The charges DLC are pursuing you for are most likely for the remainder of your Orange contract, if you were only a couple of months into a 18 or 24 month contract they are likely to be sizeable.

What do the terms of your contract state about when it starts? That will most likely provide you with a definitive answer. Contracts can start in many ways: date of delivery, date of activation/registration, the date you commence using the service etc.

Yes it could take this much data to download a film, it depends how your sister downloaded it and the size of the file she downloaded. Just because it's a relativley small file on iTunes doesn't mean that there aren't other much larger files available - if she used Bittorrent to download the film then she could easily of used 16gb of data depending on how long it took to download the file and how long she left the computer continuing to upload the file to the internet after it had finished downloading. Bittorrent allows hundreds of other users to download the file at the same time and they all download it in small pieces which they share with each other, this means that your sister could have been sharing the file with hundreds of other people all around the world.

Your next step would seem to be a reply to either the DCA or Orange to state that as far as you are concerned the contract started on x date and was for 24 months. As far as you are concerned you've served the 24 month period so you cannot understand why they are attempting to charge contract charges after the minimum term contract has expired. Ask them for any information or evidence that they have which supports the existence of a remaining contract term. From the point of view of the network there are likely to be three possible explanations: 1) As far as they are concerned you upgraded or have otherwise extended the contract. 2) Your contract was suspended either at your request or Orange's so you have not paid for 24 months charges, if the contract was suspended for six months for whatever reason then even though 24 calendar months have passed since you entered into the contract you'd still have time left to serve. 3) Orange have made a mistake.

Mobile phone contracts aren't hire purchase agreements, the phone forms no part of the contract and it will not be related to any sum owed. If they have multiplied the days remaining on the contract by the service plan they would have accuratley calculated what is owed, although there may be an argument that they should offer a small discount on the total sum owed.

I highly doubt that the DCA have added over £500 in charges to pursue the debt - what is more likely is that you were disconnected due to non payment with 12 or 18 months of your Orange contract left to serve and Orange have instructed the DCA to pursue you for line rental for the rest of the contract. You state you've paid the airtime balance, but if you do owe for the remainder of a contract then this matter is unlikely to go away, my advice is ignore the stick it to the DCA rhetoric and find out exactly what is going on from either Orange or the DCA before you decide on what your next step is.

CISAS have handled dozens of claims previously on the issue of cash back, you'll find that by and large the networks win them. http://www.cisas.org.uk/media/text/CISAS-11-case-studies-26.2.08.pd

I'd say yes that your bank statement is sufficent proof that payment has been made.

Without wishing to dishearten you, you have absolutley no chance of receiving a personal reply from the CEO of Orange, you will literally be waiting until hell freezes over before he will take any sort of personal interest in your complaint. Big companies like Orange (Everything Everywhere) will get dozens of letters and emails addressed to their CEO each day, their CEO is unlikely to have the time to write to every customer who writes to them, even if he was personally interested in your specific complaint of the hundreds of people he receives letters or emails from each week - which I assure you he is extremely unlikely to be, as he is running the biggest telecoms company in the UK, he will have better and presumably more important things to do with his time. The best you will get from most large companies when you write to their CEO is a reply from an assistant, who will basically be some sort of glorified Customer Service Rep.

Yes you could email them a copy of the document if you've got a scanner, most mobile phone companies do not take direct legal action against their customers, what you'd find is they'll trash your credit rating for the next six years and then instruct a series of Debt Collection Agencies to contact you for years. This is the sort of hassle you don't want in your life so sending them proof will probs be the quickest and easiest way to sort this out.

The supplier of the goods legally are required to affect a repair without putting you to undue inconvenience: "Under the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 the customer has a legal right to ask for a repair or replacement goods. If the goods are less than six months old then the customer does not have to prove the fault. If you disagree then it is up to you to prove they were not faulty when you sold them. It is up to you if you decide to offer a repair or if you decide to replace the goods but whichever option you offer it should be carried out within a reasonable period of time without causing undue inconvenience to your customer. If it would be more expensive (disproportionately costly) to replace the goods instead of a repair then you can offer a repair or vice versa. If repair or replacement are not practicable options then the law allows for a full or partial refund. How much this would be would depend on how old the goods were, how long the goods should last and how much use the customer has had from the goods." http://www.consumerline.org/search/?cat=General+Advice+on+Goods+and+Services&item=General+Advice+For+Retailers

Have you got any evidence that P4U accepted the return of the phone? If so post it to Orange along with a letter asking them to sort the issue out.

Yes you are liable for the call charges, your contract makes it clear that you are responsible for any charges until the SIM card is reported missing and also that you are responsible for any usage on the phone regardless of whether or not you actually made the calls. A mobile phone isn't a credit card and you will probably find your argument about unusual usage will fall on deaf ears, mobile phone companies do have fraud prevention systems but on the whole these systems are aimed at protecting them not you from the effects of fraud. Your best bet in this instance is to explain that you can't afford to pay the charges and ask them whether they will waive some of these charges as a gesture of goodwill and allow you to setup a payment arrangement by installments for the rest, you should probably resign yourself at this stage though to paying some or all of the charges.

The £400 quid sounds a lot like Orange's emergency insurance option, you insure the phone after the fact for a fee and pay a premium in future, because it is insurance though, I'm guessing if the goods which you originally claimed for turn up they belong to the insurer.

The announcement follows on from this work by the Ofcom Communications Consumer PanelI think, and I agree its not a breakthrough it just puts the retailers back in the position they were in 4 or 5 years ago when they would allow cancellation within 14 days. http://www.communicationsconsumerpanel.org.uk/smartweb/research/can-i-cancel http://www.communicationsconsumerpanel.org.uk/Follow-up%20stmt%20on%20mobile%20covg%20research_FINAL.pdf

The problem you've got here is strictly Orange haven't done anything wrong, your required to provide notice to them that your cancelling the contract and until such time that you do they will continue to bill you, this is what your contract says. Cancellation of your direct debit is not cancellation of your contract and unless you specifically told them to cancel the contract they'd be well within your rights to carry on billing you. You may be able to negotiate a partial payment in settlement of what they say you owe, but you need to do this ASAP as this will be having a big effect on your credit rating.

I agree, if Otelo hold the call recording your entitled to a copy of it electronically if they can provide it in that format without dispropotionate effort. Otelo are a data controller for this information if it is held anywhere within their organisation and as its your personal data and they need to supply it upon request and provided that you identify yourself and pay a £10.00 fee. Otelo cannot lawfully refer you back to Three, if they've got it they need to give it to you.

I'd be careful about alleging that 3 have forged evidence they have submitted to Otelo - this is an alternative dispute resolution scheme meant to resolve civil disputes about telecommunications services, your alleging that three have comitted a serious crime, the very nature of your allegation could prevent Otelo from assisting you - anyway without listening to the recording your in no position to know what three's evidence does or does not say. Get the SAR and then appeal Otelo's decision, I'm surprised the Otelo have refused to supply you with the call recording on which they are basing their findings, you've got a right to the call recording I'd insist that Otelo provide a copy as well as three, the call recording is your personal data and Otelo would have to disclose the call recording on receipt of a SAR as well.

Of course this sort of thing has happened to other people, impersonation fraud is fairly regular in the UK, if that is what this is, not some sort of mistake or overzealous contract connected by 02's sales people. Your next move is to wait for O2 to write off the disputed amount and close the account, beyond that there is nothing else you can do unless you wish to pay for a CIFAS entry on your credit file.

What happens is abrasive particles like small stones etc get caught between the silicone bumper and the casing on the phone with daily use, because the silicone bumpers are flexible they move these particles backwards and forwards over the case of the phone when you hold the case or move the phone around, this in turn causes small scratches to the phone over time with daily use, you need to wash the bumpers periodically to avoid/minimise this type of damage.

Try this - http://www.orange.co.uk/communicate/13409.htm. They send you a SAR form which you'll need to complete

Perhaps they used answer services, didn't expect their phone to work everywhere and weren't quite so OTT on something that they really shouldn't expect to work seamlessly, especially when they are travelling at probably over a hundred mph and are moving into and out of the range of cell sites constantly, its not surprising the phone drops calls.

Otelo cannot deal with complaints about faulty equipment.

As far as I know they haven't started assigning contracts to Everything Everywhere yet, I haven't received any such notification and they'd have to do notify you before assigning the contract.

I doubt you could successfully argue that the provision of a software update by a certain time formed a fundamental part of your contract of sale, not unless you've got something in writing or witnesses to that effect.