£2000 mobile phone bill – any options? – Page 2

Overview Chat Bike Members News Women

This topic has 148 replies, 74 voices, and was last updated 14 years ago by tron.

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 149 total)

← 1 2 3 4 →

£2000 mobile phone bill – any options?
findo_gask
Free Member

What's the point of travelling if you're going to be hanging off the end of your phone all day?

Not exactly broadening the mind or learning to be independent.

I thought the younger generation were meant to be tech-savvy? Wot no skype? Surely S.A. must be chocka with international call booths, shops selling prepaid cards etc etc.?

Posted 14 years ago

iDave
Free Member

she has no respect of you (OP) or money and you paying the bill reinforces this

Posted 14 years ago

large418
Free Member

Thanks for all the parenting advice. Kind of expected that. FWIW she will be paying, it's just the direct debit is set up so her monthly contract is paid straight away from my account. I was more wondering whether anyone has a history of Orange being "charitable" for excessive phone calls/bills. I am annoyed that even unanswered calls cost £1.45, and that is not clear in any tariff listing (and there were quite a few of those).

But, she used the service and that service must be paid for. (I accept that, and never questioned that in my original post)

Funny how many people jump to the conclusion that my daughter is a spoilt princess, and her parents are soft and lack parenting skills. If you knew her or us you probably (hopefully) wouldn't jump to that conclusion.

Posted 14 years ago

aP
Free Member

She's just spent more on phone calls in 6 weeks than I'm spending on holidays this year.

Posted 14 years ago

iDave
Free Member

your post said she'd had one high bill (ie warning shot), then a huge one, and that you'd paid them both. then you'd hoped a multinational business had a charity department. hence the questions raised re' you and her by other posts.

Posted 14 years ago

simon_g
Full Member

I generally fall on "should have known and should pay" side of the fence however it may be worth speaking to Orange, seeing what kind of credit limit you/her have (pretty sure there should be one) and why it wasn't enforced or even notified.

And ffs, she's an adult, why does she have phone contracts and DDs in your name?

Posted 14 years ago

tron
Free Member

I'd be putting the for sale signs on her car. £2k is essentially an unpayable debt for a 19 year old if they're going to uni.

I've also seen a few people who repeatedly run up big lines of credit and then go back to their parents, who pay it off, and the cycle continues. Be very careful. At 19, if I'd ran up a £600 phone bill, I'd have not used the phone at all until I got back home. Everyone knows roaming is expensive, everyone knows about skype.

Posted 14 years ago

large418
Free Member

Cheers – she's at 6th form, working part time, and off to Uni in Sept. My deal with the kids is that we pay their basic phone contract, feed and cloth them until they are earning full time (or if they can't get a job, in full time voluntary jobs).
Trouble with the bills was the first came in and I knew from the bank statement. When I went in to the Orange account the 2nd was sat there waiting to be paid in a few days time (so the warning shot had landed after the 2nd shot had been launched).

She has no car or other assets to sell. And the boyfriend will be contributing. That discussion is happening tonight.

And she has spent more in phone bills than our holidays for 3 years. Like I say, she will be paying, just got to work out how.

Posted 14 years ago

tron
Free Member

And the boyfriend will be contributing.

You'll either get your cash or your wish of a single daughter 😆

If you do put a decent amount of business Orange's way, pleading has to be worth a try. Does your entire house have Orange contracts?

Posted 14 years ago

hora
Free Member

Your daughter pays is the best lesson IMO.

She has been irresponsible and expects you to pick up the (known) high overseas call charges/tab for her.

So you then want to pass the buck on again to someone else?

Marvellous.

Posted 14 years ago

large418
Free Member

Yep, have 2 mobile contracts, 3 PAYG and a home broadband with Orange, so probably £110 a month. I'll call Orange anyway, despite the naysayers, even if only to explore the possibilities and see if there's a cost spreading option

Posted 14 years ago

iDave
Free Member

Ask orange for evidence of use from the SA telecoms provider – there won't be any. the overseas providers send a 'non-itemised' bill to uk providers. Ask for the details of the SA usage. They probably can't provide it. Challenge them on that basis. This is a PSA for everyone, not just the OP. I had the same issue with a Spanish provider – t-mobile couldn't show the use, but only the charges. I paid half.

Posted 14 years ago

hora
Free Member

Funny how many people jump to the conclusion that my daughter is a spoilt princess, and her parents are soft and lack parenting skills. If you knew her or us you probably (hopefully) wouldn't jump to that conclusion

People are looking at the information you've posted/protrayed and drawn conclusions from that.

Surely after the first bill received she would have calmed it right down?

I know my girlfriends dad would do anything for her- always offered to pay for things etc (a real Daddies girl)- she always tempered what she actually took though and worried about it.

What is her attitude to credit? 😉

Posted 14 years ago

Ewan
Free Member

You could discuss with Orange – nothing to loose. I was under the impression they had to warn you when your usage exceeded a preset amount, although that might be data use.

Posted 14 years ago

HoratioHufnagel
Free Member

the overseas providers send a 'non-itemised' bill to uk providers.

how does it end up itemised on the phone bill? where do they get that information from?

Posted 14 years ago

large418
Free Member

Thanks iDave – useful help there.

Hora, the first bill came through just as my daughter came back and I actually thought that bill covered most of her trip. From phone call to phone bill can be up to 4 weeks, then phone bill to bank statement is a 3 week delay, but I hadn't really considered this beforehand, so was a little shocked by the 2nd bill. The 1st bill was going to be a 50:50 split with daughter, the 2nd kind of changed our perspective on that!

Tron,
maybe that's the deal – they finish and he walks away without coughing up, or he pays and they last a bit longer. Makes sense to me but I can't see her buying into it (maybe she did that with £2k of phone calls though)

Posted 14 years ago

cb
Free Member

If you can afford it…pay the bill, she's your daughter not some random acquaintance. Nothing wrong with chasing Orange and pleading – haggling seems to be a part of modern life and there has been the odd bit of good advice on here – especially the proof of usage suggestion. I assume you will ensure that the same mistakes are not made again as there are ways around situations like this but we all balls it up sometimes…

Posted 14 years ago

TooTall
Free Member

Funny how many people jump to the conclusion that my daughter is a spoilt princess, and her parents are soft and lack parenting skills. If you knew her or us you probably (hopefully) wouldn't jump to that conclusion.

All evidence thus far points to that. FFS – a mobile phone roaming in Africa?!? There has been enough publicity over the years over roaming costs in Europe never mind Africa!

Orange Roaming Charges SA
Just so you know – that page was a couple of clicks away from 'orange roaming charges' on a Google search. Not difficult to find at all – not hidden.

Posted 14 years ago

Xylene
Free Member

You had 2k to be pulled straight out of your current account? Are you one of those 40% tax rate payers who milked the CTW scheme?

Posted 14 years ago

bravohotel9er
Free Member

You ought to get Orange to set a credit limit on her mobile. Assuming her contract is around £25 p/m, arrange for the phone to be disconnected the moment the bill passes £50.

It's not that long since I was 19 either and I remember what phone calls with 19 year old girls are like, **** pointless!

My ex used to go all teary when I sought to end the daily call at any point prior to the one hour mark, even if I'd seen her earlier in the day.

Posted 14 years ago

hora
Free Member

Hora, the first bill came through just as my daughter came back and I actually thought that bill covered most of her trip. From phone call to phone bill can be up to 4 weeks, then phone bill to bank statement is a 3 week delay, but I hadn't really considered this beforehand, so was a little shocked by the 2nd bill. The 1st bill was going to be a 50:50 split with daughter, the 2nd kind of changed our perspective on that!

Ah understand. You could look through the T&C's in regards to unanswered calls costing you. Rather than pleading for a reduction I think you should look into this side more. Why should unanswered calls cost you? Speak to the Ombudsman and pop onto this http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/ and ask how to approach the heinous charges.

Would they just refund the unanswered calls though? (drop in the ocean). You could angle it that you are looking for a review of the bill and angle for a better discount due to time involved etc.

I'd approach the subject from unfair charges rather than asking for assistance.

Posted 14 years ago

kevonakona
Free Member

Check the Times (think saturday's) They have a thing about call costs. Was she using Facebook which is expensive as it "streams data constantly". I would have thought they have a preset limit of acceptable use and then would contact you/her. Ask them why this is not the case.

According to the times (possibly financial pages) thay do give "goodwill" gestures.

Posted 14 years ago

donsimon
Free Member

I am annoyed that even unanswered calls cost £1.45, and that is not clear in any tariff listing (and there were quite a few of those).

Why? This is how it works, isn't it? Even if you don't get connected you are still using the mobile network and get charged for that.

Posted 14 years ago

large418
Free Member

Quirrel, yes, we go even further into the red, so I have used the banks money to pay Orange, plus the charges on that. We have some savings that have been used as a temporary plug.
And the place I work has only just (last week) signed up to C2W, and yes I commute every day by bike and was looking for a new bike on it, but that isn't really relevant I think.

Credit limit on her phone sounds good, but every other month she's within her contract, so the horse has bolted so to speak.

Cheers Hora, good advice.

Posted 14 years ago

large418
Free Member

don simon, thanks for the constructive comments. It doesn't work that way on a landline and resources are still being used. Only seems to work that way on mobiles (and probably only abroad, but I've never looked into that)

Posted 14 years ago

ourmaninthenorth
Full Member

Life's changed..!

I went travelling aged 19, first stop Sputh Africa. The first call I made was after 6 weeks, and that was only to make contact with my mother to let her know I was OK.

But that was 15 years ago, and plenty of adults didn't have mobile phones then.

Anyway, I think it's worth contacting Orange and asking:

1. About them not making any contact to raise a concern with the sudden and significant increase in cost; and
2. Details of where all the charges were notified to you/her in advance.

In both cases, the implication is that they have some responsibility. Tell them you're not happy and want to do something about this.

Then, tell your daughter she's paying £1000, her bf £500 and you £500.

Posted 14 years ago

donsimon
Free Member

I always aim to please. 😆

I also don't see why the boyfriend should pay. Take responsibility for your own actions, ffs!

Posted 14 years ago

hora
Free Member

ourmaninthenorth I once helped myself to a girl whose boyfriend was doing Peacework out in Africa. In an unusual way we were both helping others out 😯

Posted 14 years ago

ourmaninthenorth
Full Member

hora – selfless and altruistic to the last. STW salutes you 🙂

Posted 14 years ago

hora
Free Member

T'was hardwork but ultimately rewarding 8)

Posted 14 years ago

simon_g
Full Member

By "unanswered" you presumably mean gone to voicemail rather than genuinely unanswered calls.

Call gets placed to roaming UK number – UK network knows it's out of the country, connects to destination country, phone rings, gets diverted after x seconds to a UK voicemail number, call gets routed back to the UK to play the VM message to the caller.

That's not an unanswered call. As a landline analogy, it's like calling someone who's got an answerphone plugged in – that picks up the line, you start getting charged, wheras if it just rang and rang then you put the phone down you wouldn't pay anything.

Posted 14 years ago

Cletus
Full Member

Slight hi-jack.

Do mobile providers allow you to set a credit limit for contract phones used by less responsible family members?

My lad is pestering for a new phone for his upcoming birthday and I was thinking about a contract option as the handsets are better but am worried about the phone being lost/stolen or him going over the limits especially data if he has Spotify or similar installed.

Posted 14 years ago

large418
Free Member

don simon, boyfriend was playing silly bu66ers by not answering phone calls from her. So she kept phoning. Not sure if they all went to voicemail, or were unanswered – either way his messing around has cost someone lots of money.

Cletus, learn from my daughters mistake. PAYG only.

hora,
almost glad my daughter was out of the country. Your reputation seems to precede you!

Posted 14 years ago

jonahtonto
Free Member

should have used telediscount.com when my girlfriend was in oz i was making mobile to mobile calls to her for less then 10p per minute
http://www.telediscount.co.uk/index2.php

Posted 14 years ago

scotia
Free Member

She's 19????

I hope you dont pay for her phone, and her living costs..

The world will be a shock if/when you stop paying for her..

Posted 14 years ago

hora
Free Member

She's 19????

I remember when I was 19 🙁

Posted 14 years ago

mieszko
Free Member

When I got a contract there was a limit for the first couple of months. It was somewhere around £80-90, that then goes up to under £300 if You pay the bills on time. A friend managed to get his phone blocked once he reached the £90 limit and had to phone them and ask to increase the limit. There should be an option of limiting how much above the contract price You can spend.

I always turn my voicemail off when going abroad as I got charged couple of times for people getting caught on my voicemail.

As others suggested try and speak with Orange why no one ever contacted Your daughter (or You, if the contract is in Your name) about the spending. It is not reasonable to just not notice someone who managed to get fine with a £25 contract to rack up a £600 and £1200 bill. I do feel for You as it is a lot of money but it probably might finally end Your daughters relationship if You talk with her boyfriend. But then watch out as Hora might be there to comfort her as she is back in the country now 😉

Posted 14 years ago

scotia
Free Member

Funny how many people jump to the conclusion that my daughter is a spoilt princess, and her parents are soft and lack parenting skills.

From what you've said you create this image tbh…she is an adult and really shouldnt (IMHO) have DD and contracts in your name…

can you pay for mine too please? im only 29..

Posted 14 years ago

large418
Free Member

scotia, she has minimal income. She is a student and off to Uni soon. We will not let her claim benefit as I feel very strongly that she should not without contributing first, and up to the point she contributes her parents are financially responsible. She is an adult and is treated as such, and to be honest, her phone contract is in my name as it's the same contract she had from before she was 18. The issue in my OP though was not whether my parenting skills are up for debate, more whether I should just pay the bill (from within my families income), or contest it. The more constructive feedback on here is that I could contest it, but there is also some feeling that the bill should just be paid. If you are presented with a bill though, and you don't feel as though you had value for money, do you pay it and learn that lesson, or contest it?

Posted 14 years ago

hora
Free Member

I'd still put contracts etc in her name otherwise she is going to run up (potentially) monumental levels of debt at uni.

Its only a small lesson! 🙂

mieszko- strangely always comes across as sorted/well thought out. mieszko are you a groomer on here of older-males?!!! 😉

Posted 14 years ago