She had agreed to settle his monthly charges by direct debit. But no one told her he’d been sent multiple handsets

A Cheshire parent has had to pay out more than £2,000 after Vodafone gave eight expensive mobile handsets to her 21-year-old son in a case that will alarm parents who pay their grown-up children’s mobile bills.

Claire Hardwick is paying her unemployed son Nick’s monthly bill by direct debit because his severe learning difficulties mean he is unable to manage a bank account. But she has been left unable to afford this month’s mortgage payment after it turned out Nick had persuaded Vodafone to send him a string of mobile phones worth thousands of pounds over just a few weeks.

I’m amazed Vodafone allowed him to obtain multiple phones without questioning whether he could pay