Vodafone customer whose phone was stolen on holiday forced to pay £15k bill
A British tourist whose phone was stolen while on holiday in Barcelona is being forced to pay a £15,000 bill run up by the thief.
Primary school teacher Osian Rhys Edwards called Vodafone soon after his phone was stolen on a night out in the Spanish city but the mobile provider says it has no record of his call.
The Guardian reports that Vodafone is now holding him accountable for the calls made.
It agreed to reduce the bill by 30 per cent, but this means the 29-year-old will still have to pay more than £10,000 for calls he did not make.
"Despite not reporting the theft of his phone for four days, we have offered to reduce Mr Edwards' outstanding charges by 25%," a Vodafone spokesperson said.
"In the light of our failure to call him back when we should have done, we will increase this offer to 30%."
According to the BBC, Mr Edwards fears his life will be on hold for the next 10 to 15 years and he will be blacklisted and unable to get credit.
"I'm facing financial ruin," he said.
Mr Edwards said he contacted Vodafone immediately after discovering his phone missing.
He says he spoke to a woman who said she would cancel the phone but it was not cancelled for another two days.
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