A small business owner facing a £42,000 bill says he almost went bankrupt after his daughter racked up data roaming charges while the family were on holiday in Morocco.
Andrew Alty, who owns a curtains business, was in Marrakech when he received a bill from network provider O2 for £22,000, but at first thought it was a mistake.
“I’m going to the desert,” he told the Telegraph. “I made several attempts to call O2 but there wasn’t much I could do. I can only assume there was something wrong or the account was hacked,” he said.
After he returned home, he received another bill for £20,000 and the scale of the problem became clear.
Alty took the phone contract through his Manchester-based business. The deal, which he bought through retailer Currys and was offered by O2, includes a clause that excludes data roaming charges outside of Europe.
Roaming charges apply when phones are connected to a mobile network for internet access outside the UK and at times holidaymakers are facing substantial bills.
In this case, Alty’s daughter’s use of social media app TikTok resulted in a bill of more than £5,000 an hour.
“There’s no way they’re charging it,” Alty said. “They made no effort to notify us and let the charges go up. I don’t understand how they expect any small business to pay that kind of bill.”
He said: “It’s taken up a huge part of my life in the last two months. It’s ridiculous. [The customer service teams] Didn’t help; The calls ended in frustration and disappointment.”
Alty contacted the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and complained that O2 had not explained to him the “rest-of-world data cap” included in his contract.
The FOS, although O2 provided the mobile service, Currys was responsible for decisions about contract specifications and cost limits and the FOS was unable to assist.
Currys and O2 eventually agreed to drop the charges after being contacted by the Telegraph.
An O2 spokesman said: “We are aware of Mr Alty’s complaint, which the ombudsman determined was a sales process dispute with his account provider Currys. We understand this has now been resolved with Currys agreeing to waive all charges.”
Curries said the charges were dismissed “given the scale and circumstances surrounding the case.”
