My teenager ran up £160 worth of calls on his mobile phone

[StuntNun]

My 14-year-old DS has a Three phone contract that was supposed to be capped so he couldn't exceed his call allowance. Over Christmas, due to WhatsApp issues he made three hour-long calls to his brother in the next room FFS while gaming online. Three have now billed me £160 for the calls and claimed they have no record of there being a cap on his call allowance. The contract was set up in a Three store about six years ago so I can only assume the salesperson forgot to enter the cap on the contract at the time. Note that no current Three contracts have a limit on number of call minutes so I am effectively being punished for being a loyal customer for so many years. I have complained to Three and they have said they cannot progress my complaint and I must go to the Ombudsman to take it further.

AIBU to expect Three to cancel the £160 charges?

I don't think it's unreasonable.

I'm surprised though that you haven't paid a little more attention to the contract - what are the details?

You're not being punished for being a loyal customer, you're being billed for services used.

You should have a copy of the contract or could request one. See what that says.

If the contract was set up six years ago, are you sure there haven't been changes to the T&C's since then?

Yes YABU. 6 years is a long time and contracts change. They normally advise in email or letter. But if you haven’t renewed the contract in 6 years maybe there is no cap now? Can anything be changed online? Could your son have maybe done that?

Do you still have a paper copy of the contract anywhere?
I had a similar issue many years ago with a contract bought in store at Carphone warehouse. I was able to find the handwritten note on the the paper contract signed by the store clerk agreeing to a better deal than on the typed contract. Got my money back.

I don’t think you have a leg to stand on as it’s doubtful you have any proof of what transpired 6 years ago

But do use this as an excuse to cancel the contract immediately. Look around online - I’m sure you can get more bang for your money as unlimited minutes is standard these days!

Within 6 years, there’s no excuse for you to not double check. There’s an in app toggle that you could have used, you didn’t have to rely on a sales adviser from 6 years ago as it’s something you have the freedom to toggle at any time.

Your DS has had the same phone since he was 8?
Sorry OP but making sure phone contracts have caps on them is part of parenting teens. It goes with the territory.

An unfortunate rookie error.

I don’t think a cap is something that’s usually included in a contract these days. If anything, the opposite is - you agree to pay for services rendered over your allocated allowance.

The cap is something you can manually change on the fly, see the following link:

support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,Case=obj(12197)

This information might apply to you, but it depends on when exactly you entered the contract:

support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,Case=obj(4289)

You can get really good contracts with unlimited minutes. Maybe time to change providers.

Links again as above may not work:

Controlling spending

contracts from 2014

Did you join Three after 18 March 2014?

I’m with three, I know it’s a bit late now but you can cap it yourself on the three app

Have a look in your emails. Maybe you have the original contract there? I know I keep everything that gives details on whatever I buy or sign up for.
If you have never received charges before I would wonder if your contract might have been changed by the provider and not what you originally signed up for.

My DDs' mobile contracts have caps on (of £0!). They have loads of data, loads of texts, loads of minutes, but I don't want them texting their Irish relatives (rather than whatsapping for free), or accidentally ringing a premium rate number.

And I have a cap on my account too, although I've allowed myself £1, just in case I'm ever in a situation where I need it. I never have though. We are with Virgin.

I disagree. Caps are normal and easy to set. Worth phoning again and hoping to get someone sympathetic rather than a jobs worth.

Most accounts have unlimited minutes these days. Have you not renewed or regraded in six years?!

Oh dear .... the 'loyal customer' spiel Andy you are being punished for being 'loyal' by being billed = double

This is exactly why I could not & cannot work in a customer service sector type job! Dealing with comments like this!

Oh and this op ... with bells on ...

Sorry OP but making sure phone contracts have caps on them is part of parenting teens. It goes with the territory.

I used to tell DD off for careless 3G instead of Wi-fi use when she was 10/11; I would have expected a 14 year old to know better!

I can't see them cancelling the charge TBH (in your situation I would make DC pay/deduct instalments from their pocket money).

PS definitely sort out new phone contracts (I think we all pay £7/month sim only but rarely need anything but WiFi in lockdown).

he made three hour-long calls to his brother in the next room FFS while gaming online.

Fucking hell.

Unless you've got evidence of the cap being agreed though... ¯\(ツ)/¯

Does he get pocket money?

The calls are free not Wats app as it uses your Internet?

When the account was set up I was specifically asked whether I wanted it capped which was standard for a child's account. Of course I said yes - back then there wasn't any WhatsApp or anything similar so he was only using his phone for calls and texts. It was a good monthly rate since I'm a long-standing customer and he was happy with it so I never updated the contract. What's wrong with that? If he hadn't had this unexpected bill I would have been quite happy for him to continue on the same contract until his requirements changed or a better deal became available.

You are angry at the wrong person.

Time to write a list of chores your son can do to start paying off his bill...

Doubt they will have a copy of contract theres a legal limit for how long they have to retain documents for not sure but think it's about 4 years.

You drop onto there published terms and condition and its acceptance by conduct ( you use it you agree)
You are not been penalised for being loyal you haven't changed it you are still on your original contract.
I can't see what grounds you would have to complain you have no proof ether way sorry.

I don’t think you have a leg to stand on with 3, unless you can find some proof that it should be capped.

Thanks Embarrasedaf he's had the contract since before 2014 and Three haven't notified me that they removed the spending cap. It must have not been set up properly in the first place. He uses his phone on Wi-Fi almost exclusively so he never needed much in the way of minutes, text or data.

I'm with Three and my contract has gone up (just by a couple of pence) each year. Have you not heard anything from them at all in the last four years?