Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Original poster

Help! DSS mobile phone bill £4500!

172 replies

mumtomoley · 22/08/2012 23:36

Just got DSS's phone bill and it's just over £4500 Shock

He's been to Turkey for 2 weeks with his mum and left data roaming on/been on the internet as it's all data charges. We really do not have the means to pay this at all. I've spoken to his mobile phone company, Orange, and they are going to call me back tomorrow. They have said that they may be able to put a credit on the account but 'to manage my expectations it won't be a significant amount'.

Any advice gratefully received?

OP posts:
Original poster
mumtomoley · 24/08/2012 15:14

Right, spoken to Orange and they were very nice and agreed to apply to the data bundle. I got the impression that is their standard response and that this is a relatively common problem. It still means a £600 bill because DSS used more data than their bundle allows for. Offcom only allows them to apply one bundle. It is very very luck for us that his bill fell in the middle of the holiday as it means we can apply 2 data bundles, one for each billing month. If this hadn't been the case it would have been full price for 250MB of data so still paying £2000 plus the £175.00 for the data bundle.

With regards to DSS's unlimited phone, I have in the past suggested a cap... but in fairness to DP when at home its fine because 99% of his usage is data and that is all included in his plan. Plus he is 16, so at least in theory not a child.

It also emerges from speaking to Orange that he was basically using his phone willy nilly. Managed to clock up over £600 in one session. So they have agreed to email us the breakdown that they see of his usage (which you dont see on his bill). With this in mind, I think DSS should take some responsibility as he would have recieved a text giving him details of his charges. Likewise should his mum also take some responsibility as she must have been able to see him using his phone?

OP posts:
TheDoctrineOfEnnis · 24/08/2012 15:26

That's great OP.

Wrt his mum, only you know but she might have thought he had the data bundle...

SoupDragon · 24/08/2012 16:48

That's a pretty good result given the original bill.

I don't think you can blame his mother TBH. She won't really have had an idea that what he was doing wasn't included in his contract as the contract isn't hers.

SoupDragon · 24/08/2012 16:50

orange are a company, there to make money

But so are O2 and they cap usage at £40, worldwide.

BellaVita · 24/08/2012 17:04

Phew £600 better than the original bill.

I think DS needs to start paying some of that off though, rather than you foot the whole bill.

DS2 racked up £60 of calls on our landline calling mobiles, we have reduced his monthly allowance by £20 a month to pay it off.

SoupDragon · 24/08/2012 17:05

DS1 (13) is currently doing chores to pay off 2 lost Oyster cards and 2 lost braces. It won't actually pay the money but gives him a sense of cost if that makes sense.

Sarahplane · 24/08/2012 17:32

£600 is still a hellish amount but a great result compared to the original bill. I would definitely be getting him to do chores etc to pay some of it off. Or does he have a part time job? If so he should contribute towards it. Showing him the original bill or telling him the original amount might get through to him how important it is to be careful with these things too.

Original poster
mumtomoley · 24/08/2012 18:28

Yep, I don't think we can really ask his mum to accept any responsibility either. Though it would have been nice if she had intervened but it would also have been nice if we'd told him to leave his phone at home!

With regards to DSS I think we will show him the initial bill and let him sweat for a bit over that. As we did! From his point of view it doesn't actually make any difference whether it's £600 or £6000 as he can't really contribute to either. He doesn't have a part-time job but now that he is 16 there is no reason why he shouldn't try and get one. In fact if he is under an obligation to pay some of the bill back to us, and it means he has to try and get a part time job to do I think that would be in everyone's interest. Not least his own. Both so he can contribute financially but also to learn to be more responsible.

I think that some people would lay the blame for this solely with DP and I, but I do think at 16, given that he would have at the least received a text message when he arrived about roaming charges he has been irresponsible not to even ask what it meant. He actually managed to use even more data than he does at home so there was absolutely zero attempt to reign in his usage. It's fairly telling that his brother's bill was £15.00.

OP posts:
ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 24/08/2012 21:58

That sounds like the best resolution to the bill you could hope for.

You're right about encouraging DSS to accept some responsibility and to make some sort of payment/penance. Rather belatedly, it occurs to me to wonder whether any teenager - given that they spend every waking hour on their phones and are more IT-savvy than their elders - is really so clueless about how billing works? Did he really have no idea or was he just reckless?

thenightsky · 24/08/2012 22:04

Who is billed? DH works in telecoms and is ranting about Orange as I read bits of the thread out Grin

He says wait till G4 comes out, then it will get serious amounts of data being charged for.

WetAugust · 24/08/2012 22:12

I'd repost this in legal. As he's only 16, he's a minor.

Minors can only contract for 'necessaries'.

You may find that a mobile phone is not perceived as a necessity for a 16 year old and the contract would therefore be void.

Just a thought.

MotionOfTheOcean · 24/08/2012 22:15

WetAugust the contract is in the dp,s name,father of the dss,so contract is legal.

LegoAcupuncture · 24/08/2012 22:16

Have been following this thread. Glad you've managed to get it reduced to £600, must be a huge relief, although £600 is still quite a fair amount for a phone bill.

Have you told your DSS about the bill yet?

trixymalixy · 24/08/2012 22:19

I think £600 is bloody ridiculous tbh, I don't think you should be accepting that either. I would take it further, thats their first offer, they can do better.

Hopefullyrecovering · 24/08/2012 22:24

I had your thought WetAugust, but I reckon the contract will have been signed by a parent for the reasons you state. I have to sign the mobile phone contracts for both my DCs because they are under 18 (and foot the bill for their silliness).

WetAugust · 24/08/2012 22:24

Sorry - I misread that.

exoticfruits · 24/08/2012 22:24

A bit late now but never give a teenager anything other than PAYG.

thenightsky · 24/08/2012 22:57

Indeed Exotic!

Blu · 24/08/2012 22:58

Have read this thread with my heart in my mouth for you, OP.

I reckon the email breakdown of the bill will further inform how much DSS and his Mum can be held responsible. If he was secretly FBing his mates at 3am his mum won't have known. If he was busy day and night and over meal times, surely she might have thought to just ask if it was OK?

Trioofprinces · 25/08/2012 23:57

I think you've had a good result to be honest.

Your DSS still needs a stern talking to and I suggest you make him pay you some of it back.

I went to Greece with orange, yes it is in the EU but I didn't download travel angel and it still texted me every 5Mb I used. Example Text copied below.

"Hi from Orange. You've used 20MB of data in the EU this month. We're just letting you know so you can manage your costs. The next alert we'll send will be when you have used 25MB."

He MUST have known.

Trioofprinces · 25/08/2012 23:58

Above was last month so definitely current practice.

QuintessentialShadows · 26/08/2012 00:08

My son has pay as you go. He is very careful with his mobile phone usage. We generally spend just £10 per month on his phone.
He is 10.

Trioofprinces · 26/08/2012 00:23

Yes my son has a capped £10pm with Tesco mobile, gets 250 mins 5000 texts and 500mb.

SoupDragon · 26/08/2012 07:20

Trio, that text from Orange is all very well but it doesn't tell you how much you've spent does it? In my mind that doesn't help you manage your costs at all. I am a grown adult and have no idea what XMB of data gets me or how much it costs. Thankfully I'm with O2.

SoupDragon · 26/08/2012 07:21

As an aside though, my DSs have PAYG phones and won't be getting contract ones until they can pay for them themselves.