Contracts and none payment

[MeatLoaf]

Just asking advice really for a family member

They have a contract with 02. There around 6 months into it. They pay so much a month for the phone over i think its 3 years. The cash price of the phone was £667 and so far theyve paid £74 of that. And also another amount for the airtime over 2 years.

They are struggling so ive suggested ringing 02 to see if they can help.

The question really is if he stops paying will they disable the device.? It will obviously go to debt collectors if they dont pay but in my eyes if it was me i would steadfastly be refusing to pay for a device which is no longer useable. Yes they should hold there hands up to the remaining airtime term ( and the remaining on the device if it dosent get disabled )

Does anyone have any advice or experience of this with 02?

 

[Kanpai]

Yes it'd be blacklisted and rendered useless in the UK

 

[neoboy]

As above, it will at some point get blocked, passed on to debt collection agency and probably a mark against credit score. Won't make money matters easier down the line.

Haven't looked into O2 contracts for a while, but I was under impression you can cancel airtime without any penalties, so long as you pay off device in full.

That of course is easier said than done if they are struggling to pay the monthly bill. SIM only and MVNOs are more than likely going to be cheaper, I've always found there's a markup on airtime with O2.