Raw Deal: It Disney make sense… Nurse stressed as TV and mobile package leads to £600 bill

Jade Ford thought it would be simple to upgrade her mobile, but she ran into a “stressful” stand-off with her provider and was facing a £600 bill.

In January the trainee nurse from Polmont, near Falkirk, ordered a white Samsung Galaxy from 02.

“I picked a good package deal,” said Jade. “You were getting the handset, a free Samsung Galaxy active watch, six months of free airtime and six months’ of the Disney+ channel for free. The phone was also in the colour that I wanted.”

Jade placed the order and her new contract was due to start a few days later. “However, I never got the phone as it had gone out of stock,” she told Raw Deal.

When Jade contacted O2 she was informed another phone had been sent out but that she would lose some of the extras as the promotion had expired.

“For a month I went back and forth with the customer service team on the O2 app, their phone number and I also contacted them by email,” she said. “But no one seemed to be able to resolve my issues.

“I wasn’t to get the watch as the offer had finished and my monthly payments were more than I originally agreed to.”

When the correct phone eventually arrived, O2 suggested she send it back to them if she was unhappy with the deal.

“I received a long email explaining that there had been another error,” she said. “As they had cancelled the original order I had made but had never received, I would now not receive any of the free extras.

“I said I couldn’t return the phone straight away as I work with NHS Lothian as a healthcare assistant and I am also a student nurse, so I need my phone for university and work placement. I needed time to get another one.”

Jade was further angered when she received an email from O2 stating she would be required to pay almost £600 within a few weeks if she wanted to keep the new phone. O2 wrote: “As there is no current device plan this would be charged in full when your next bill generates.”

At this point, Jade was going to send the Galaxy back to O2 and take out a new contract with another provider.

However, at the last minute, she asked Raw Deal for help. As a result, we contacted O2 and asked them to investigate.

The good news is that the company quickly swung into action. It did not comment further but soon cancelled Jade’s £600 bill and has reinstated her original deal.

Jade said she was delighted with the outcome.

“I now have the phone and colour which I want, the six months Disney+ and my account is being credited with six months free airtime,” she said. “I will be also be getting a watch of some kind to replace the one I never got.”

She added: “I want to thank Raw Deal for helping me with this. It was causing me so much stress.”