A TEENAGER with communication issues is fearful of using her mobile phone after she ended up with a bill of more than £70 in charges for something she didn’t sign up for.

Thirteen-year-old Gabby Groves, from Abbey Meads, recently made the move from being on a pay as you go mobile phone to having a contract phone in her dad’s name. The phone is a vital tool in keeping her reassured and connected to her family when she is out and about.

But on Friday the family received her first bill and discovered that Gabby – who has Autism spectrum disorder - had unknowingly entered into a competition which saw her account debited by £3.75 a time – knocking up a hefty bill.

Her dad Michael said the bill had come as a shock and the family were annoyed at how the costs had escalated.

He said: “We went back through the bill with her and it came to light that she had opted in to a text message which entered her into a competition.

“But the only thing she had done was send back a text message asking who it was because a couple had come through from unknown numbers. All she did was text back saying ‘who is this?’”

From what appears to have been an innocent mistake, the teen ended up being billed £3.75 a day for the unwanted competitions – and the family are still not clear exactly what the company is, having not been able to find many details about them online.

And it wasn’t long before the daily payments increased and they saw from the bill that the company had been billing the £3.75 charge three times a day.

Michael said this was excessive. “I actually thought she had been scammed – to me it seems like a big con,” he said.

“I would expect that if you entered into something like that, that you would receive a confirmation email or a text message, but there was nothing on her phone.

“If it had been one a day I would have put it down to experience, but taking it out three times a day is not acceptable.”

Googling the number on her bill, they found some vague details of the company and called to demand she be unsubscribed from the service and are now trying to negotiate for the money to be refunded.

Michael said: “If her bills hadn’t come to me she might not have noticed it for two or three months and that could have ended up being thousands of pounds.

“It is quite stressful for her, she is worried about using her phone now.”

The family are also planning to discuss the matter with Gabby’s service provider EE.

A spokesperson from PhonepayPlus said: “Our Code of Practice requires ‘that consumers of premium rate services are fully and clearly informed of all information likely to influence the decision to purchase, including the cost, before any purchase is made’.

“By replying to a message with “STOP” or “STOP ALL” subscription services can be stopped.

“Consumers who feel they wish to complain about a service should first contact the service provider, who is best placed to assist them. If this does not resolve the matter, they can contact PhonepayPlus via our website: www.phonepayplus.org.uk, or on 0300 30 300 20 (9.30am – 5pm Monday – Friday) and we will look into the matter.”