Robbed of a mobile, but we have to pick up the thief’s phone bill. Why?

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/feb/11/robbed-mobile-thiefs-phone-bill

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I am one of around 100,000 people a year who has had their phone stolen (or rather my son was mugged and had his phone stolen – and he is on my contract) and is made to pay for the thief’s calls (in this case £740-worth to a foreign country at 1am). What bothers me is why the legislation that Ofcom has so clearly prepared to prevent this, has not yet gone to parliament. Why are mobile phone companies still being allowed to profit from criminal activities at the expense of their customers? DF, London

It’s worth pointing out that you are not liable for any charges once you’ve reported a phone lost or stolen. But there are often good reasons why this may not be immediately possible, and during the briefest of delays, thieves can run up catastrophic charges.

In 2012, Ofcom gave service providers until that summer to present plans to cap customers’ liabilities and declared they would face enforcement action if they failed. Nothing happened. In December 2013 the government announced that six of the big providers had finally agreed a cap, and that, from spring 2014, customers – like victims of bank card theft – would not have to pay more than around £50 for thieves’ phone calls. Nothing happened. A year on, only Three has introduced protection – customers are liable for only the first £100 before a phone is reported missing, provided they report it within 24 hours.

It would seem Ofcom is waiting for the government to do something and the government is waiting for the phone companies to find a solution.

Ofcom says it is “supporting the government’s work with the industry to deal with the problem”. Ed Vaizey, the digital economy minister, met the big players last month. Once again they promised a code of practice, but, strangely, still haven’t agreed on the details. “We expect the networks to confirm shortly details of liability caps and when they will be introduced,” says the Department of Media, Culture and Sport.

Vodafone says it has agreed to “explore” a cap but the sticking point is how to do that without destroying the incentive to report a phone missing. “We do not want to create an environment where it is even more attractive for criminals to focus on theft,” it says. In what sounds like a trial run of the proposed code, it has agreed to limit your liability to £100 if the phone is reported missing within 24 hours.

Word is, if the service providers fail to agree on a voluntary code, the government will consider legislation to compel them. But with elections looming, that’s not likely to happen soon. In the meantime, customers can face up to four-figure bills before, in some cases, they’ve even realised their phone or sim card is missing.

If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.