What happens if i cant pay my mobile contract bill?

Question

I have been a bit silly.......:( i have recently been to Turkey for 2 weeks and i got back to England recently and i checked how much i owe for this months bill.....a wooping £ 2460.92p !! I browsed the internet on my phone over there and I should of checked the charges before I went out there and I also text a few people out there too. I am with Orange Monthly plan. I cannot pay this bill and yesterday morning I recieved a payment book from a debt collection agency, moorcroft, looks like a checkbook stating I have to pay within the next 3 months the whole balance. It is impossible and they state legal proceddings will be taken against me if i don't pay up. What can the court do if i don't pay. I don't claim high benifits and only work 16 hours a week.

Help !!!!

Answer 1

Contact your local Trading Standards dept or Citizens Advice Bureau straight away! The bill sounds outrageous! Sounds as if you should be complaining about the charges rather than paying them!

If nothing else you should be trying to negotiate a lower bill and then take advice from CAB as to how to make a more affordable arrangement to repay the debt.

Note that if you do nothing then you will end up with a County Court Judgement against you.

Answer 2

If you only work 16 hours a week, I'd take some time off from whatever it is you do with the rest of your time and start putting in extra hours.  I dunno how many £'s are standard for you guys (I'm Amercian.) put if you start putting in 30-40 hours a week for those three months, I think you could turn out.  Hope I helped.

Answer 3

tell to poke their bill where the sun don't shine. NO WAY should they let anyones bill get that high.  

Answer 4

I've dealt with Moorcroft Debt Recovery and have found them to be pretty reasonable.  The key is keeping in contact with them.  Ring them immediately and they'll be more willing to make a payment arrangement you can afford.  If you ignore this and do nothing, things will be much worse further down the line.  The earlier the contact, the more flexible negotiations will be.  If you make arrangements and can't keep them, ring and tell them, and they'll try to rearrange things.  Communication is the key here.

Answer 5

HI this can be a major issue as they can take legal action because you signed the contract which was agreeing all the terms and conditions stated. i would give orange a ring and see if they could set up a direct debit or you may have to turn to family and friends to help support you and pay them back. don't fall into the trap of credit cards. THIS WILL BADLY AFFECT YOUR CREDIT HISTORY AND MAY STICK WITH YOU FOREVER. this can effect you if you want store credit and you will not be able to join a few jobs as you have been black listed this will make your life a misery and could effect everything just try pay off or get a bloody good laweyr. hope this helps lewis :~)

Answer 6

Just ignore it and go live in the woods.

Answer 7

start working full time and pay it off then...i never get how people can go abroad and not think that when they use their phone the bills going to be high at the end of it...if you dont pay they will cut your phone off for starters, the court will conclude you have to pay abit back each month, depending on what you can afford,

Answer 8

a Bit silly?? thats just plain stupid to be honoust!!!

Now why would you receive a letter from a debt collector allready? It seems like this is a recent bill, so you should always get your regular bill first, then a reminder and no debt collector till later on.

Give orange a ring and ask if you can set something up with them

Answer 9

Uh oh! How recently are you talking? And if you checked how much you owe this month does that mean you haven't received this bill? And why have Orange not given you a chance to even pay it? Or have you ignored them to the point that they've got a debt collection agency involved?! I used to have an Orange contract, and it would've taken a lot before they did that. Also, it sounds like you did a lot more than just browse the net and text a few people. I did that in Spain recently and my bill was £20 more than usual!

The first thing you should have done when you received the bill was cancel your contract, which I hope you have done? I suppose even if you haven't they've done so for you anyway. The second would be to arrange a direct debit each month to slowly pay them off, and I know that Orange would definitely have done this for you. Too late now. The agency have stated you need to pay up within 3 months, but as you say- It's impossible. So tell them that. Tell them you cannot physically pay it as you do not have the money, instead tell them how much you can pay and how much you can pay off in instalments and when. This is what the court will make you do, so if you can arrange this before hand with the debt collectors and you actually mean it, hopefully they won't take you to court.

And why exactly do you only work 16 hours a week?! Also, get Pay As You Go!

Good luck.

Answer 10

look like you will have to start working more than 16 hours a week.

Go to the citizen advise they will help you  

Answer 11

You'll have to do everything you possibly can to pay that bill I'm afraid

Next time, please leave the mobile at home and EMAIL when you travel - so much cheaper!

Sell blood and s***n if you have to!

All The Best, Don't Panic but be proactive ASAP and work out a Plan - Also keep your Phone Company updated, so they're not completely in the dark and let them know you're doing all you can to pay off the bill.

Be polite and honest and they may give you an extension