A MOTHER of an autistic son who received a monthly bill of nearly £500 for a new tablet computer has praised the trading standards officers who had the bill scrapped.

Carolynn Tilbury, 59, expected to pay just £25 a month for a tablet for her then 17-year-old son Bradley, who has severe autism, but was shocked to receive a bill running into hundreds of pounds after he exceeded the download limit watching films and playing games – something that wasn’t explained to her when she first took the contract out.

Speaking to the News, Ms Tilbury said she had made it clear to Vodafone at the time that she couldn’t afford more than £25 and the consequences of exceeding a download limit were not explained or even pointed out.

Self-confessed technophobe, Ms Tilbury said: “I don’t know anything about computers or anything like that, I didn’t grow up with it like younger generations did.

“It was just meant to be something for Bradley to use to watch films and go on the internet.

“I’m very careful with money and I’ve never been in debt so when I received the bill I nearly had kittens! I thought it was someone else’s bill at first.”

She was told by Vodafone she would have to pay the amount in full, so she took her case straight to the trading standards team at Bracknell Forest Council who spent the next six weeks trying to have the bill quashed.

Ms Tilbury said: “They were brilliant, they took all the stress out of it. I didn’t have £500, I don’t know what I would have done without the help.

“I’m very isolated, it’s just me and Bradley, and the whole situation was very stressful, I’ll never take out another contract now.”

The trading standards team negotiated to have the contract scrapped, saying it had been misrepresented to Ms Tilbury when she first signed up. 

Cllr Iain McCracken, executive member for culture, corporate services and public protection, said: "People have a lot of pressure on their household budgets and it's important that consumers are protected from unfair trading. 

"Our residents know that Bracknell Forest Council's trading standards officers are there to fight their corner if a trader refuses to honour their obligations."