Author Topic: No more miniatures for me for a while :( (Read 974 times)

Inso · « **on:** June 19, 2012, 05:05:14 PM »

Here's a sum for you:

love-struck son + mobile phone + losing girlfriend + finding new one = £420-00 phone bill.

He is (I am... he isn't 18 so it is all my fault

)on a tariff that allows 3000 texts and 600 minutes plus 250mb internet... but he has managed to text over 5000 messages and pass the 600 minutes by a £256-00 margin.

A rather sheepish son said "I thought they warned you when you reach your limit."

That will teach me for expecting a little bit of restraint on his behalf.

So... no miniatures for me for a while...

Steel Penguin · « **Reply #1 on:** June 19, 2012, 05:32:21 PM »

eep.
heres hoping that he learns from this.
do we need to worry abought the need for emergancy Grymn supplies?
i take it that a lot of house hold chores are suddenly being done as well? ( nudge nudge)

leadhead · « **Reply #2 on:** June 19, 2012, 06:26:41 PM »

Dern cell phones. I'm 30 and have never owned one, partially because of Inso's stated problem.

Ben Brownlie · « **Reply #3 on:** June 19, 2012, 06:48:48 PM »

He's 18

Make him pay for his own phone

perceptionistruth · « **Reply #4 on:** June 19, 2012, 07:08:43 PM »

Quote from: Ben Brownlie on June 19, 2012, 06:48:48 PM

He's 18

Make him pay for his own phone

"he isn't 18"

I don't think he's 18?

Inso · « **Reply #5 on:** June 19, 2012, 07:38:34 PM »

No, he is 16 so he's still at school.

It is all about responsibility...

I didn't check to see if he knew how to check his balance on his phone... he thought he would be warned when he reached the limit... we saw him using the mobile a lot... I didn't check the on-line billing info...

I can't go to town on him because I have to be responsible too... so when he gets a summer job, he will be giving me a percentage of his wage.

He was horror struck by the bill and the first words out of his mouth (once he realised I was not joking) were "I'll pay it back".

It is really horrible but what can I do? We'll pay the bill and make it so that it doesn't happen again.

It was definitely one of those "it will never happen to us, we're not that stupid!" moments...

Well, I guess we ARE that stupid

I am just amazed that I don't have blood on my hands tonight

.

Steel Penguin · « **Reply #6 on:** June 19, 2012, 08:20:53 PM »

im pleased to hear that he intends to do the honourable thing. That is the sign of a well brought up lad, takeing responsability when he realises.
and wile it may be a case of feeling sheepish now. im certain hell not do it again, or anything simaler i hope.
From what you said before inso, id more see you with blood on your forehead where youve been head butting the wall, muttering " why me, why me?" ( ive been told that its all in the joys of parenting

)
still one day youll both look back on it and laugh.. or use it to embarress him at his wedding, 21st, etc

gi6ers · « **Reply #7 on:** June 19, 2012, 09:39:03 PM »

I've got 2 tons of soil to move and a shed to demolish if he wants some summer work....

Big Boris · « **Reply #8 on:** June 20, 2012, 08:15:32 AM »

Is that text/minutes limit per month or per year? 5,000 messages a year is astonishing, per month it's insane!

(makes you feel old, dunnit? It wasn't like that in my day...)

Ben Brownlie · « **Reply #9 on:** June 20, 2012, 08:24:26 AM »

Quote from: Inso on June 19, 2012, 07:38:34 PM

No, he is 16 so he's still at school.

Ah, my apologies. I misread that bit, sorry

But...

Quote

It is all about responsibility... I have to be responsible too...

Yeah sort of. Teenagers do need boundaries as they push. We had a similar thing with our eldest when he was 16/17. He got his bill through one month and is was something like £350 quid over. We had a lot of "discussions" about it, me not believing that he could possibly rack up so much with texts and calls. Turns out he was downloading girlie pics. Yes, he paid us back for it.

My daughter has had a phone for a couple of years now, mainly so she can call us if she needs us but also to chat with friends (although admittedly it's easier these days for them to use face crack or similar). We bought her the phone for a birthday pressie and gave her some credit but made sure it was pay as you go. When the credit runs out she needs to buy some. She's about to turn 14 so this means her pocket money except for exceptional circumstances.

It's all a learning curve

beefcake · « **Reply #10 on:** June 20, 2012, 08:54:33 AM »

Quote from: Ben Brownlie on June 20, 2012, 08:24:26 AM

Yeah sort of. Teenagers do need boundaries as they push. We had a similar thing with our eldest when he was 16/17. He got his bill through one month and is was something like £350 quid over. We had a lot of "discussions" about it, me not believing that he could possibly rack up so much with texts and calls. Turns out he was downloading girlie pics. Yes, he paid us back for it.

I was guilty of that one once as a teen... oops.

Enazel · « **Reply #11 on:** June 20, 2012, 01:58:39 PM »

Ouch, and thats the reason I recommend pay as you go for teenagers. Seriously I seen bills like that from teenagers a lot, just from text and phone.

snailracer · « **Reply #12 on:** June 20, 2012, 04:16:50 PM »

I've still got friends on pay as you go because they dont trust themselves with contracts

freakinacage · « **Reply #13 on:** June 20, 2012, 04:56:51 PM »

Even at 16 my father would have made me pay. After he emasculated me... Is he not at school? How does he find time to text/call so much while studying?! There only so many hours in a day, maybe he's been nicking my time, it feels like the days are too short!

Penfold · « **Reply #14 on:** June 20, 2012, 06:56:04 PM »

that's more than i use in a year, have you given him the nail scissors yet to cut the grass or an old 2/0 brush to paint the doors with

beefcake · « **Reply #15 on:** June 20, 2012, 08:10:13 PM »

I'm still on pay as you go because my phone is basically a glorified watch.

Mr Teufel · « **Reply #16 on:** June 22, 2012, 10:36:07 AM »

Me too. When I finally gave in to buying a mobile phone, I made sure it was the simplest, cheapest one possible, and on a PAYG contract. And I'm 3x the kid's age.

Inso · « **Reply #17 on:** June 22, 2012, 10:50:18 AM »

My son has trouble accepting responsibility for things. I thought that having a mobile with a monthly contract would help him with that... unfortunately, there have been some teething problems

.

However...

He has now been to the phone shop and knows how to check his balance.
I have set him a daily limit, which he checks throughout each day so that he stays within the limits.
I have put together a check sheet so I can keep tabs on what he is using on a daily basis (using my account with the phone company).
He is still extremely sorry for what happens and understands that now all of his responsibilities are laid out in front of him, he will be recieving some sort of DEATH if he doesn't adhere to them.

We have made it clear to him that as a result of his actions, we have had to make sacrifices (not goats or anything like that... just restrictions on our usual lifestyle) and he will be paying a percentage of the bill .

I really need him to accept this responsibility and learn some limits. He has no excuse now. He has his limits set.

I am using this as a life lesson for him. I have expressly refused to change the tariff because he needs to learn (one way or another) because in a couple of years, he aims to be an officer in the RAF and if I don't teach him some responsibility, he'll be like a chicken in a pirhanna pool when he goes through the training process.

I am hoping that the severity of his actions will help to cement the responsibility in his mind.

(No weird web-sites or downloads were in his bill... I checked all 300+ pages... just chat to his girlfriends and mates from school).

MartinWhitmore · « **Reply #18 on:** June 23, 2012, 03:18:28 AM »

There are some apps that, if you're using a smart phone, allow you to text for free... I'm using an app called "Voypi" that allows me to text for free even to international friends. Tell your son to get Voypi (or something like it) on his phone, and get his friends to pick it up, and they can text each other until their fingers bleed and it won't cost you a thing! The app itself is even free, so, there's not even any up-front cost.

So sorry that you've had such a massive expense... Hope you recover quickly!

Brandlin · « **Reply #19 on:** June 23, 2012, 08:47:50 AM »

Quote from: Inso on June 19, 2012, 05:05:14 PM

(...)

So... no miniatures for me for a while...

Well, on the plus side, I have a parcel for you

But don't tell anyone. The contents are a secret.

beefcake · « **Reply #20 on:** June 23, 2012, 10:25:11 AM »

Is it a human finger? Horse head? Grymn walker with the legs chopped off? (blasphemy)

Ajsalium · « **Reply #21 on:** June 23, 2012, 11:14:11 AM »

Quote from: MartinWhitmore on June 23, 2012, 03:18:28 AM

There are some apps that, if you're using a smart phone, allow you to text for free... I'm using an app called "Voypi" that allows me to text for free even to international friends. Tell your son to get Voypi (or something like it) on his phone, and get his friends to pick it up, and they can text each other until their fingers bleed and it won't cost you a thing! The app itself is even free, so, there's not even any up-front cost.

I use whatsapp. Free, too. It's so popular in Spain that there are telecom companies that offer free sms, since no one really use them any longer.

A very radical alternative, though, is actually meeting with people and talking face to face. An art that seems to be disapearing, I'm afraid.

Lorbaat · « **Reply #22 on:** June 24, 2012, 01:42:31 PM »

To text on my smartphone for free, I use email.

Brandlin · « **Reply #23 on:** June 24, 2012, 01:47:29 PM »

Quote from: beefcake on June 23, 2012, 10:25:11 AM

Is it a human finger? Horse head? Grymn walker with the legs chopped off? (blasphemy)

None of those. But the leg less grymn walker is a different project.

This parcel is full of resin stuff

yxalitis · « **Reply #24 on:** June 26, 2012, 01:37:43 PM »

Ring your phone company, explain what happened, ask for forgiveness, and some leeway towards the bill
I have done this with Telstra here in Australia, and managed to only pay 10% of the excess on two separate occasions

News:

Author Topic: No more miniatures for me for a while :( (Read 974 times)