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.

All plans are different.

As you can see another poster above wrote that her boyfriend had an O2 plan,

it wasn't capped,

And when he went outside of his allowed data, he was charged a huge amount.

That’s for business customer service.

Dementia + mobile is a liability OP. It’s amazing she can still use it at all but she won’t be able to indefinitely. You need to get her a landline with an ordinary phone. Some businesses specialise in phone lines for elderly.

It depends entirely on your contract - on many of them, you have X amount of minutes/data included but once you go over that, you're charged at "standard rate" for anything else.

I'm with o2 and had to specifically set up a spending limit of "0" so that once my inclusive minutes/data are used up, that's it - I can't get more unless I specifically ring or text and ask for it.

You need to set up online accounts for all of your mum's bills to your own email so you're able to look at stuff like this.

You also need to speak to her local council to set up care and support if you don't have a family member near her to help

So she’s clearly not using WiFi but using costly mobile data.

Ideally, yes, I agree they should but I don't think O2 offer a specific one and I don't know how they could administer it. Unlike all the utilities, which do offer a way of registering for such a service should you wish to, I've never been offered it by O2. Nor have I ever been asked by them how old I am.

Get her a new Sim and cut off O2? Lots of cheap no contract sims like GiffGaff, Lebara, Tesco mobile.

It doesn't sound like there is any way to get the mum to be able to navigate the physical process or the admin of changing a sim card. Coping with a relative with dementia is so hard when you're nearby I can't imagine how difficult it must be from another country

I went away for a few days and when I came back home my phone didn't automatically connect back on to my home WiFi. So all my whatsapping, Wordling, internet, Mumsnet etc., every day was chomping through my data.

I have a cap and I got a message to say I had used my monthly allowance and data usage would be charged for at such and such rate.

I generally now have my mobile data option turned off to avoid it happening again.

Can you get her on a pay as you go (you can top it up as and when) and stop her DD and negotiate a payment agreement.