A British father says his family was nearly bankrupted after his daughter unknowingly racked up a staggering £42,000 mobile phone bill while watching TikTok on holiday.

Andrew Alty, who runs a small curtains business in Manchester employing five people, was left in shock when he received the enormous charge from O2 following a family trip to Marrakech.

Initially fearing he had been the victim of fraud or a cyber hack, Andrew later discovered the charges stemmed from his daughter streaming videos on TikTok for around eight hours while abroad.

Before travelling, Andrew had taken out a mobile phone contract through his business via Currys, which was provided by O2. However, he did not realise that the deal included a clause allowing uncapped data roaming outside of Europe — meaning there was no spending limit once the phone connected to networks in Morocco.

While the family were enjoying their getaway, O2 sent the first of two huge bills. When the final total came through at £42,000, Andrew realised he had effectively been charged more than £5,000 per hour for the time his daughter spent scrolling on the video-sharing app.

The unexpected bill reportedly put significant pressure on his business finances, leaving the family fearing the company could go under as a result of the charge.

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