ASK TONY: My mobile was stolen and by the time I reported it £1,130 worth of calls had been made - is Vodafone's £200 bill fair?
During a recent holiday to Barcelona, my phone was stolen. I had become separated from my friends, so had no way of calling my network - Vodafone - straight away to alert them to the incident.
At 1am, I reported the theft to officers at a police station, and then spent €15 trying - unsuccessfully - to use the payphone to inform my network.
I finally got back to my hostel and had to wait until it opened at 8am, when I managed to use a friend’s phone to report the theft. By then, the thief had made £1,130-worth of fraudulent calls to Spanish premium- rate numbers.
When my bill came through, Vodafone said that I had to pay these charges. After negotiations, they have offered to reduce the bill by £200.
N. P., Luton.
Time: Phone companies are supposed to limit your charges from the moment you report the phone as missing
Astronomic phone bills for victims of mobile phone thefts overseas have become an increasing and unwelcome phenomenon.
As Money Mail reported last year, the handset is often incidental - for crooks, the real money is to be made in calls to premium-rate phone lines.
In the hours before the phone’s theft is reported, the thieves dial premium-line numbers they set up deliberately in order to profit from the charges.
Phone companies are supposed to limit your charges from the moment you report the phone as missing. Some insist on this being within 12 hours.
However, like you, many have struggled to alert their phone company quickly enough - and end up facing huge bills.
Three weeks ago, the five biggest network providers (Vodafone, EE, Virgin, O2 and Three) voluntarily signed up to an agreement that stops victims from being charged any more than £100.
Three was the first to bring in the £100 cap (it already applies) and EE will follow suit in the coming weeks.
Virgin is set for a cap in July, and O2 in September. The bad news is that Vodafone has also pencilled in a summer deadline.
However, in your case, Vodafone has agreed to waive the bill in full. You will no longer have to pay a penny.
A spokesman for Vodafone says: ‘We are sorry our customer had this problem, especially as we suspended his account within five hours of the theft. We did this because our systems had highlighted the unusually high spending on it.
‘In light of this, and the fact that the customer contacted us within eight hours, we will waive all the fraudulent charges incurred during this period.’
Vodafone added that its delay in bringing in the new charge cap is due to staff training and new processes. The spokesman adds: ‘In the interim, we will look sympathetically at anyone affected by a theft.’
STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
When my wife died, I gave John Lewis a copy of her death certificate to close her account.
However, to refund her £8.44 credit, they want to see a copy of her will. Shouldn’t they just make a cheque payable to the executors of her estate? D. W., Bristol.
This is unnecessary red tape at what is a stressful time. A spokesman for John Lewis has apologised for any undue upset caused, and the money has been transferred to your account. John Lewis added it is reviewing its processes.
I’m looking to spend some cash on bank shares, but don’t understand why some are more expensive than others. It doesn’t seem to relate to the dividends they pay or the amount they’re worth. Can you explain? F. M., Middlesex.
Share prices are supply and demand. There are limited numbers in issue for each company, so if lots of people want to buy them, the price goes up, and vice versa.
Reasons shares may be in demand vary: company news, a prospective merger or a management change.
Is it true we can give our son £3,000 every year, and can we give it for the previous year if not paid in that year? Y. L., by email.
Yes. Every year, you can give a limited amount in cash gifts tax-free. You can give £3,000 a year to your child and if you missed last year’s allowance, you can give that, too. However, you can’t backdate more than one year, so the maximum you could give your son is £6,000.
Can my wife claim the new state pension of £148.40 a week? She is 67 and is entitled to only £11 a week of her own pension under the current rules. J. L., via email.
No. The new state pension applies only to those reaching state pension age after April 2016. Your wife is already over state pension age and receiving her state pension.
Only those with a minimum of 35 years’ National Insurance payments will receive the full amount. You must have made at least ten years’ NI payments to receive something.
I invested money in Secured Energy Bonds Plc, but understand it’s gone bust. Am I likely to get any of my money back? W. D., Yorks.
Unfortunately not. The Australian firm behind this bond has, indeed, gone bust, leaving investors out of pocket by £7.5million. As it’s not a regulated investment, it’s not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
If there is no money left in a firm when it winds up, it has nothing with which to pay back its creditors. When investing, you should always ensure a company is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.
- An earlier version of this article wrongly stated it is possible to give 'each child' £3,000 every year as a tax-free gift. We are happy to clarify that this amount is not per child but a total.
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