Wait till account goes into arrears

[Adia]

Hi, 

I received a bill for £680 but I cannot afford to pay it. I called o2 and they advised me to wait until my account goes into arrears and then they can set up a payment plan for me to pay it off. I am a bit sceptical because I don’t want my account to be forwarded to the debt collectors. I received the bill today but they asked me to call back at the end of March. 

[Enlli]

Who did you speak to?

You need Payment Management to sort this

You can get in touch with Payment Management team on 0800 902 0217 

Payment Management opening hours:

Monday to Friday – 8am to 8pm

Saturday – 8am to 6pm

Sunday – 9am to 6pm

[Adia]

I spoke to someone from Payment Management team and this is what they told me. 

[MI5]

@Adia 

Nothing can happen until your bill becomes due for payment which is 14 days after the bill is produced.

You can pay into your bill at anytime, so do so now if you can and the payment will come off your balance Guide: How to Pay Your Bill (Contract) 

[Adia]

I received a text from o2 saying that my final bill of £680 was ready, but since I have left o2 when I log into my o2 account it doesn’t let me see my final bill. I can’t afford to pay it at the moment, so will need to do a payment plan. I received the text on 23rd of feb and someone from payment management said I need to contact them again on 21/22nd March so that the account will go into arrears and then they will be able to set up a payment plan. I just don’t want my account to be transferred to debt collections

[MI5]

@Adia 

The end of March is too late.

You need to contact them around March 11th

[Adia]

Okay thank you. Do you know how long it takes for o2 to put account into arrears after receiving final bill? I’m not sure why they asked me to wait for that long, I was a bit sceptical about that. 

[MI5]

@Adia 

No more than 4 days after it's due so around 18 days from when the bill was generated.

[Adia]

Okay thank you. On the email it said that they will take the money out on or just after the 8th March but the person I spoke to told me to cancel my direct debit if I cannot afford to pay the final bill. I’ve done that so I should contact them around the 11th March? 

[MI5]

@Adia 

Yes, that's perfect.