In early July, after returning from a five-week holiday to Thailand, I was horrified to discover a bill from O2 for £159,230.06 for use of my mobile phone while there.

I have spent hours trying to resolve this with O2 and the third-party company responsible for my contract, ICE Comms. I’ve made numerous phone calls to them to explain that I relied on the information I was given before I travelled that I would pay a £7.50 daily charge to cover my phone use while abroad.

Despite all my efforts, I feel I have been passed from one company to another, with neither taking responsibility nor offering a fair solution. Please help.

B.P., London.

Sally Hamilton replies: You told me how you had gone to Thailand to visit Phuket island and its various landmarks including the Big Buddha, as well as to visit a health retreat where you trained in Muay Thai – a martial art. But all the good risked being undone upon landing back in the UK when you faced that astonishing bill from O2.

At first, you thought it must have been a weird glitch in the billing system, but no. You were told that you had used 27GB of data while away, that £159,230.06 was the price of the usage, and you would have to pay. To put it into context, that amount of data might be consumed by streaming just nine hours of high-definition programming. And you could have bought a brand-new Porsche 911 GT3 sports car for that money, or ten Rolex Datejust watches.

You couldn’t believe it as you had used the phone for just six days of your trip and were certain a £7.50 daily pass was applied so you could use your standard call minutes, texts and data without paying extra. The unexpected bill meant you feared for the future of your business, a plumbing and heating services operation.

You are adamant you checked in advance, you think with ICE Comms, the broker that arranged your contract with O2, and say you were assured the roaming package had been applied to your account. The irony is you were wary of paying even this extra daily pass charge, which is why you limited using your phone to just six days of your trip.

I always check what sum will be added to use data and make calls at my holiday destination, writes Sally Hamilton

Tourists can limit roaming to navigation apps and make use of free wifi to avoid high phone bills, or temporarily replace a phone’s physical Sim with a cheaper local Sim card

When you could not find out in numerous calls to ICE or O2 what went wrong or why the daily pass had not been applied, and why you still had the giant bill hanging over you, you came to me.

I contacted O2 which on investigation said no optional caps on your spending had been applied and it could find no record of a request for this to be actioned. But I am pleased to say that within 24 hours, the firm agreed to wipe most of the bill, leaving you to pay about £50 on top of your usual monthly charge.

A spokesman for O2 Business says: ‘We always aim to do the right thing by our customers. As soon as this matter was brought to our attention, we acted swiftly to review the case, spoke directly with Mr P and reached a resolution he was happy with.’

You were greatly relieved. Whether it was ICE Comms that had misinformed you or failed to act on your request for daily passes, I cannot say, as it did not respond to my enquiries by the time of going to press. O2 added that it urges customers, as do I, to regularly check spending controls and account settings on mobiles, particularly before travelling, to help avoid shock charges.

I always check what sum will be added to use data and make calls at my destination. Even then, I prefer to limit roaming to navigation apps and make use of free wifi to check social media, send emails and search the internet. Another option I haven’t tried yet is to temporarily replace a phone’s physical Sim (the card in the phone that allows the device to connect to a mobile network) with a cheaper local Sim card. Alternatively, consider an eSim, if the phone offers this function. This means purchasing a plan online and installing it, typically using a QR code.

Whatever the choice, a phone needs to be unlocked, which allows it to access other networks. Check this via a phone’s settings.

Apple devices usually display ‘no Sim restrictions’ under the heading ‘network provider lock’. For Androids, tap on ‘settings’, then ‘network and internet’, then ‘internet’. If several network names appear as well as the usual provider’s, it is unlocked. If the device needs to be unlocked, contact your provider.

On June 17, I sent a parcel from Bournemouth to Jersey using DHL eCommerce. It was not delivered. The company said it had been returned to sender, but that wasn’t true. As it happens there was a tracker inside the parcel and I have been able to monitor its movements so I know it’s at a depot in Slough and has been for several weeks. I cannot get DHL to retrieve it. Please help.

C.C., Bournemouth.

Sally Hamilton replies: Your email intrigued me. I’ve heard of people putting trackers in their luggage, in case it goes missing in transit, but not in parcels. I wanted to know more.

You explained that your son was over from the US in June, first visiting you in Bournemouth before moving on to his in-laws in Jersey. He accidentally left behind a jacket that happened to have his car keys in the pocket. The keys had a tracker device attached in case he lost them. Little did you know you’d be using them to trace his jacket after you posted it.

You were able to track its movements from DHL’s depot in Eastleigh, Hampshire, to Slough in Berkshire, via Birmingham. The courier’s systems indicated it was returned to your address, but you knew better – providing a location map with a pin showing where the parcel was actually sitting.

I contacted DHL and asked if they could deliver a better response to your plight. This did the trick, and within a few days your parcel was rescued and finally sent on its way back to you – six weeks after you originally posted it. A spokesman for DHL eCommerce, part of the Evri Group, says: ‘We are committed to handling every parcel with care and apologise to Mr C for the inconvenience caused.’

It said the parcel could not be delivered initially because the courier lacked information required by Channel Islands customs. These missing details were a description of the parcel’s contents and their value.

In the end, DHL refunded your £16 delivery charge and added £25 as an apology for the inconvenience and confusion over the whereabouts of your parcel. When we caught up last week, you sent a photo of the jacket – safely received – and thanked me for my involvement.

Straight to the point

In June, I travelled by train with Avanti West Coast from Edinburgh to Birmingham. I had initially booked a ‘standard premium’ ticket but I later paid £77 for an upgrade to first class to use the hot breakfast and drinks service. The train was short staffed so I was only offered cold drinks and snacks. The cafe was closed. The next time I travelled with Avanti, the same thing happened again.

D.F., Birmingham.

Avanti West Coast apologises. It has refunded you £77 and given you a 50 pc off voucher for future travel.

I bought Frankly by Nicola Sturgeon for £4.86 from an eBay seller but it never arrived. Since I used ‘guest checkout’ it was almost impossible to trace the package. I asked eBay for help and it gave me a tracking link that didn’t work. I’ve lost my money and still have no book. Help!

A.B., Edinburgh.

EBay apologises and has refunded you the £4.86.

I bought a saddle on Vinted for £160 but it arrived broken and not fit for use, so I sent it back to the seller. She told me that she had received it and I uploaded the shipping receipt to Vinted to prove I returned it. But the seller says she can’t confirm the saddle has been returned on the app. It means I still haven’t had my money back.

V.J., Shropshire

Vinted says it cannot cancel and refund your money as you initiated a chargeback with your bank.