Help! 15 Y/O daughter Vs phone bill, & it's me that has lost out.

My daughter has “somehow” managed to exceed her unlimited text package by about 3500 text & I have been hit with a £580 bill for a £18 PM package.

We weren’t given any warning by the phone co that she had exceeded her limit & the first we knew of it was when the phone was barred when the credit limit of £550 was reached, now I have no idea who would of set the limit at that amount, especially on a childs phone, (Yes the contract is in my name, but the operator knew the phone was for my daughter), but surely I should of been given some sort of option as to what the limit should of been when I took out the contract (over the phone) as this amount seems disproportionate for such a low monthly package.

So my question is do I have a leg to stand on, or is it a case of MTFU & pay it?

Cheers.

sold as unlimited texts?

exceed her unlimited text package by about 3500 text

that’s quite an achievement 🙂 and 🙁

I’d be putting everything in writing recorded delivery and explainign that you were never advised that she could exceed the monthly limit, that you thought unlimited meant unlimited etc

look at the contract you signed.

take phone away.

thats about 6500 texts!!

thats about one every 7 mins.

24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

exceed her unlimited text package

Eh?

I don’t know whats the most shocking? Giving a kid a credit limit of £550? Or the 3,500 texts, managed above ‘unlimited’? 🙂

I suspect you’re going to have to suck it up 🙁

PAYG…
I have nothing less to offer, sorry…
Unless you’d consider daughtercide..

What version of “unlimited” is this?

Probably the same as unlimited broadband that’s subject to a “fair use policy”. IE not unlimited 🙄

That’ll be “unlimited*”

*fair use policy applies

Is the unlimited texts the same as some company’s unlimited internet
Sounds very strange..

A harsh lesson learned and, yes, she should contribute.

If its anything like my “unlimited” broadband connection, the contract will have some sort of “fair useage” policy. Ie “unlimited but don’t take the pish”.

But they should have flashed a warning. did she not receive a text telling her? Or was she too busy sending more texts to read incoming ones from boring phone people?

Yes, similar situation a few years ago.

Your best options (in my opinion):
phone the phone sharks, and plead poverty, asking for their help – can they can put you retrospectively on a different contract that will help you pay the bill (or reduce the bill) (I got 25% taken off this way). Accept that it’s all your fault (in the eyes of the phone company anyway) so any favours they can do will help you stay a loyal customer blah blah. Do you have any other contracts with them to show how loyal a customer you are? (Creep a lot). Remember that being nice and vulnerable may make them want to help you – being an arse will make them want to sting you.

Then, to prevent such an issue in the future, ask for a lower phone credit limit or swap to a unlimited texts contract.

Then give your daughter a good talking to?

Good luck, but the sooner you talk to the phone company the better (just calm down first!)

In all seriousness, check with the the phone company, could be an internal error/typo?

As for checking what she is using, O2’s site tells you where you are at on your allowance (think its 24 hours behind, but thats close enough) Not sure about other providers.

khani – Member
PAYG…

This.

ask for details of texts sent, from where to whom etc,thebove info can be requesteunder the data protection act for a tenner.

take phone off daughter with alot of freinds alledgedly and buy a payg 8 quid at tesco.

What network and tariff is it?

Sell your daughter to pay for it.

I have been there with my teenage daughter but she’s lightweight as only managed 2800 in a month

They use texting for chatting, better to look at phone where you can use whatsapp or the like, which is free

I assume this is a one-off or has she been exceeding the “unlimited” number on a regular basis? You should be able to find this out by looking at previous months statements (which, of course, you always check anyway). If it’s a one-off then try to find out if there has been some sort of billing error. If it’s been going on for some time then the phone company can point to you ignoring previous months usage and not doing anything about it.

I think I’ve only ever gone above 100 texts a month once, maybe twice! That’s some going!
As above, what network? What phone? Apple iMessage and Blackberry BBM are both internet, not cellular, services and would avoid that if her friends have the same phones…..

They use texting for chatting, better to look at phone where you can use whatsapp or the like, which is free

Or use an alternative mode of communication say, a phone? 😉

Was she sending a friend a bedtime story by text- war and peace?

Join the club.
Eldest (also 15) ran up £600 on Orange this summer.
5830 texts – did the same calcs and I have no idea when he slept or ate.
It was in the summer holidays, I queried it with Orange.
He had just hit the yes button on the automatic top up which came off MrsC’s card.
Did not know who to murder, him or Mrs C for putting her card details in his phone.
Anyhoo – nothing the phone company could or would do, even though we both agreed it was impossible for him to text that often.
It was PAYG and the top up was made, I argued the physical impossibility of using all that credit on texts alone (virtually no calls and no data used)
Only explanation was multiple recipient texts, they are billed as unique texts, so one to 10 mates is actually 10 texts.
Check out if this was what she has been doing.

They use texting for chatting, better to look at phone where you can use whatsapp or the like, which is free

This.

Depending on the phone, if it’s a smartphone there’s a slight possibility it could be some scamware app sending the messages, I’d definitely be asking for an itemised bill to check who the messages are being sent to.

And get your daughter a PAYG phone, there’s no way on earth I’d let mine have a contract phone!

I’ve often wondered how it’s legal to sell anything as unlimited when it’s not unlimited

Like this?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2010/09/unlimited.html

Normally I’m fairly harsh with parents who kids rack up huge phone bills/Xbox Live bills/AppStore bills, but if your daughter had a contract with unlimited texts, then it’s not unreasonable to assume that it meant ‘unlimited texts’ – especially as they’re supposed to be cracking down on misuse of the term. The only thing I can think of that would lay the blame more at her door is if she was sending picture messages that aren’t included in the contract?

I’d say that if they’ve sold the contract as unlimited texts, kick up a fuss.

had a LONG chat with t mobile about this when i got my new contract. they got burnt with some serious bad press due to their internet usage limits. and now cut you off internet rather than letting you run up a bill at all.

who is she with?

give them a ring, i think they might be more receptive than you think.

also. contract mobile for someone else? NEVER. **** that.

Probably sexting semi naked pictures of herself to random Book-Face ” Friends ” who really arent ‘ Imogen from Kingston ‘ but actually ‘Ron from Crayford’.

Maybe no pocket money for the next 12 months?

And no chrimbo or birthday presents . Shes already had them. 6500 of them.

Phone = removed
Christmas = cancelled

If you do not confiscate the mobile phone, then she will have learned nothing. Take it away until January 1st or limit it to incoming calls only.

as above. remove phone.

not to get all ‘when i were a lad’ but i got my first phone when i was 20ish. and it was shite.

EDIT: and paid for by me (importantly)

@2unfit – welcome to parenting teenagers ! Different set of challenges from when they were little …

First PAYG for teenagers in my view is NOT the way to go, would you want your daughter to have no credit to phone you if she was in trouble, needed collecting late at night ?

You should call the phone company and negotiate a discount, plead lack of understanding, lack of disclosure. You might like to offer them in return to upgrade the contract to unlimited texts.

Blackeberries were popular with kids as if your mates have them messages (BBM) are free

We always got unlimited texts for the kids phones as that’s what they use, these days they use whatsapp (texting which uses your internet allowance which is generally much cheaper/free) or similar

If you do not confiscate the mobile phone, then she will have learned nothing. Take it away until January 1st or limit it to incoming calls only.

yep

and then put her on a PAYG that she has to pay for each month out of pocket money, keep it up until your sense of humour returns

I have 6 year old and 8 year old daughters.

I have also just pooed myself in anticipatory fear.

@jambalaya

OP had unlimited texts, thats part of the issue.

You’re the bill payer so request an itemised bill for starters.

“unlimited” FFS

Serves you right for not using PAYG and not keeping a closer eye on how much she uses it.

Mobile phones are a pita for kids. Nothing but trouble. Parents of children in my daughters class have given a phone out as a present. Ffs only 7 years old, it’s seriously wrong.

it’s seriously wrong.

succinct. but pretty much my opinion also.

i don’t buy the ‘child MUST have funds on phone to contact us at ALL times for unseen emergency’ either.

one wonders how kids survived without…