I need a way to get out of a mobile contract *important and urgent!!*
Right - basically...
I have just spent nearly an hour on the phone to O2. Arguing the toss with them. I had my mobile stolen on Saturday morning. No chance I will get it back. So - I wanted to cancel my contract because I can't afford to replace my phone, I didn't have insurance, I'm not due an upgrade, and well, tbh I have had so many issues with the dumb phone company that I don't want anything to do with them anymore anyway. Not that I exactly wanted my phone to be nicked.
If I cancel my contract they will bill me for £560
The phone is worth £139.99
I offered to pay for the phone but leave the contract.
What is the point in paying for a contract, for minutes and stuff that I am not using? I can't afford to do that.
My options are:
Buy a new phone from o2 - (their cheapest being like £60) and spend £10 on a new sim card, keep using my contracted minutes and texts (really honestly can't afford it)
Continue with my contract (but I won't be using any minutes or texts, just paying £35 a month for nothing, adding up to £560)
Or cancel the contract and be billed for £560 in one go (not a chance in hell I can afford that!)
It doesn't seem right to me, there must be a way around it. I've spent a fortune on the phone to them off the landline this morning (dad is going to kill me) and they refuse to even strike any kind of deal where I pay for the loss of the phone in 3 installments and that is it.
I'm stuck. I'm lost. there are many reasons I have to have a phone. I need one for work. I need one to walk down the street with cause I have severe paranoia that without a phone to contact people whenever I want to something bad will happen to me.
you should be able to buy yourself out and not pay for the full contract, demand a manager, tell them you need your contract stopping because if your phones been stolen you dont want someone running up a bill that you have to pay for(perfectly reasonable). mention something about your going to get in touch with trading standards or something(most call centres have certain procedures when thats mentioned..). Unfortunately you will most probably have to pay something off the contract(be it 100/200 pounds or maybe more..). Have you had other contracts with them previously? or know other people on o2 contracts?
I offered to pay for the phone, which is £140. I have had one other contract phone with them in the past. I have a few friends on o2. I have already had them block my phone so that nobody can use it.
I really don't know what to do now. After an hour of trying to sort it out and not getting anywhere. I refuse to buy a new phone, I can't really afford it, I refuse to pay for another 16 months of a contract when I am not using the minutes or anything.
I am happy to pay off in the next 2 or 3 months the cost of the phone but that is all I can do, I can't afford to be paying for something I am not using.
It seems ridiculous to me.
Make a fuss.
They'll compromise just to keep you quiet.
x
Lol!! It's tempting.
I don't like to give up easily.
However. I do need a phone.
I certainly don't want to get into trouble with debt collecters by not paying it...I don't know how long I can last this one out. My friend upgraded her phone today, and offered me her old one. So I suppose I just get them to send me a sim card.
Though, I really really want nothing to do with the stupid company anymore. And I will continue to complain about this until it gets to the end of my contract when I will scream at them down the phone with great pleasure and say - your company effing sucks, goodbye.
Hmm, I feel like my soul has been trapped by the devil!
You know what else, the police rang me after I made this post, and told me they have checked the cctv and the phone was stolen off me while I was asleep. How, HORRIBLE is that? Utter wanker. I feel so violated by that.
I hope they catch him, the **** is gonna be paying for my contract if I have a choice!
I will ring Citizens Advice Bureau this week. I am back to work tomorrow so it might be a bit tricky.
And I did ask to speak to someone else and I was told there was no one else - which I find hard to believe.
Perhaps you can phone the CAB during your lunch break. You could tell your manager that you need to make a private phone call and ask to use an office phone.
Well, we don't techincally have an office, we work outside! So I will have to borrow someones phone but yeah, I think I will do. I will get the number before I go to work in the morning. Thanks for your advice chuck, lets see what happens tomorrow I guess.
x
i don't exactly know how things are in the UK, but i'm sure they're somewhat similar to the US. keep calling the company back until you get someone who you can get somewhere with. see if you can get insurance on the phone now and if they'll give you a new one for free. i know verizon in the US will let you put insurance on the phone whenever , even after it was stolen or broken or whatever. its worth a shot!
where were you sleeping??
if you signed a contract for a specific amount of time.. that is how long you must serve your contract for.
without sounding mean.. but the facts are you have no insure so its up to you to pay for any costs.
and its not the phone companys fault you lost your phone.
You agreed to pay a certain amount of money for a certain amount of months, and you'll just have to pay it.
it like.. if you had bought a car on finance, and you crashed i, you wouldnt expect to not pay for the rest of the car.
do you have house insurance? or your mam and dad if you live with them? contact the police and get a crime number then ring your insurance company. you can pay £50 excess and they will give you the value of the phone you lost. then you can go get a new one and continue on your contract.
dont stress. ive done that before and it worked for me. was with o2 as well.
Sadly, (having studied law) there isn't much you can do... mostly due to the fact that you have no insurance. The best thing to do is obviously fight but as that won't ammount to much (but I *really* hope it does) buy a new phone and continue.
To cancel contracts quickly you need to have the mobile insurance, it has a specific clause about nicked mobile phones etc.
Sam's idea ^ might work, check that out.
Read through your contract documents *CAREFULLY* and see if you can find any loop holes.
Really hope you get this sorted,
Luce x
Hey guys, thanks. I think I have to face it - I can't get out of it. I am the kind of girl who would fight it to the end, if I didn't have so much else going on in my life. But there is too much to cope with. I tried to find some insurance I could claim off, but there isn't anything. Good Idea though, thanks.
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Read through your contract documents *CAREFULLY* and see if you can find any loop holes.
If I wasn't so tired from work and that little smoke I had afterwards, I would do that now but, arg. I shall do it though, hopefully I can find something. But it stops there, can't be arsed anymore.
My mates given me a dead old nokia that I can use, at least for now.
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If they won't give you a new sim card, I have one you can have.
Thanks for the offer, they should send me one, I haven't actually had time to ring them back, what with work and going out. But I will do it tomorrow as I have a long train journey, time to kill and my mums phone. I remember someone saying they would send me one free of charge but I reckon I will have to buy it. Only a tenner though. I can just about cope with that, though, I don't want to have to!
Hey,
Just a minor suggestion one thing i did a while back was basically, i was with 02 and i was sick of the customer services and the network in general and i had 6 months left on the contract and a friend suggested i phone other mobile phone networks and ask them if they would buy out the contract and take me on as a customer with them. Luckily Phones 4 You agreed to buy out my contract and take me on as a customer and i was dead chuffed! but i think it depends how far along you are with the contract. Its worth a try and i hope i helped in anyway possible :). Also for future reference i recently spotted that vodafone do some great deals on sim card only contract type things but without the contract and you can cancel it whenever you want. Ive been in your situation before and i know how much it sucks! but if you talk to the companies they are quite sympathetic, well they were with my experience :). Take care and dont worry too much about it for every problem there is a solution :).
