Man who lost his phone abroad shocked to receive £20,000 bill despite having a £25 cap

A man who lost his phone while on holiday has been hit with a £20,000 bill.

The unlucky owner was enjoying a trip abroad recently when he spotted that his mobile had gone missing.

But while for most people this would be an annoyance, it looks like it might cost him an absolute fortune.

In a post to Reddit, the man shared a snap of his phone bill and explained that he believed the phone had been stolen as it had clearly been used.

It showed that he had set a credit limit of £25, meaning in theory that he shouldn't have overspent.

However, someone had also spent over £17,000 in phone calls, giving him a total bill of £20,973.06.

Now, he's panicking that he's going to have to fork out thousands to settle his account.

Reddit

Despite the worry, though, many people were quick to offer some advice, with a lot of people claiming that he won't have to pay a thing.

Commenting on the post, one user said: "Worked for a mobile network for 13 years. You won’t have to pay it. Just keep on at them. I’ve dealt with this many times.

"Be persistent. Go into store and ask for manager and get them to call their retail support from their end. Don’t take no for an answer. It will get wiped.

"Dealt with this A LOT. And more common than you think. Never known anyone who has had to pay it."

While another added: "Worked for mobile network too, I second this. Don’t pay it... It’s theft, and it’s not your responsibility to cover charges you had no control over and didn’t authorise."

Ammentorp Photography/Alamy

Others, however, advised them to go straight through to the network's customer support team rather than going in-store, and to contact the communication ombudsman to get free support.

Some also said that how much he is expected to pay could depend on when/if the owner reported his phone as stolen - the earlier, the better.

According to O2's website, a phone must be reported as stolen as soon as possible and they will then be able to block the sim card.

It says: "Once you report your phone lost or stolen we'll block the sim. You must report a theft or lost phone immediately, as you're responsible for the cost of any calls, texts and data transfers made until it's blocked.

"We're open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for reporting lost or stolen phones."

LADbible has contacted O2 for further comment.

Topics: Technology, Travel, Reddit

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom