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Original poster

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

111 replies

StuntNun · 03/02/2021 17:55

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?

OP posts:
Darbs76 · 03/02/2021 20:31

You’re not being punished - it’s very easy to check there’s a cap using the apps / online services. The onus is on the customer to check. Your son incurred these costs and it’s fair enough for them to want you to pay.

Livelovebehappy · 03/02/2021 20:33

Been there, got the t-shirt. My teen DS ran up a bill of £500. I also, like you, had had his phone capped but we changed plans when he got an upgrade and I had thought the cap would switch over automatically, but it didn’t. EE were quite good as they waived half of it, but that might have been down to the fact that I complained as the girl who took my call initially laughed when I told her, which was obviously inappropriate.

BoredatHome321 · 03/02/2021 20:44

Hey, OP are you sure there are no minutes in his allowance at all? It's unlikely for a contract to have just texts and data. 3, many years ago would normally have a 200/500mins contract. Unfortunately, the only way to prove there was an agreed cap would be on your receipt, if not, there isn't much they will do.

If you download the 3 app on his phone you can check the contract/if there is a cap and you should also be able to see the bill as a PDF which will tell you what exactly has cost what.

Hope this helps Smile

amylou8 · 03/02/2021 20:59

I think the people blaming you for not checking the cap are being unfair. You set it up with a cap, you've not been notified of any change, why wouldn't you assume the cap was still in place.
Could be worth another call to Three, maybe you might get someone more sympathetic.
DS went on a school trip to France a few years ago. I told him he could use his Three phone as normal as it was all within the EU (the good old days!) and was covered in his plan. I had no idea there was such a thing as a Maritime network on the ferry, and that the cap we had on the phone wouldn't work for non domestic use. Several YouTube videos and a few texts later he'd run up £100s. They cancelled that after a few fraught phone calls.

Original poster
StuntNun · 03/02/2021 21:04

BoredatHome321 he did have some inclusive minutes but went over them. I'm going to have to get his phone and check the Three app to find out exactly what he's been charged for.

OP posts:
oscarandelliesdad · 03/02/2021 21:44

Yikes, @StuntNun I would not be happy with ds but a bit baffled as to why you are getting a hard time. I'm surprised they didn't refund as a goodwill gesture, has anyone suggested you and yours (the radio 4 folk)? Good luck with it all and serious Hmm side eyes to ds

mellicauli · 03/02/2021 21:55

My son did this several years ago too. They make it deliberately difficult to set the cap.

Teenagers don't understand the need for hyper vigilance using a phone until something like this happens. And you can think you are on the WI FI and if it glitches, then you are on Mobile without evening realising it.

You have to show him how to check how many minutes he's got left. How to check if he's on mobile or wi fi. Which apps cost money, which can run on wifi for free.

And you have to make sure the cap is locked down with the provider

If it's any consolation it never happened again for us. But annoying waste of money.

snackarella · 03/02/2021 22:13

What's app uses WiFi? Why are you being charged?

CaptainSirTomMooreismyhero · 03/02/2021 22:24

When you enter into a contract, you receive a copy of it. You should have checked the terms were correct and you should still have your copy.
They should also have their copy as it is contract that is currently in force.

Have they have checked their copy?
Have you checked yours?

It doesn't matter what their current deals are with other customers. What matters is what it states in the contract you entered into with them.

The only way they will not expect you to pay really is if there is a cap listed in their copy of the contract.

Embarrasedaf · 03/02/2021 22:27

@snackarella

What's app uses WiFi? Why are you being charged?
WhatsApp was down at the time - it was a call made using the phone app.
NekoShiro · 03/02/2021 22:56

I don't know if anyone's said but tell your kids they can talk to each other over WhatsApp or FB messenger next time for free

Brighterthansunflowers · 03/02/2021 23:16

You’re not being punished for being a loyal customer, which by the way is a phrase to make any customer service person roll their eyes hard.

You’re being charged for a service your son used.

Unless you can prove the cap was part of the contract (and that it hadn’t changed in the last six years) its your responsibility.

wifterwafter · 03/02/2021 23:21

@NekoShiro RTFT!

@StuntNun have a look at giffgaff going forward.

BloodyDarrener · 03/02/2021 23:56

A lot of people are saying you should have known? You did. You knew you set up a capped contract. I don't go checking my contracts every few months to check that the network hasn't randomly changed what we agreed to and I seriously doubt many other people constantly check either.

And as for "Your teen should know that a 3 hour phone call will be extortionate". Mine wouldn't. As far as my teen is concerned, calls and texts are free. Data is plentiful too as when she runs out I can gift her more at no charge.

Do the SAR @StuntNun and get the information you need. If they changed the agreement then they need to cancel the bill.

Soon as thats done vote with your feet and change to a different network and for god's sake get unlimited texts and calls. There really is no need to risk unknown bills or not be able to make calls when a cap kicks in, in this day and age. We use EE and couldn't be happier.

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 04/02/2021 07:12

@NekoShiro

I don't know if anyone's said but tell your kids they can talk to each other over WhatsApp or FB messenger next time for free
And tell them to cancel the cheque too just in case Grin

There are some perfect people on this thread, most people never look at the small print of their phone contacts I bet, it's reasonable to assume that something you asked for in the shop has been set up. Why would you keep checking it was still there? Keep on at 3 and hopefully persistence will pay off

jimmyjammy001 · 04/02/2021 08:02

Doesn't everyone change their phone contract each year if you are on a sim only?! It's like accepting your car renewal insurance each year when they have added an extra few hundred quid onto your premiums for being a loyal customer, you just don't do it, you shop around and move, everyone knows loyalty doesn't pay. I'd take it as a reality check and pay more attention to services you are being charged for, especially as you can get a sim only contract with unlimited minutes texts and 10gb data for less than a tenner a month from all phone operators.

Original poster
StuntNun · 04/02/2021 08:43

It's a good suggestion jimmyjammy001 thanks. His current contract is only £6 a month and, while limited in minutes, texts and data, had been perfectly adequate for his uses as he mostly uses Wi-Fi. So even shopping around it wasn't possible to beat that price. My DH spent a lot of time working abroad and needed an expensive phone contract for a long time plus got a few phones on his contract. So I think DS's contract was a extra low price because of that. Of course saving £2-3 a month has been rapidly wiped out by the unexpected bill.

OP posts:
nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut · 04/02/2021 14:57

Has he had any texts? My provider notifies me of changes to my plan via text sometimes.

I think legally its on you to provide proof that you set up the cap. Do you still have any of the paperwork?

RandomLondoner · 04/02/2021 15:24

On my pay-as-you-go sim, £160 would represent 267 hours of phone calls.

I have a £10 auto-top up, so if I had spent that much I would have had 15 email notifications of extra £10s going out of my account.

speakout · 04/02/2021 15:25

*Has he had any texts? My provider notifies me of changes to my plan via text sometimes.
*

It would be the OP that recieved texts and billing information.
A 14 yo can't have a mobile phone contract. Eighteen and over as technically a credit agreement.

RandomLondoner · 04/02/2021 15:28

You’re being charged for a service your son used

She is being charged 89 times as much as I would have been, assuming there was only one three-hour call. I think their profit margin may be a little unreasonable.

Original poster
StuntNun · 04/02/2021 15:43

Yes it was three hour-long mobile to mobile calls. Part of one was included in his minutes allowance and the rest was charged at £1 a minute.

Speakout No notification that the cap had been removed although it must have been somewhere along the line. I've had a look for the contract but it was too long ago to locate any more. I've moved house three times since then! DS was on an ancient contract, hence the awful rate on calls. I think virtually all providers give unlimited minutes now.

OP posts:
rwalker · 06/02/2021 19:16

@Eskarina1
Make yourself annoying to them and do a subject access request for every piece of information they hold containing your son's name. It might encourage them to make a goodwill gesture.

What a complete waste of time they and the can make a charge for it .They will only have your standard account info inline with data retention laws . So basically you would get a few years of call history and screen print of account notes . Then can charge for that .

Really don't understand what info they would have on your son .

It's standard to put note on account and anyone you speak to will just refer you to complaint procedure. Genrally means writing in .

Eskarina1 · 06/02/2021 19:20

They absolutely cannot make a charge for a subject access request. That has been illegal since 2018.

I'm assuming they did tell her there was a cap and since they won't do the decent thing, why shouldn't she try and persuade them?

BoredatHome321 · 06/02/2021 20:02

@Eskarina1 You, yourself can view the bill as a PDF which shows ANY phone number you call (the charge etc). The contract/notes on the account will not show if there was a cap on the account when it was taken out SIX years ago. It's not mandatory to put a cap on the account hence why you have to prove it was put on and there was a mistake on the providers part, unfortunately.

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