'Goodwill gesture' from phone company after Darwen couple's £6,300 bill shock (From Blackburn Citizen)

'Goodwill gesture' from phone company after Darwen couple's £6,300 bill shock

1:49pm Tuesday 26th February 2013 in News

A MOBILE phone company said it had offered to slash a £6,300 bill by more than 98 per cent as a ‘goodwill gesture’.

Mark and Louise Orrell-Dobson said they were stunned to receive the bill from EE for a phone kept in a drawer for 18 months. It had had its SIM card stolen or cloned.

The couple, of Turncroft Road, Darwen, said the bill detailed calls to foreign countries including Iraq and Greece.

Darwen MP Jake Berry had taken up the Orrell-Dobsons’ fight and pledged to take it to Parliament, prompting EE to reduce it by 50 per cent. But after the Lancashire Telegraph contacted the firm on Friday, it told the couple they only had to pay £100.

An EE spokeswoman said: “If a customer suspects their phone or SIM has been lost or stolen, we strongly advise they let us know as soon as possible.

“Only then can we prevent calls or data use being charged to their account.

“Due to the exceptional circumstances of Mr Orrell-Dobson’s situation, we have offered him a substantial reduction on his bill as a gesture of goodwill.”