Being forced to pay for a gift

[simpson2004]

Hiya this is a difficult situation long story short my partners great nans took out a phone contract for my partner as a Christmas present the contract all in her great nans name address etc and obviously the phone is with my partner however my partners great nans daughter has unfortunately forced power of attorney over her and now has cancelled all the o2 direct debits and is trying to force my partner to pay the bill despite my partner never asking for the contract as it was a gift where does my partner stand with this since she is not the actual person who started the contract

[Bambino · Accepted solution]

@simpson2004 This is a customer community. The advice you receive here is limited and not legally binding. 

From my understanding, the responsibility for a contract is with the person named on it. If the bill isn't paid, O2 will ask for payment from whoever is named on that contract or whoever has power of attorney and no one else. O2 will disconnect service if the bill isn't paid. I don't think your partner is obliged to pay. They'll just not have a working phone.

If you're still concerned or unsure, contact a solicitor or your local Citizen's Advice.

[japitts]

Payment of contractual obligations - i.e. regular monthly bills under a minimum-term agreement - is the responsibility of the account holder and no-one else.

[Oxonian]

@simpson2004 

What you do not want here is a family feud over something as trivial as a 'phone. The individual with Lasting Power of Attorney is legally obliged to act in the person's best interests, but also taking into consideration their wishes. The problem is that if both parties involve solicitors, you will quickly incur legal fees that will amount to more than the value of the 'phone contract.

If you possibly can, I would be inclined to meet with the nan and the person who has LPA. Hopefully a conclusion or a compromise might be possible if you both understand the other's point of view. 👍

It is also unlikely that O2 will be sympathetic. If something is not worked out quickly and they are owed money, they will "zap" the 'phone, report the default to credit reference agencies and sell the debt to a Debt Collection Agency. This has the potential to get very messy !      

[coolcity]

From the point of view of keeping your number if that's important to you, I would get another network sim (even Pay As You Go for now if necessary) and port the number over before you lose it. You won't have to pay O2 anything ever because the contract is not in your name, but O2 will shut it down pretty quickly if a payment is missed. 

Just my view but for the life of me I don't understand why anybody bothers with contracts any more when you can get up to 40GB data and unlimited everything else for a tenner these days on PAYG, and often get discounts or more data if you auto renew (i.e. continuous payment by direct debit or card), AND you can leave or cancel any time. 

I don't use much these days but I get 5GB and unlimited mins etc AND 100 international minutes for £4.50 a month with auto renew on P.A.Y.G., not sure if I'm allowed to name the networks here but they're not hard to find. For a tenner on the same network you get 20GB - more than double what O2 offer.

[Bambino]

@coolcity The current contract for the number in question is not in the current user's name. They do not have the right to port that number to another network. What you're suggesting is illegal.

[Oxonian]

There are some disadvantages @coolcity to PAYG which one needs to be aware of. For example, O2 PAYG customers cannot access WiFi-calling and cannot use 5G. This differs from network to network, so it is a case of shopping around and reading the small print. 👍