While on vacation, a man discovered that his phone was missing, which unfortunately led to him being charged a whopping £20,000 bill.
The individual took to Reddit to share a picture of the bill, indicating that the phone had been utilized by someone else, leading him to believe that it was stolen. The credit limit of £25 that he had set should have prevented overspending.
However, the culprit managed to spend over £17,000 on phone calls, resulting in a total bill of £20,973.06. The man is now distressed and worried that he will have to pay out a large sum of money to resolve the issue.
Commenting on the post, one user said: “Worked for a mobile network for 13 years. You won’t have to pay for it. Just keep on at them. I’ve dealt with this many times.
“Be persistent. Go into a store and ask for the 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 for it… It’s theft, and it’s not your responsibility to cover charges you had no control over and didn’t authorize.”
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.”