At ParentShield we deal with phones, sometimes at the messy end of life. We regularly get calls for help getting a SIM card and phone contract where things are possibly slightly unusual – often where families are complicated or spread apart for whatever reason. Normal phone companies are generally either not geared up for this, or really just don’t have it on their radar.
This means that it’s often unclear about who has access to what and problems can be difficult to resolve because the person who might need to speak to the phone company might not be the account holder. If the worst happens and we are contacted by the Police for account-holder details, it’s important to us that we can point them in exactly the right direction, as quickly and efficiently as possible.
This page has a few different scenarios as examples and might be useful if you’re wanting to know what names and addresses to put on the order.
I’m ordering but the child doesn’t live with me
A classic example of this might be a grandparent who wants to buy a mobile phone contract for their grandchild – with the permission of the parents of course. Often the grandparent won’t be in charge of the SIM controls.
- We would ask the grandparent to put their details on the order form – the billing address, and then to either put the name and address and contact details of the parent in the order notes, or drop us an email to ( hello@parentshield.co.uk ) after ordering, or call 0330 122 1180.
- We’ll contact the parents and verify the details and then send the SIM to the address where the child lives, for the attention of the Parent. We send you a copy of the contract.
This was the situation facing our customer Ian:
Normally difficult to set anything meaningful for my granddaughter ie savings accounts, etc. Parentshield has been a breath of fresh-air. Firstly, the product is so well thought out. It’s perfect for an 11 year old and her anxious parents. Secondly, the customer service is some of the best I have experienced. So easy to setup me paying but Dad as admin. Easy to follow instructions on re-using an old phone that worked first time.
IAN IVORY
Co-Parenting
It’s quite common for children to have two ( or more ) addresses and for parenting responsibilities to be shared across different households. ParentShield is set up to deal with this scenario.
Typically we’d have two administrator user accounts on a contract so both can log in and set controls and monitor communications. It may be that we speak to both parents for support or help – or it may just be the telephonista in the relationship who gets involved with such things.
- Place the order using the billing address details as above, and put a note in the order or on email with the other parent’s contact details.
- We’ll contact both and make sure the SIM goes to the ‘main’ address where the child would normally stay.
Children in Care
Where the day-to-day care of a child is provided by a care home we need to make sure that the phone and SIM card is catered for by their mobile phone policy – and that there are suitably-trained staff on hand to look after the phone and its safe and appropriate usage.
We have SIM cards with children in most care companies now so we probably will have their details on file and be familiar with the way they work, and they familiar with ParentShield and the ParentShield Portal.
- Please ask the care home to place the order and ideally use their name, contact and payment details or those of the child if they have their own account for such things.
- We will contact the Care Home and send out our onboarding documents as necessary and gather the correct contacts and permissions.
- Drop us an email or give us a call after ordering and we will go through everything with you and make sure everything is set up exactly as you need.