To think my elderly DM is being scammed via O2?

[head2toeinuniqlo]

DM is in the UK and I am overseas. We normally talk for free over WhatsApp. She was in hospital a couple of months ago and couldn't get anyone to help her connect to the internet, so she was using her normal mobile phone service with O2 to call me and send texts. This left her with a bill of £1,700 for the 2 weeks she was in hospital.

Since she has been out of hospital, she has been using WhatsApp again. However, she just received another O2 bill for £4,200!

We can't get through to anyone to help. Mum doesn't have an online account so the phone is the only way to contact them, but no one is answering.

She is also randomly getting bills from Talk Talk, who she doesn't have an account with. My only thought is that they have bought out Shell Energy who she used to have her internet with, but I can't confirm this.

Something is up and I need to get to the bottom of it. Mum is getting so distressed about it all. I think she is being scammed as none of this makes sense. AIBU and can anybody help? Thanks.

@Nannyoggapple thanks for confirming.

I'm with O2 but haven't heard of a pay bill tariff, I assume its like a utility bill and there's no limit to the cost. A quick Google suggests these can be as much as £3 per Mb for data so with video class that would quickly mount up. I agree with posters who say set up the online account for her, change the contact now then tackle getting the money back. Does she have enough to pay the £4k?

I have contacted O2 via Twitter. Hopefully they can help.

i work for a similar company and doubt it is a scam; it sounds as PP have said that the bill has been a combination of pay as you go phone calls and data charges, as well as possibly late payment fees/pro rata billing depending on if and when she paid the original bill. i understand what you mean about companies having a duty of care but most companies allow you to set a spend cap in order to avoid specifically these situations. bills are autogenerated and with the volume of users on the network it would be impossible to monitor everyone’s usage which is why they give you the tools to do this yourself.
i would recommend calling on their proper number and explaining that your mother is elderly and vulnerable (i would specifically say that she was not of sound mind during this hospital stay and following period) and see if they will wipe/reduce the charges, although if the above is the case they have no obligation to do so though hopefully they will :)

Please don’t use social media to contact them, if you want to keep your Mums situation or details private.

Live chat on their website if you’re trying to make contact from overseas.

You don't do it publicly, you send them a message, it's all confidential

Yes, I sent them a message. I didn't post on their Twitter page.

Ok, good luck hope you hear something back soon, it must be very worrying for you all.

It really is @StillCreatingAName. She's a housebound pensioner with dementia. She has no money. We can't help either, as we can barely pay our own phone bill.

Good luck.

O2 used to automatically put a data cap on all their contracts so if the allowance was used up it stopped working unless you bought a bundle. It's used to be £10 for 1gb extra. They sent a text and asked if you wanted to add it sometimes.

I haven't dealt with them for a few years but I doubt that has changed.

I would ask them why the data cap didn't kick in. Although the bill could come from calling abroad. If you are outside the EU it cost about £1.50 a minute. If she didn't pay the first big bill the second bill will have that one included in the total.

It's also highly unlikely they will discuss her account with you unless you have Power of Attorney. They won't break data protection.

You can still get her to contact her local Citizens Advice, perhaps with your support. Ours offers phone appointments and you could email them copies of bills etc.

Do hospitals even have free wifi for patients?

Hope you get sorted Op.

@MadeForThis thanks. I have calculated that we would have to have spoken for 2,466 minutes to run up such a bill. There is no way. Something is up.

What time period does the 2nd bill cover?

If it was neatly 2k for 2 weeks then the 4k might not be wrong as such.

@diddl 4 weeks.

There’s some great support online (and an advice line) through AGE UK, it might be helpful in general for your mum. AGE UK

Yes - but even then, the wi-fi signal may have a question mark against it if it's not connected ( but not always). She needs to switch off Mobile Data whether or not the wi-fi icon is there or it may use that if the wi fi drops for any reason. Not all phones reconnect automatically if they have disconnected from the wi-fi

It's not just call time though, it will also be the cost of running the internet constantly via mobile data - if that's outside of her package then the costs can add up really fast.

It sounds like she's been using mobile data constantly for weeks - add on the costs of phoning you abroad and maybe even texting you abroad and it won't be cheap.

My mil has similar issues but we have a spend cap. She kept running out of her data and we couldn’t understand why.
it was because she’d decided to start using WhatsApp for calling and she has no WiFi.

What in person support is this lady actually getting?

Your posts read as if she’s completely alone at home 100% of the time since being discharged from hospital.

is there any family locally? Any care workers going in?

Some form of in person support needs to be set up otherwise things like this will just keep happening again and again. I’m sorry to say.

O2 might not speak to you due to data protection, is your mum able enough to call you and add you as an authorised person onto her account so then you can speak with them?

@Fluffyelephant she has a carer going in twice a day but she doesn't speak English and just sits there on her phone for an hour then leaves.

What service is that set up through? Are you paying for it? I would contact them and explain that you want a different carer.

And I would contact any relevant charities to see what other support she could be eligible for E.g. Age Concern, Dementia UK, any charities connected to other health issues she may have.

But hang on OP, I don't understand why you haven't been able to speak to someone?

O2 aren't the worst for that - I called them Friday, said "NO" to all the voice options, and it put me through to someone called Jennifer who sorted everything out.

There are companies you just can't communicate with but I have never found O2 to be one of them.