Exceptionally high bill

[AlisonMary]

My monthly combined bill for my phone and tablet came through yesterday. It was £410.88!!! Usually it's £22.89. I've had the absolute month from hell and this has just stressed me out beyond belief. I've been with 02 for many many years now, have always paid my bills promptly and have never had anything like this before. I'm currently on a phone plan that gives me 1000 minutes of calls a month and have never gone anyway near using all this, even when I was away all summer and making multiple calls a day. However, my mum (my only other living family) got suddenly rushed into hospital about 3 weeks ago and, owing to numerous complications with an op, is still there now. On top of that, I got covid just before Christmas and have obviously had to self isolate. Owing to all this, I've ended up have to make more phone calls than usual just to get by myself and find out what's going on at the hospital, but I hadn't realised just how many minutes I'd gone over till I got hit with the bill yesterday - I'd had no texts or emails warning me that I was nearing my limits or warning me that i'd gone over, which I was very unimpressed with. I tried phoning a couple of people at 02 yesterday to explain my situation and see if I could get some redress, but to be honest, was just treated very clinically and unsympathetically.

I'm just wondering whether anyone else has experienced something similar and, if so, whether they were able to sort anything out (other than just being completely ripped off and paying the ludicrously high bill)? Surely 02 should have better measures in place than this, especially when it comes to dealing with customers who have been with their company for years?

[pgn · Accepted solution]

Really sorry to hear about your mum, the last thing you need is a large and inexplicable bill.

Calling into UK hospitals used to cost exorbitant amounts on a peak or premium rate number, @AlisonMary - check what your MyO2 bills say you've been charged for the last month, as such numbers do not come out of your 1000minutes allowance. Guide: How do I get to the 'Download Bill' page? 

If you spot something you do not understand, as we have no access to your account here, the Social Media teams will be on hand, just send them a message on Facebook (https://o2uk.co/O2CFB) , Twitter (https://o2uk.co/O2CTW) or Instagram (https://o2uk.co/O2CIG).

Good luck, and hope your mum is returned to health soon.

[AlisonMary]

Thanks for your reply. I've rechecked all the items on my bill and I think it's just a matter of going over on my minutes, so I probably don't have a leg to stand on, but I might try messaging the Facebook page. I'm still pretty disgusted I wasn't given any notification about what was happening, especially as the costs as soon as you do start to overrun are absolutely extortionate....