Stolen phone and nasty insurance company :(

[FilthyChav]

Basically, I lost my phone at school on Valentines day.. I think I either left it in a loo, or it fell out of my bag or pocket, and I didn't realise till 30 mins later, when I was in another class. It still hasn't been turned in to lost property, and I checked with the teachers of all the lessons I had that day, but still no phone, so I guess someone just walked off with it. (Plus it had been on with signal when I last used it, and later on that evening it had been turned off/had no signal).
That evening I rang O2 and got my phone and sim blocked (I'm on £35 a month contract) and reported it missing, presumed stolen, to the police. Within the next few days I rang O2 again and tried to sort out my insurance claim of theft, as I've been paying £5 a month since I got the phone last June.
Unfortunately, they wrote back and said I'm not eligible for a replacement as I left the phone unattended in a public place (I claimed that I must have left it in the girl's loo, as I only had it 5 mins before I went). So, basically, I'm stuck without a phone till the end of my contract in June, yet I'm still having to pay £35 a month! I'm really fed up because I can't afford another phone until this contract is over, and that I have to pay money for minutes and texts and insurance that I won't even be using! And the money I've paid so far has already covered the cost of the phone.
It said in the insurance letter that I could appeal against the decision, but I'm not sure what to say? Would it be useless to say that a girl's secondary school loo isn't really a place where the public can gain 'unlimited access' as only female school pupils are allowed in there, not random phone thieves. Also, I thought about saying that the phone is well and truly paid for, so could I cancel the contract?
Can someone please give me some well needed advice on this matter? I'm desperate for a phone, and I can't afford to waste £150 on needless contract, as I'm skint enough as it is.

The contract is made out in my mum's name, btw, as I'm 15.

[Skive]

Well your biggest mistake was to admit you left it unattended - should have lied. I don't think you can win this.

[Acrobat]

They are well within their right to say that-you left the phone unattended. Your own fault. There isnt much else you can do.

[Sofie]

Well your biggest mistake was to admit you left it unattended - should have lied. I don't think you can win this.

You mean you think she should've said that she thought someone had pinched it or something?

[Kermit]

Yeah, you should never be honest to insurance companies, because they are staffed by cunts of the highest order who would take the last sweetie off a kid dying of cancer.

I'd appeal it, saying that it was not left unattended, and was lifted from your bag. Don't know how far you'll get, but it's always worth a try. It's always worth creating as big a smell as possible, be as much hassle as possible, don't ever take any decision lying down.

Oh, and cancel any direct debits to O2. Make the fuckers swing for their money.

[FilthyChav]

thing is the police report says it was left in the loos, and so does the phone company's. might count as fraud if i change my story, right?
i checked online and i can cancel my contract, but i'd still have to pay the extra £150.
what would happen if we just didn't pay (whether contract cancelled or not)? would they take us to court?

[Kermit]

Why on earth did you say you left it in the loos if you didn't know?

Depending on what you said to the police, you can amend police witness reports.

I'd appeal it, you don't lose anything.

They can take you to court for the extra money, yes. But if you aren't giving them the money, you're in the driving seat with regards to negotiations.

[katralla]

get a replacement sim off o2, buy a phone off ebay for a fiver, continue your contract aas usuall but cancel your insurance. at the end of the contract term, cancel your agreement, tell them exactly what you think f them, wait and see- they might offer you goodies to try and keep you as a customer.

[lucifer devil]

won't o2 block that sim like they have and let you get a new sim (with the same contract) so you can use it?

[littleoleme]

they wrote back and said I'm not eligible for a replacement as I left the phone unattended in a public place (I claimed that I must have left it in the girl's loo, as I only had it 5 mins before I went).


:no: should not have told them that! insurance only counts if the phone has actually been stolen off you and sometimes even then theyll try not to pay out through some sort of loop hole. you can give appealing a try but you wont get very far to be honest.

[littleoleme]

thing is the police report says it was left in the loos, and so does the phone company's. might count as fraud if i change my story, right?
i checked online and i can cancel my contract, but i'd still have to pay the extra £150.
what would happen if we just didn't pay (whether contract cancelled or not)? would they take us to court?

maybe not court but youd get a few letters and then hulking great big guys knocking on your door! and youll probably end up paying about 3 times more awell not worth it really to be honest!

[icey]

Well, its a hard lesson but you've learnt it for next time..
If you lose a contract phone, tell the police it was nicked from your bag or you were pick pocketed and get a crime reference number, then get hold of the insurance company and tell them the same. nobody will really ask questions and the police are too lazy to find out if there really had been a theft so you're home free avec new phone.

[Sikorah]

Im on O2 gold isurance which i assume you are too because mines 4.99 a month also.
Its meant to cover you for anything, even if u break the damned thing.
If you dropped it and it stopped working theoretically they should cover you but theyd probably try find a way out of it. Theyre very dodgy, you have to be carefulk exactly how you word things.

Actually, shit got me thinking now, i lost my phone in december. id been up all night and left it on a train. Luckily i went back to the station and a cleaner had found it and kept it safe. Was thinking on the way, itll be ok, im insured-but thinking now, theyd have said its tough, you left it unattended.
:eek2: its f***** shit. You'd have to say somthing like, someone took it from your bag, or it fell onto the tracks, or down a toilet.

[Kermit]

maybe not court but youd get a few letters and then hulking great big guys knocking on your door!

And?

What the fuck are they going to do? Bitch at you, that's what, the law says they can do fuck all else without a court order.

They come to your door, you tell them to piss off and get a court order. Problem solved.

youll probably end up paying about 3 times more awell not worth it really to be honest!

Nah, no you don't. You sometimes get to pay some court costs, but a small claims court's costs are about 50 quid.

And the phone companies know this, which is why they bellyache so much without taking you to court.

If you give up without a fight they get away with it. If you cause as much a fuss and stink as possible, if you get right in their hair all day every day, they often come to a "mutual agreement" just to get you to leave them alone.

You do not ever take things lying down. It's amazing what prolonged bitching can do.

[**Helen**]

get a replacement sim off o2, buy a phone off ebay for a fiver, continue your contract aas usuall but cancel your insurance. at the end of the contract term, cancel your agreement, tell them exactly what you think f them, wait and see- they might offer you goodies to try and keep you as a customer.

:yes: The same thing happened to me, admittedly with T-mobile not 02 and this is exactly what I did except a friend kindly gave me their old phone and I got it chipped. (I don't see how they would block a new sim - it would be a new code) In fact I can't believe they didn't advise you to do this when you rang them.

[FilthyChav]

Think I'll get a crappy second hand one to last me a few more months.. but would I have to get it unlocked or something? O2 sent me a free sim but when I tried it in my step-dads old payg nokia, it said it wouldn't accept the sim. And I've had my sim blocked, so is the one they sent me blocked too?

[ShyBoy]

If you knew you left it unattended, thats one thing - but all you do remember is where you last had it, and assumed you must have lost it. Shame really. but as kermit says, make them chase you for the money.

[1andonly]

O2 sent me a free sim but when I tried it in my step-dads old payg nokia, it said it wouldn't accept the sim. And I've had my sim blocked, so is the one they sent me blocked too?

If your step-dads phone wasn't an O2 phone then it won't work as phones are usually locked to one network, which means you can't use other network SIM cards within it.

[lucifer devil]

you can get some phones unlocked, but it costs around £10 i think.

[Babyshambler]

I left my phone in a taxi once when I was wasted, I was on o2. I had a new replacement phone free of charge within 2 days.