is your responsibility not someone elses
Claire has overstepped the mark by taking out a contract phone for someone elses child

I would be more contented and my teenagers behaviour other than trying to see who owns a phone that you and your teen are not paying for

Concerned

If your son has mental health issues then even more reason for you to keep him at home. He’s a minor, I genuinely don’t understand your lackadaisical attitude to the this. You’re spending the time instead mooning over a phone.

I have been told by Luke's social worker that his behaviour is "normal teen" testing boundaries.
We knew he was safe, and still going to school with fred. Ss advised me to let him stay, as claire is a lot stricter as a parent (controlling??) And it wouldn't be a bad thing for him to see how easy he gets things at home!

One drop feed- sorry, I thought I had covered all the details.
Claire has always been "over interested" in luke.
And jobs she needed help with, she asked luke first.
Lift big boxes in to lift (before conversion!) Ask luke. Fred wont be interested in helping
Re-set that loose paving slab? Ask luke.
Take xmas tree out? Luke.
Help supervise a younger kid party. Luke.

So many boundaries being crossed here OP. pelirocco has it spot on.

You need to get Luke’s stuff back and his old phone, leave the new one for Claire to sort (either cancel the contract or use the phone herself, unless you can take it on).

Ahhh now you mention your sons social worker... all becoming a bit more clear!
You've probably left a lot out of this story! Claire is clearly worried about Luke being in your protection and feels like someone has to parent him...

Legally it's Claire who owns the phone. She pays for it and took out the repayment contract.
Morally it's Luke's phone, it was given to him as a present.
So if Luke was my teen, he'd give phone back to Claire and he can use the phone I provided.
I would not get involved with paying Clair 's bills, but might offer some payment towards the Luke's keep for his stay.
(I have to say, Clair is an adult and if she is stupid enough to to take our the extra contract, then this is her problem. Especially if I could not afford to pay for it.)

Well, that deteriorated fast!
Ask for advice on a phone that nobody asked for and get slated for following instructions from social worker.
I didn't think this was aibu.

But what is the reason for your query about phone? Claire has boundary issues but you seem unable or unwilling to step in. Is Luke less resistant than Fred?

I get the impression that OP has the other issues under control and was aware and in agreement with Luke going to stay with his friends. I am also assuming she paid Luke's keep to Claire for him staying. The issue being asked about here is the phone, not the other issues. I would say that Claire keeps the phone and uses it or terminates the contract and Luke resumes use of his old phone. It was her choice to take out the contract not yours.

Drip feed... you need to create some distance between Luke and Claire. And Luke’s behaviour doesn’t sound like a normal teen, moving out for a few weeks over Christmas is more than a bit of teen stropping?!

Why is not Fred doing all these things ? I think you should mention all these to your son’s social worker. Claire’s attitude towards your son is not normal , I would be worried

There are mental health social workers on mental health teams.

Some wild extrapolation going on here.

Luke isn’t bothered about the phone, so what’s your actual problem here? You really haven’t made that clear

Claire is an idiot, getting a phone contract for a child, especially a child that’s not hers and is only GCSE age unless she’s prepared to pay the entire contract 🤷🏻‍♀️ It’s a gift of a phone to use that’s paid for monthly while he meets certain criteria - the phone itself isn’t a gift.

Nobody takes out a long term contract for a near adult unless there is a clear agreement when they start paying for themselves

Yes, except a CHILD doing GCSE’s isn’t anywhere near an ‘adult’ in terms of getting a job and paying ‘bills’ etc. Especially one not living at home - they should be focussing on housing bills, not phones.

Not many mums would happily let their child go and stay with another family for a few weeks at 15/16 years old! Claire obviously wants to try and help your son (you say controlling, but actually is a good parent)... because maybe with social services involved she is worried about him and doesn't think you're doing the best job! Social services don't just get involved with any type of family. They are in short supply so there are probably concerns at home.... you are BU in not telling us the full story!
It's not about a phone contract. It's about another mum, worried about a child, hoping to try and help him. He has behaviour issue and MH issue (quite severe if SS are involved) and is allowed to get away with his behaviour.

Taking out a phone contract for someone else’s kid is just plain weird. I think Luke should leave the phone with her and get his old one back.

Surely Claire would be better spending her money and energy on her own child with mh issues. The phone "gift" gives her a hold over someone else's child, in other circumstances it might be seen as grooming. Will Luke go to school still?

I have mentioned these issues to ss.
They mostly got ignored until this episode.

Now they are taking things a lot more seriously.

But back to the phone.

I wondered IF I should be doing anything about it?
Should I be offering to pay? I cant afford another contract. I already have one for luke.

The phone is with claire and dave and fred.
Along with Luke's phone.

If the consensus was "it was given to luke, it is Luke's " then I guess I would have to look at "buying the contract" somehow.

But most people seem to agree that claire is not being sensible by taking out a contract for someone else's kid.

Claire sounds like a weirdo.
Luke shouldn't stay around Claire's anymore.

You should go to Claire's and get Lukes belongings , thank Claire for the "gift" but say you can't possibly take it.

Don't let anyone else parent your child because they are stricter that's just madness , put your foot down.

Yes, luke is still going to school!

Interesting that you consider Claire's interest in Luke a bigger drip feed than the fact Luke has social work involvement.

You think Claire is over-stepping the mark, buying the phone and constantly involving herself with Luke. You don't know for sure why she is doing this, but you want it to stop. If enough of us tell you to say no to Claire you will...that's what I'm pulling from the posts.

Say no to Claire, swap phones back.

Sorry, it sounds to me like she was trying to look out for him, this asking him to do these jobs for her and buying the phone etc. She probably saw a kid that needed a bit of help tbh.