Phone bill is ridiculously high - help needed in getting it down a bit (lot)

[Brownflowers]

I’ll try to explain everything in my post in the hope someone might be able to help.

For a not inconsiderable length of time, I had a number of phone connections,all with the same provider (O2.) I obviously had to pay for the line rental, which totalled around £100 a month at the peak time. In addition to this, I had phone bills of usually over £100 a month. As you can imagine, it was costing a lot.

I have now paid off all of the connections apart from my current phone, an iPad (this expires in July) and an Apple Watch. So my line rentals are now down to a much more manageable £45 a month which will go down again to £30 a month in July.

I thought, probably naively, that my phone bills would come down too but they haven’t. I rang O2 last week to try to get to the bottom of it and I’m none the wiser. It was honestly the most unhelpful phone call I’ve ever had and was also nearly two hours of my life I’ll never get back!

I could really use some help. I do use my phone but I wouldn’t say enormously excessively - I’m not making calls abroad or anything - and I don’t think it’s data use, as I don’t use my phone enormously out of the house. I don’t watch videos or films using data either.

Any advice?

So those three phones you mentioned aren't phones. One's an actual phone, one's an iPad and one's an Apple watch. And in addition to the loan to buy the devices each has a separate contract for data, so there's a SIM card inside the iPad for example? Why?

And then on top of these 3 devices there are 2 others. You recognise these ones? Are they other devices you've bought this way from O2?

It is confusing! I’ll try to explain.

So I have five lines. A, B, C, D and E.

I have finished paying the device plans for A and B. However, I am apparently still paying something called a tariff charge, which combined for A and B is nearly forty pounds. Combined with the late landing charge, that’s around £60. So that does explain why the bill is so high. It doesn’t explain why O2 are so unhelpful though!

So the two unused lines (A and B) are done. They are paid off, finished, device plans fully settled, but I am still paying a tariff charge and I need to stop, I think is the essence of this.

I think you should focus on getting an email address where you can contact o2 and have everything in writing. Then just email them asking for clarification of what those 3 lines are and why they are charging you for them. If they don't answer clearly, OFCOM is your saviour and you will have everything (from here forward) in writing (do mention your 2 hours on the phone and how unhelpful they were).

If you speak to that department and say you're leaving totally for all the phones etc out of contract and move to another supplier

I agree with this. Phone, internet & media companies are like banks & insurance companies. They exploit their existing customers’ loyalty / inertia / apathy to ruthlessly price gouge them while offering much more attractive deals to new customers.
Cancel everything with O2, leave them completely and start again with a new supplier on sim only deals. I get 30gb of data plus unlimited calls & texts for £11 a month with Tesco Mobile.

Do devices A and B still have their own data connection, ie with a SIM inside? If so, then yes you still have an active contract for these devices.

I can’t @ClassicLib . I’d have to pay off the device plans on C D and E and I am just not in a position to do that at the moment. Believe me I wish I could as I’m really annoyed with them after last week!

@tribpot no. The device plans are paid off. I don’t have the devices.

TBH, you are confusing me by talking about lines, so I think it's possible that O2 were confused as well. I'm mid-50s and mobiles have been the default phone for most of my life. If the O2 person you spoke to was younger, they probably were pretty confused.

You need to break down your charges into:

1. Loans to buy devices: these payments will end once the loan is paid off

2. Tariffs for services provided.

3. Any other charges.

Are all of these correct?

What were the devices attached to A and B?

I think what has happened is that you are “out of contract” on those 2 lines i.e. you are not tied in anymore. You have stopped using them.

But the plan is still active and billing, as you have never cancelled it.

Try sending an email or do a live chat with them and use that terminology: I want to cancel the plans on number XXXXXXX and number XXXXXX.

I think talking about ‘device plans’ is muddying the waters. You are out of contract and wish to cancel.

You need to ring back and speak to someone else. I’ve always found O2 to be really helpful so maybe you just got a rogue agent. There was obviously confusion, if you can explain ti them as you have done here. If that fails email them.

Thanks. Do appreciate I can’t give the phone nos though which I obviously could for O2. I just had a very disinterested man who said ‘uh, you have a lot of numbers’ and I did get a bit irritated and say that yes that’s why I was calling.

but

1. I have finished paying the loans for two of the devices
2. But I am still getting a tariff
3. no other charges apart from the late landing charge which is still a mystery.

I will try @NoSquirrels but I’m pretty sure that’s close to what I did say.

The calling plan does not end when the fixed term contract ends.

It’s like a house rental contract. You sign up for 24 months fixed. You are tied in till then. After that you can leave (and stop paying rent) or stay and pay rent on a rolling contract.

You are now on a rolling contract for those 2 numbers. You need to actively terminate the calling plans.

I don't think that's quite the same thing. Presumably their contracts just rolled on once the device itself was paid off. I haven't bought a phone on contract for years but when I did, you would be in contract until the phone was paid off and then roll over on to a standard subscription with a fixed charge of X per month, a usage bundle of X minutes and then a price per minute/text outside the bundle.

So that's what O2 are charging you for these two data-enabled devices.

I don't know why they found it so difficult to grasp you want to terminate those two contracts, you're not able just to do it yourself online?

When I last bought a phone on a plan it was broken down (for example) at £20 per month for the tariff of calls / data / texts and £15 per month for the physical handset. Minimum of 24 months.

After 24 months the handset was all paid for so the £15 per month stopped but the service still existed so the £20 per month carried on, until I cancelled it.

Is this the case OP? Have you cancelled the actual service for devices A & B?

If you're not using two devices would reporting them lost help?

Go down the line of cancelling and get to the retention team (the people who try to offer you deals to keep you).

There’s two reasons for this. Firstly the call centres are usually non U.K. and a nightmare language barrier, whilst retention teams are almost always English native speakers.

Secondly these teams have more power to change things, sort things and keep you cheaper prices.

Thanks @tribpot that is pretty much the gist of it. I don’t think it is like renting a house - perhaps more like a mortgage has been paid off but there are still other bills in the house that need paying for e.g. council tax. But I need to sell the house entirely!

You might not be able to cancel immediately, ie 30 days or month notice. So it might be that your phone call has initiated the cancellation, but it hasn't been implemented yet?

Seems fairly straight forward that you have 3 outstanding loan plans and 5 active contract plans - and want to cancel 2 of those.

Seems fairly straight forward that you have 3 outstanding loan plans and 5 active contract plans - and want to cancel 2 of those.

^^ This.

But you have to understand what needs to happen or O2 aren’t going to have a hope!

I do understand that. But honestly, it was an exceptionally unhelpful phone call.

Hopefully that is it @Chasingsquirrels .

Could you go into an 02 shop and speak to someone face to face? I always find them really helpful in store.

I was thinking of that … might have to take a trip to town at some point.