Phone stolen abroad, €2000 bill + 18 months contract

[tablesalt]

Hi,
My friend recently had his phone stolen in Spain. He reported to Meteor when he learnt that his phone was missing and it was then disconnected. When he arrived to Ireland he was informed that between the time his phone was stolen and the time he reported (less than a day) there is over 2000 euro bill; as a result they (Meteor) cut it off. He only renewed his contract for a further 18 months a month before the incident.
What are his options in relation to the 2000 euro bill and the 18 months contract?
Thank you!!

 

[STEINER]

Hi,

that is an unpleasant bill for your friend. He should check the terms and conditions of his contract. I would venture that he is stuck with the contract as any cooling off period has likely expired. You are usually liable for any calls made prior to informing the phone company. How many hours elapsed from theft discovery to informing Meteor?

Check out his phone insurance or holiday insurance also.

 

[tablesalt]

Insurance

he has multitrip with VHI which seems to cover up to 400euro for the handset. Nothing is mentioned about the bill itself. It seems like its just under 24 hrs before he reported. He checked his meteor bill and the calls are made to the same number (or 2 numbers) - we suspect its some sort of hotline..

 

[p15574]

Could be a premium rate number linked to the thieves, a way of converting your friend's phone calls to cash. If it looks dodgy, perhaps the police could investigate the owner of the number, and perhaps correlate calls to it with reported stolen phones?