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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Mobile phone bill for £250 when it should have been £10. Now left with £50 to live on for 10 days!

114 replies

InsanityandBeyond · 19/11/2013 17:49

AIBU to want to strangle DS (11)? I only got him a phone as he is now walking to secondary school. It is a £10 price plan but he has run it up in internet usage (£80) and the rest on extra phone calls to his friends.

I checked my bank account today and saw there was a payment pending although I couldn't see what it was. Checked all the internet bills and I saw it Shock. Can't stop if obviously. Only £50 left now until next Friday with 4 DC to feed. It's been a tough month this month as car needed £400 of repairs.

I am fucking furious at DS. He has been told to text and make calls only in an emergency. Last month when his bill was £40 I asked T-mobile to put a block on anything over the price plan and they say they can't of course!

I have rung T-mobile up and ranted at them. AIBU to wonder why they didn't send me an email or call to warn that the bill was over the price plan?

Fucking thieving bastards!

OP posts:
Weareboatsremember · 19/11/2013 17:53

T

YouTheCat · 19/11/2013 17:53

I'd suggest getting him a cheap pay as you go - a really rubbish one - if he absolutely needs a phone. Then look into cancelling and find a phone provider that will put a block on usage for the future.

YouTheCat · 19/11/2013 17:53

He'd also be using any savings to pay it back.

sparechange · 19/11/2013 17:54

I can totally appreciated your frustration, but can you change it onto a PAYG phone?
And take it off him in the meantime, because he isn't able to stick to the boundaries you've given him (and could also be accessing anything online)

AgentZigzag · 19/11/2013 17:55

Is that a bit unusual? That T-mobile can't put a cap on calls/texts/internet if it exceeds a certain amount?

Maybe look into another network because that doesn't sound right.

What was he doing on the net? Have you looked into the history on the phone?

I'm surprised you didn't keep a closer eye on him knowing that he was running up a £40 bill the month before, what made you not look?

Weareboatsremember · 19/11/2013 17:55

Totally get your frustration, but your son is at fault rather than T mobile. Your answer is to put a pay as you go sim in the phone so that your son only has x amount of credit per month. You'll have to continue paying the £10 each month on top, but at least you can't be hit with any big bills.

usualsuspect · 19/11/2013 17:55

Get him a payg.

Contract phones for 11 year olds are madness.

coldwater1 · 19/11/2013 17:56

This is why my 11 year old has a pay as you go, no unexpected bills and i can keep hold of her when she is walking back and forth to school.

BehindLockNumberNine · 19/11/2013 17:57

Get him off the contract as quick as you can. Even if you have to take over his phone / contract for yourself.

Buy him an unlocked phone.
Then get yourself a giff gaff goody bag on a monthly basis. Ds has this. Unlimited texts, a good amount of call minutes, unlimited internet. £12 per month. And he cannot go over his call minutes. The usage resets itself every month when a new £12 is direct debited from my account.

Much less stress free.

In the meantime - eat your freezer and cupboard contents buying only the bare minimum to go with it. Some of the combinations may be odd, but it was food! (we did this two months ago when in a similar situation), and pasta, soup and stew are your friend...

Floralnomad · 19/11/2013 17:57

I honestly cannot see why you are ranting about the phone company ,they are not at fault your son is . I agree with the other poster about getting a PAYG phone no 11 year old needs a phone contract.

perspective · 19/11/2013 17:58

T-mobile do a capped monthly plan called YouFix. Got this for ds, a little bit of data, 30mins calls plus unlimited texts. Won't help you now, but maybe you could swap his plan?

And take him shopping and let him see the impact of what he's done to the family finances.

QuintessentialShadows · 19/11/2013 18:01

O2 will cap. Ds has an £11 price plan, with free texts. When he has spent his 11, he can only text and make emergency calls, or something.

MikeLitoris · 19/11/2013 18:01

If it were me I would be phoning the bank to cancel the dd. With natwest you can cancel the day it goes out.

Id then be asking tmobile to come to an agreement wrt paying it back.

This is what would happen if my ds had a contract.

Tobagostreet · 19/11/2013 18:02

YABU to be upset at T Mobile - they told you last month that they couldn't put a cap on the account (quite a few mobile networks have similar policies).

YANBU to be angry at your son. If he has no savings, I'd suggest you take a prized possession of his to cash generators and sell it to make up part of your shortfall for the week ahead. Particularly as this is not a 'first offence' - he knew last month that he had gone over his allowance.

You should get him on PAYG ASAP, however I know you may be tied into a contract. If you still think he NEEDS a mobile, I'd suggest that you conduct a daily check of minutes/data used.

Sorry - you're going to have to chalk this one up to experience.

NachoAddict · 19/11/2013 18:08

I agree that a contract phone for an 11 year old is crazy, put a pay as you go sim in and make your ds pay the bill. If he has savings use those if not take his console or tablet or ipod, whatever he has to cash generators as suggested by tobagostreet

FiscalCliffRocksThisTown · 19/11/2013 18:09

What is this " emergency" kids need a phone for? And how did we cope in these emergencies before mobile phones?

I was wondering about this, as DS will go to senior school next year.

Say he has detention and misses the bus home, he can walk to the bus stop and get himself home. If he lost his money as well as missing the school bus, he would simply have to wait at the public library, and I would come and pick him up if he is not home by, say, 5;:30.

Sorry bit if a side track, just wondering.

I will give him a payg but we also need a plan b, do others have plan b's?

MammaTJ · 19/11/2013 18:10

If it were me I would be phoning the bank to cancel the dd. With natwest you can cancel the day it goes out.

You can with Barclays too.

I would be more cross with him than with T-mobile though, oh and yourself for letting such a young person have the responsibilty for a contract phone!

Groovee · 19/11/2013 18:10

We have You fix from Tmobile too. She gets a limited amount and then you have to top it up if she runs out. Never had to top it up at all. They can only cap it if it's over £15 a month on normal tarriffs.

Original poster
InsanityandBeyond · 19/11/2013 18:11

I got him a contract phone as, with an older DC who started out with a PAYG, she would use all the bloody credit within a few days and I would have to keep on topping it up.

Yes I am pissed off at T-mobile. You should have the option of blocking the internet (and the price is an absolute disgrace) and not allowing outgoing calls after a certain limit. They were arguing that they can't block it in case an emergency call needs to be made but 999 calls are free anyway. It is an absolute rip off and they offer low cost price plans deliberately as they know mugs are like me are going to pay through the nose for anything over that. Most of the calls were for a few seconds.

The internet stuff is Marvel Superheroes stuff. I do keep track of it thanks. He did have some usage included in his plan as well.

OP posts:
Groovee · 19/11/2013 18:11

And if you log in to your account online you can keep a close eye on what the usage is.

SilverApples · 19/11/2013 18:13

Why did he have a phone that did way more than necessary?
That's like buying a teenager a high performance car and being angry when they speed and crash. Confused
He needs a basic PAYG phone, no internet or anything else.

Fairylea · 19/11/2013 18:15

You can also set the mobile to wifi only so that it wont access the mobile Internet. If you aren't sure how to do this ring the phone company and speak to someone in their technical department and they should be able to help you.

Dd aged 10 has a pay as you go samsung galaxy y set this way and £10 credit lasts her ages and ages as she talks to all her friends via wi fi on it on google plus.

Original poster
InsanityandBeyond · 19/11/2013 18:15

DS has learning difficulties and I want to start fostering some independence in him like walking to school etc but I NEED to know he is OK speaking as a bereaved mother (so not surprisingly quite an anxious one).

TMobile did not mention any capped price plans at all. Ah well I know now. Would have been better to know last month. Thanks.

OP posts:
GoldenGytha · 19/11/2013 18:15

I have a fairly cheap phone,

I'm with O2, and for £10 per month, (PAYG, not contract) I got 75 free minutes, 500 free texts and 250MB of internet.

The tariff is called Pay As You Go Go, and after my 3rd top up on it, I now have 150 minutes, 5000 texts and 500MB of internet, I think after my next top up this will be doubled again, all for only £10 per month.

I would cancel the direct debit, work out with T Mobile a repayment plan, and take the phone from your DS, get him a PAYG one.

SilverApples · 19/11/2013 18:17

Really?
PAYG didn't work for your older DC because they used all the credit so you topped it up? You didn't control her spending and make her stay within the limit?
So now your DS has done the same thing, without the need for you to top it up because it was a contract phone. Seems a logical progression to me.