Andrew Alty, a small business owner, was shocked to receive a staggering £42,000 bill from O2 for data roaming charges incurred during a holiday to Morocco. Initially, he received a £22,000 bill while still abroad and, upon returning home, was faced with an additional £20,000 charge.
Andrew explained, “I was on my way to the desert when I got the first bill. I tried contacting O2 multiple times, but there was little help. I assumed it was either a system error or my account had been compromised.” Further investigation revealed his phone plan, purchased through Currys and provided by O2, had a clause excluding data roaming charges outside Europe from any cap.
The situation worsened when his daughter’s use of TikTok racked up charges exceeding £5,000 per hour. Andrew expressed his frustration, saying, “They shouldn’t be allowed to charge that much without prior warning. There was no notification, and the charges just kept increasing. It’s unbelievable how any small business could be expected to cover this.”
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The ordeal has taken a significant toll on Andrew over the past two months. “Customer service was unhelpful; calls ended in frustration and no resolution,” he said. To seek redress, Andrew filed a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service, arguing that O2 failed to clearly explain the “opt-out of rest-of-world data cap” clause in his contract.
In response, an O2 spokesperson stated, “We acknowledge Mr. Alty’s complaint, which the ombudsman determined was related to the sales process managed by Currys. This matter is now resolved, with Currys agreeing to waive all charges.”
Currys confirmed the charges were removed “due to the scale and specific circumstances of the case,” offering relief to Andrew after the unexpected billing nightmare.