To expect my son to stay within the limits of his mobile phone contract?

[midori1999]

DS1 is 15. He has a mobile phone on contract in DH's name. It costs £15 a month and he gets 300 texts and free talk time too. It was orignally £10 a month, but we put it up so he could get more texts.

This month his phone bill was £30! That is more than mine. The extra charges are for texts. I wouldn't mind so much, but he weekly boards at school and the people he is texting are at school with him, plus he spends a lot of his weekends out with most of them too!!!

We have spoken to him several times about going over his limits and am considering telling him if he continues to do so then I will not allow him to take his mobile to school with him. Is that awful of me? He can use a payphone at school if he wants to phone home an I can ring him on the housemother's phone.

What the heck is wrong with actually speaking with the people in the same building as you?!

Fleurdebleurgh - I did similar when I was that age, hence the reason why I now have PAYG. Although my mobile is far less important to me now than it was then as well I suppose.

Get him PAYG, it will teach him budgeting as well.

2 of my DC went over their contracted amounts twice and I made them pay themselves. One was for a whopping £120 over. She learnt her lesson after that one. All three of my older children have £20/month deals which give them unlimited texts (although that is a reasonable use of 3000/month) and I pay an extra £5 per month for two of the phones for the BlackBerry services as well.

Apart from the times mentioned, none of them has gone over again.

GollyHolightly - I found the same! OH has a contract phone which is capped at £10 but I have never known (in the past 5 years) mobile phone companies willingly doing this.

I don't understand why PAYG isn't an option either

You can have his phone programmed with 0800 Reverse so he can contact you in an emergency - what are the other concerns about it?

if it's sim only you can get a 12 month contract for £10 a month with about 3000 texts and 300 minutes, i really think you're on the wrong price plan..