Unpaid Phone Bill

mikeoc85

Hi everyone,

Just a quick one, that someone might be able to help with

I had a contract with Three which expired last October. I've been out of the country since September and didn't renew my bill, haven't used the phone since leaving. I arrived home this week to see I owe over €300. I never stated that I wanted to continue or gave permission to keep billing me after my contract expired.

I tried calling them but there adamant that it's a rolling contract until I tell them to cancel.

What happens if I don't pay? Do I get a bad credit rating?

Timfy

Pretty much all phone contracts are rolling and need to be cancelled in advance and in writing.

You were not using the service but they were still providing it.

You will be found liable for the amount and if it goes unpaid then it will go to debt collection. This will have an adverse reaction on your credit history.

If you continue to ignore it eventually it, the debt will be sold to a debt collection agency which despite being fairly toothless in Ireland can still make your life a misery with bailiffs knocking your door and court summonses.

Probably best to admit to your oversight and pay up!

GIMP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120341077#Comment_120341077

You are correct about the ops liability for the bill. It will be sold onto a debt collection agency who will call or write to them to try to collect the debt. But they will stop after a certain period of time.

However it will not affect their credit rating or will it progress to any baliffs or court summons as the debt is too small!.

The three main networks share a credit check system so at worst if the op decides not to pay the debt they may not be able to sign up to a new contract with these companies.

Stationmaster

Same thing happened me a few years ago with another utility provider. Contract term was up and they kept billing me. They kept referring to their terms and conditions but, from memory, what they're doing goes against a certain part of consumer law and when I pointed that out to them (a solicitor friend had given me the exact wording but I can't find it at the moment) they relented and stopped billing me and chasing the older balances. It took a good few calls and emails though to get to that stage.

mikeoc85

Thank you everyone.

It's quite frustrating to hand over €300 considering they never notified me re the bill etc

My only fear was that a credit rating would then affect a mortgage application

b.e.s.s.

Hi. I'm in the same situation where stubbsgazette is contacting me regarding the my3 phone debt of €135. 

I disagree with the amount as I stopped using their services while they were still providing it. I rang them and said I no longer use it, but they still charged for additional months, which accumulated the amount of €135. 

I purchased a phone and a got a Go by the Month plan, which implied that I can stop using it at any time.

I agree that the month after I stopped paying, I should cover as I forgot to contact them at the time, but not the additional months, which they failed to stop the service even after I called them.

I don't mind the credit rating, I just don't want to end up in court as I have no evidence to show that I didn't use their service apart from the call log which I don't have access to. Also, I don't think sstubbsgazette cares for that either.

But I don't know if I should contact the stubbs or my3 or just ignore their letters.

In the end, It's not a huge amount but I'm after losing my job and right now not in a position to repay.