Hi ,
I think you have misunderstood , I am here to ask how to i take this further and who it is i need to go to receive legal advice. I wasn't asking for legal advice but a source on where to get it , sorry i have prob conused you. I guess with o2 being a massive company I wasn't sure if I go to a local solicitor or if citizens advice would help ?
I received a call from o2 in Feb 2014 offereing me a £15 a month contract , i was very aprehensive and said so during the call , i have never had a phone contract and have no idea how they work but i was assured the deal was best for me
I was with o2 PAYG for 12 years a loyal customer this PAYG contract always sent txts when i was due to top up or running low. I asked during the sales call was this the same service as i was worried about going over allowance and had heard so many horror stories but i was again assured i had nothing to worry about. I decided to proceed with the plan but heard nothing from o2 for 3 months but i could see money as coming out of my bank amounts were acceptable but I wondered how long it usually takes to get the contract so i could have a good read through it as i assumed i had to sign and send it back - Nothing , no emails , no txts , no bills ..
I then get a txt saying I was £121 over my limit , that was on a Sunday , i knew it was a mistake that could easily be rectified when i returned to work on Monday and i thought id call them from the office, inbetween this I made 1 call and then another txt message came through from o2 saying i was over by £147.. I was sure it was a mistake and by the time i got to ring them on Monday I was told the bill was £199?? . That was in May 2014. I then rang to query the amount and discovered they had the wrong email address and the bills were being sent to that email but i told them they had taken the wrong email. I then asked where was the contract and apparantly they sent one ? All i got was the sim .
I then asked why did the the bill go up to £199 from £121 in one day and why wait until the account was £147 over and then txt me . I asked how am i meant to know how many minutes i use if i have no warning txts to raise awareness or give me a notification the allowance was up , but apparantly i txt a number and it will tell me ? I didn't know this , i didn't know what the number was and apparantly im meant to check my call allowance and know when it goes over they don't let people know ?
I have always been PAYG and never had a pay monthly deal as it always terrified me for this reason but i was told id get txts to let me know the calls were going over but i didn't get any so i thought i was ok. I nearly had a heart attack at a bill for not even a month was £199 . Never had a phone bill like this in my life
I rang o2 and they said the charges were valid and although i realise now they might be the fact remains that i was told i would be txt when i was close to the limit when the sales guy rang . How am i meant to know im over
I was so terrified that my credit file would be ruined and after many calls and many many frustrated conversations i agreed to pay and cancel the contract based on the fact the plan was not what i was told it would be and that since i took out the plan i hadn't heard from them . The bill wasn't due for another 3 weeks and i asked could i start making payments until then but i was told as the bill wasn't due i couldn't start a payment plan and if i did it would reflect on my credit file . I then agreed to pay it off with the last of the money i had in my ban to then be told they were adding a £75 canelation fee to the bill and it had to be paid there and then. I just blew a fuse and hung up
I then rang and asked for the account to be blocked until i raised a complaint as i didn't want any further charges , that was agreed and within a week the block was then lifted . I then rang and told them i need the account blocked , they said they would and didn't. At this point i ordered a PAYG sim and contacted the ombudsman and raised a complaint with the complaint review service , they agreed to cancel the contract with no charge and credit the account by £92 but were still saying i owed £136 - The account wasn't being used at all , when they got my new email address i was sent bills and then i got a letter saying they were blocking the account but i had already cancelled it as agreed and was months into a PAYG sim .
I had asked for the account to be put on hold while the ombudsman were looking at the case , the ombudsman can't do much though as i assume if they had checked or were alllowed to ask for phone records they could confirm i was telling the truth , there was lots of stuff they couldn't verify so i now have to .
I only had the account for 3 months, and it's the sorriest thing i ever did was agree to take it , ombudsman made a decision in Oct which to me is very pro-o2 , they also stated o2 have really improved their service in which i do not agree . I still have no idea what the tariff was or what the terms of the contract were but apparantly i get these online ? But how was i meant to know this , ive never had a contract account before and surley they have all different contracts
I have been working so hard on improving my credit flle for 6 years , this year i was going to buy a house but on Monday past i checked my experian file and a big red default has appeared from a company called Lowell ? Debt collection agency .. I rang Lowell and explained the account was in a ombudsman dispute since May and although i will take it further id pay the money rather than have my credit file ruined but they said the account was sold with the default and there was nothing they could do.
A deafault reflects your payment history and ability to pay credit , my file will show i have not missed a payment on one thing in 6 years and this year was my year to buy a house - That opportunity is lost now and now it seems it was all for nothing. I am totally gutted and now over this stupid plan that i should not have agreed to the debt collectors are now wanting to hound me .
I wasn't even told the debt would be sold on , i hadn't heard from o2 in Months , Lowell have never contacted me to say the account was in their hands now either .
I wish id never agreed to the plan and i hate o2 becuase of this , no point on paying anything now as either way my credit file is messed up
