A Manchester enterprise proprietor was left going through a £42,000 cell phone invoice after his daughter streamed TikTok on vacation in Morocco, a cost he mentioned almost pushed his small firm into monetary disaster.
Andrew Alty, who runs a curtains enterprise, found the size of the invoice whereas on a household journey to Marrakech after receiving an preliminary £22,000 bill from O2. A second invoice for round £20,000 adopted shortly after their return to the UK.
The fees stemmed from knowledge roaming exterior Europe, the place the UK’s earlier EU-wide free roaming preparations now not apply. Mr Alty had taken out a cellular contract by way of Currys for his small enterprise, unaware that the settlement included a clause opting out of a “rest-of-world” knowledge cap.
His daughter had spent round eight hours utilizing TikTok throughout the journey. With no cap in place, knowledge prices mounted quickly, amounting to greater than £5,000 per hour of utilization.
“There’s no method they need to have the ability to cost that,” Mr Alty informed The Telegraph. “They made no effort to tell us and simply allowed the costs to accrue. I don’t perceive how they anticipate any small enterprise to pay that kind of invoice.”
Initially suspecting fraud or a technical glitch, Mr Alty tried to contact O2 whereas nonetheless overseas however was unable to resolve the problem. It was solely after returning house that the household understood the supply of the costs.
Following weeks of complaints, each Currys and O2 agreed to waive the invoice in full.
In accordance with Ofcom knowledge masking July to September 2025, O2 acquired among the many highest ranges of complaints per 100,000 prospects, alongside Sky Cellular and Three. Virtually a 3rd associated to complaints dealing with.
Mr Alty escalated his case to the Monetary Ombudsman Service, arguing that the opt-out clause on knowledge caps had not been clearly defined. Nonetheless, the ombudsman dominated that contract explanations fell beneath Currys’ duty, not O2’s. The FOS doesn’t adjudicate disputes with community suppliers instantly.
An O2 spokesperson mentioned the matter had been resolved following Currys’ inner evaluate, with all prices waived “given the size and circumstances”.
The case highlights the potential monetary dangers of utilizing cellular knowledge exterior Europe with no roaming cap, significantly on enterprise contracts the place normal client protections could differ. Whereas most main networks supply non-compulsory caps to restrict abroad knowledge prices, prospects should guarantee these safeguards are activated, or threat payments operating into the tens of 1000’s.
