using mobile phones abroad

[worried mum]

Hi - I am new to this but would like help/advice. My daughter is studying in France and only has access to her mobile. 02 are charging at least 25p per min for her to receive a call and 35p per min to make one.They do not let her use her free minutes. her bills have been massive. What do you think - could we take 02 to court with a similar case as people are taking the banks to court. I do not think they are treating her fairly - if she was in a different part of Europe - Spain, they would charge a flat fee of £5pm to receive any amount of calls. Thanks

[claire78]

Sorry worried mum, but in this case it isn't a penalty charge, it's just horribly expensive

Not a lot either of you can do, except perhaps try and find another network that is cheaper abroad and possibly cancel the O2 contract if possible

[callumsgran]

Either that or go for payg sometimes it works out cheaper, or get her to emaol you!
Does she have access to computers?

[worried mum]

She does have a computer but is having trouble getting internet access at the university in Paris.
I thought a threat of court action might work the same as banks - I thought the cost of defending themselves might make them consider refunding some of the excessive charges.

[cheddar]

Thats not why people get payouts for bank charges though, bank penalty charges are unlawful, some mobile phone tariffs are just extortionate.

[worried mum]

I am not sure of the difference - you know what the charges are for exceeding overdraft limits so if it is in the terms and conditions how is this unlawful - it might not be fair but they are upfront with them.
The same with the phone bill - she knew how much they were and this is what I want to challenge - I want to make the excessive phone charges unlawful. As they are as equally unfair as high bank charges. I think.

[cheddar]

The difference is that a penalty charge is where an instiution is penalising yu for not conducting yourself in the manner that they want you to, this penalty can only be the amount that it costs the institution and no profit can be made. This is called a punative charge and therefore charging someone £38 for a computer to go beep and occasionally send a letter is way over and above actual cost.

A phone call tarriff which is set out in a contract and agreed by both parties cannot be classed as unlawful as they are providing you with a service. Please have a read of the FAQs and case law, phone bills are not penalties but charges for services (unless of course they charge her a large amount for not paying the bill this then becomes a penalty charge).

Even in the case where a bank may charge you £20 a month for a premium account this cannot be claimed back as it is a charge for a service, not a penalty, thats the basic difference.

[callumsgran]

It might be worth her while trying to get a contract phone in paris where it may work out cheaper to call england than the other way around?

[Overdrawn]

I symapthise with you worried mum, but I don't think you will get anywhere with this. You can't simply "make" a charge unlawful. My council tax/water rates/gas/electricity bills are high but unfortunately they are not unlawful.

The bank penalty charges is a complicated issue, hence why sites such as CAG are here to offer information, advice and support for those who are claiming back these penalty charges and it does take quite a few days of reading around the site to get to grips with it all. PENALTY is a key word here. O2 have not penalised for using her phone, they have simply charged her for the calls she has made, in the same way that my electricity company charges me for consumption.

Could your daughter use an internet cafe as opposed to the Uni computers? How about a laptop for xmas (expensive but it might work out cheaper than O2 in the long run) Maybe a webcam? It is also usually cheaper to use a phone card from a public phone booth.