topic Re: Stuck on a new EE monthly mobile plan in Contracts & Billing

Stuck on a new EE monthly mobile plan

KatePick — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 18:25:02 GMT

My 80 year old Mum accidentally got a virus on her mobile phone whilst downloading something. She went into an EE store in Surbiton for help. They said as her phone was old (nearly 3 years) it would be best to get a new one, which she did, with a new monthly contract. She paid for the phone outright (over £300), and signed up for a monthly deal (£27 a month) with unlimited data and netflix included, which she said at the time she didn't want, but they said it was included in the bundle. However, when she told me this, I pointed out that this was pretty expensive, and she didn't need anything close to unlimited data as she is retired and mainly stays at home close to her wifi which she is paying for separately. She is unlikely to need more than 6GB a month, and Tesco mobile do a monthly price plan for £10 for 12GB. She has since discovered she can't return the phone or negotiate a different contract as it was an in person purchase and so there is no cooling off period. She went back into the store to return it (the phone is still in the box and unused) and was refused. I know there is a different rule with phones/ contracts bought in person, but I feel as though my mother's naivety has been taken advantage of. The EE salesperson in the store should have pointed out that she didn't need that much data, and should also have paid attention to the fact she said she didn't want the add ons like Netflix. She is paying a lot more each month than she needs to. I can't go to the store with her as I live too far away, and she has already tried to ask (although perhaps hasn't fully explained it like this as she can get a bit confused) and they've said no. Please can someone suggest what to do? Thanks in advance!

Re: Stuck on a new EE monthly mobile plan

XRaySpeX — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 18:31:45 GMT

Not a lot!

@KatePick wrote:
get a new one, which she did, with a new monthly contract.

She did what she did!

Re: Stuck on a new EE monthly mobile plan

Northerner — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:58:07 GMT

Hi @KatePick

Is the SIM plan SIM only if she paid for the phone in full.

Thanks

Re: Stuck on a new EE monthly mobile plan

KatePick — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 11:20:57 GMT

I don't think so - it wasn't SIM only in the sense that there was a monthly price plan was attached to the phone - i.e. she was told she couldn't just keep the phone and stop the contract.

Re: Stuck on a new EE monthly mobile plan

Ali_A — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 14:55:59 GMT

Hi @KatePick

I'm sorry to hear of your mothers device contracting a virus.

It sounds like she may have paid a higher upfront amount towards the cost of the device in order to lower the total monthly payment. What was the make/model of the device? This may help explain what she is paying for.

Ali