who owns our phone and contract

[enrich100]

before you say it, yes  was stupid, yes I'm liable for payment. but can I get my phone back or at least get the sim replaced so I can use it in my phone

my daughter was 17 and wanted an Iphone and a anytime contract so could not get a phone in her name so good old dad stepped in please read details before commenting until you have read everything

1. I made an order for the phone in my name

2. I setup a contract for Vodafone in my name

3 the direct debit and payment comes out of my bank account

4 my daughter had use of the phone as long as she paid me personally

5 she currently uses her email adresss to log in to vodafone

now if I take proof of ID can I take over the vodafone login with my details

can I request a new sim (and pay charges if nessesary? so i benefit from the account

if all my bank details are used and the contract is in my name have I covered all the bases to prove I'm the owner

as I said I know Im liable for all payments but my daughter is now 18 refusing to pay for it or give it back, she has friends telling she is entitled to behave this was and not take any responsibility. morally if it were me owing I would resolve the but the her non legally trained friend are telling her otherwise.  I look forwardthe relationship is beyond repair so it won't make a bad position any worse. to me this would be like a company phone in the sense that whilst I work for a company I can use the phone but when I leave the company I have to return the phone and am liable if I didnt return it? if the detail were in her name she is clearly contractually the owner but none are I would appreciate knowing at the very least if Vodafone will even talk to me regarding this situation or would they just try to hide behind red tape? please take it a read that I shouldn't have done it, it was a daft decision and for all those parents out there we had no idea this was going to happen so please take precaution to prevent this happening to you. I look forward to hearing your input and fully understand that some answers may not say what I would like to hear

[AnnS]

Yes @enrich100 , it's a difficult one for sure.  You are the account holder and can do whatever you wish, even cancel the airtime contract, you can also request a replacement SIM for the number use the airtime part of the contract with a different phone. If your Daughter is using her email address to log in you are entitled to change this to your address.  

The only thing to consider is the iphone, this will be an Evo contract here Evo and a credit agreement in your name, at least the benefit of Evo is if you pay off the device part of the contract, the airtime will end but continue rolling over on a month to month basis until you cancel.

Hope all works out for you.  Unfortunately, having a friendly parent to child conversation does not always help.

[enrich100]

thank you for taking your time to answer and also your understanding it is very much appreciated. 

[AnnS]

As a parent myself @enrich100 , I wouldn't tolerate any nonsense. 

It's your contract in your name, you are paying the bill, if you stop payment it will be you who gets the bad credit rating.  You only need to speak to Vodafone through Customer Service channels to make any changes to the account.

[enrich100]

thank you, I did state I will carry on paying bills as I prefer not to damage my credit rating..but may set the account to a lower payment or take ownership of the sim she or should I say I am paying £20 a month for the phone and £45 for unlimited contract, that is way more than my actual use. the contract runs out I January so will be paying £400 ish for her to use the phone for free unless I change the settings

[simax]

Ring Vodafone and tell them the phone is lost. They’ll send a new sim out to you and they’ll also blacklist the handset so even if another SIM card is put in the phone from ANY network it simply won’t work at all.

You can always reverse the blacklist at a later point if you want to. It might teach your child a lesson.

[enrich100]

I will keep your answer in reserve just in case after speaking with my wife we are going to put her phone on the lowest tariff lock the phone prevent her from increasing tariffs and prevent her spending if she reaches the limit she can still make emergency calls she will have a month to make her mind up if she will take up one of the four options below

1 to pay what she owes and transfer the remaing contract to her,

2 to return the phone to me unlocked and undamaged so I can sell the phone to cover the cost.

3 if by any chance she decides to damage it we will claim the cost that the same phone would cost from a second handshop such as Cex to repay any outstanding cost

all we want is for us to be free of her debts

and of course you have given me a fourth option to keep up my sleeve

I doubt the status of the relationship will improve at least in the short term but I don't want to make matters worse If I get any result I will update if and when it happens

[Getafix]

Call Vodafone Customer Services. Tell the SIM card is lost and not the Phone.
Also ask them to reset the Login Details. Tell them you will set it up once you have the new SIM.

Once you get the new SIM, set up the Account login details. Set the Spend Limit then give the SIM card to your Daughter. (I would not but you have indicated you want to carry on paying)

I gave my daughter a PAYM Sim since her first day at High School. Only had to have a chat with her once in the 17 odd years for minutes over her Allowance very early on in the contract. 

[enrich100]

I have accepted I foolishly put my self in this position

I have also changed my decision how I will deal with this problem

my daughter sense of entitlement would cost me nearly £1200 over the next 18 month if I were to continue paying so I have barred her sim and  transferred it to another phone I now can choose to use it myself or allow another family member transfer ownership

I have sent a signed for and track letter giving her 4 options

1. pay 18 x £20 The remain owed bill and the handset and she can be the new owner of the hand set

2. return the phone unlocked and working I can pay the remaining owed amount and sell it.the price should be able to get for it should just about cover what the remaining handset paymyment value so I break even

3. if I don't get a response I will have the phone blocked by apple, we would see if the police will deem it theft and would get involved

or

4. take her to the small claims court to recover the cost of the handset

my daughter has been given morally and legally dubious advice by her boyfriends mother who also has a similar sense of entitlement as my daughter has, she was the one who told my daughter that she can keep the phone "because she has it at the moment it her property"

she also has advised are daughter not to talk to us regarding the phone and outstanding bills because she legally cant be forced to hand over the phone. from the advice I received from this forum Apple and Vodafone she should have spoken to me or transferred ownership that was offered 3 times

she has 28 days to reply if I don't hear from her I will have to decide if I go down the police or Small claims court

I hope it does not come to that dependent on how she behaves and if she does have to pay it she may have a criminal record or may damage her credit history

I'm aware this will definitely not be positive regarding rebuilding bridges but she would happily let me pay for the phone and or damage my credit rating and I am only receiving a medical pension that already on just covers my cost.

this will have to be some tough love, as she need to realise if she wants luxuries she should be the one buying them and to be able to be independent.

We still love her but don't have much choice because of our own finances

I had always told my children they should never nor a lender be ( yes i know I failed that myself)

to always pay ones debts and take ownership of problem and communicate

and treat everyone how we would like to be treated ourselves

I hope I'm not still waiting in 28 days and she takes me up on one of my first 2 options

[enrich100]

as stated in a previous post my estranged daughter decided that she no longer want to pay to use a phone that is owned by me and paid for me but wants to continue using it. we have blocked calls on the contract but are still liable for the payments for the handset, which we would like to get back and eventually sell to cover the outstanding handset bill.

My question is I am the legal owner, we have the IMEI number however my daughter is using her Icloud details on the phone, will Apple block the handset if we have if only her icloud details are registered to the phone? and we have never ourselves logged into the phone?

I appreciate any advise people can give

Thank you in advance

As said previously no need to tell me how stupid I was taking out a phone for her and please take it read that the relationship is currently beyond repair as she has tried to land myself and her mother in her debts