Had an old unsued mobile that i gave to charity then the phone bill that came in at �1800 but wasnt me!

[swanleyboy]

Hi, I had a 3 phone for ages then got a new one. Gave the old phone to charity (in one of those bags) and disposed of SIM. This was about 1 year ago. Few weeks' ago I had a phone bill come in for �1800. All calls to Nigeria and USA. Phoned 3 - very unhelpful. Said I had to pay. The one sisue that WAS my fault was that I left the account dormant rather than cancel it. Lazines I guess. Any ideas?? It definitely wasnt me!!

[buildersmate]

Maybe I'm also naive - the bill is linked to the SIM, not the phone. If you disposed of the SIM, how do 3 claim fraudulent calls were made against that SIM code?

[joko]

thats what i thought buidlers mate...?

surely they would have cut you off before a yyear if the bill wasn't being paid monthly too.

i smell a rat

[Lady P Gone]

Gawd that's a tricky one. I would imagine that if you got a new phone then you took out a new contract ?? I am not a lawyer but I would have thought that the new phone would be part of the deal (if you did what most people do and upgraded at the same time as taking out a new contract) and that the previous phone was then nothing to do with you. I mean any of us who have thrown away old phones could find ourselves landed with bills run up by refuse workers and god knows what. I would contact the CAB for some legal advice, or write to the MD of 3 setting out your case. You were being so responsible too ... doesn't seem fair!!!

[Panic Button]

Anothr reason to stick with pay as you go I think

[Mrs_Pegasus]

Who was paying the line rental?

[swanleyboy]

It was me paying the bills.

[devilhunter]

Why give a phone away ? - Just sell it on ebay but make sure the contract is either terminated or transfered.