o2 messing up my early termination due to mid contract price rises...

MrBukey

MrBukey

MrBukey

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30 Dec 2013
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50
So, I have 3 lines with o2, with devices, all at various stages of the 3 year contract. Given their signal has progressively gotten worse, when they sent me e-mails last week on the mid-contract price rises and legally having 30 days to notify to end the airtime contracts, I decided to take them up on the offer.

A call on Monday to unlink the three accounts left them telling me that only 2 accounts could be unlinked because the third was due to get to 2 years on the 17th November and that could be unlinked and cancelled then. It was strange, but after a long time on hold and problems explaining the unlinking due to the mid contract price rises (including being required to read the e-mail out loud, even though I'd selected the VAR option to cancel for this reason)... I was a bit exasperated.

The PACs were allegedly sent, but not received, and they gave them to me over the phone call by reading them out.

Later in the day, one of the PACs came through to my iPad. I attempted to use both to move to spusu - one was accepted, the other failed.

A call back to them on Wednesday to get the second PAC was also a long time on hold, a long time explaining the situation. I wanted and received confirmation that the device and airtimes had definitely been unlinked (so I could continue paying the devices monthly). They re-issued the PAC that didn't work, but when it wasn't received they told me that I should wait 24 hours. When I showed concern that I might not get it given I hadn't 2 days before, they tried again and it came through.

The two PAC codes were then both actioned today... And I checked my o2 online account. I can see that of the three lines, the first has unlinked and the PAC moved. The second has been unlinked and I'd been told was for the second PAC code is still there, and the third which I was told wasn't eligible (but legally has to have been) hasn't been unlinked, but the PAC transferred that number...

So they gave me the PAC for the wrong number, and they haven't unlinked the account. So I now need to go to try and get that sorted, or deal with a huge device bill... As well as getting the PAC for the third line and get that transferred.

Absolute ****show. Rubbish service, rubbish customer service... And even on the way out the door, they try to screw you over.

In other news, spusu answer the phone in double-quick time, the coverage is drastically better, the voice quality and speeds likewise... And I'm paying a fraction of what I have been to o2 for it.

</rant>
 
I swore I'd never use another O2 product again. We had 2 Fraud cases with O2. One with a couple of iphones ordered and delivered to the other end of the country and a sim swap hack even though there was supposed to be a block on any changes. Turns out both these were an internal issue with someone accessing our accounts from within O2. We never got fully refunded so sacked them off and will NEVER use them again
 
I've used them for years. Before that Three for years. Before that o2. Then they went rubbish, which is why I moved away.

It feels like o2 and Three both went downhill after they weren't allowed to merge. Now o2 have JV'd with VM and seem to have taken VM's stellar support approach.

But I'm done with them now. Currently debating over the VM 1Gb line too, its contract is up January. Have a Yayzi 2.5Gb symmetrical CityFibre line as the main Line, the VM line is the backup. Thinking of switching that to an OpenReach of some kind (ideally not BT/EE directly).
 
I was thinking of switching from O2 due to this but the perks of O2 and the actual price is still competitive when you have a phone with them.

Their network seems to be miles better at the moment, maybe it's the Honor reception over samsung but it's not been bad lately.
 
I've still got one sim on O2 - kept it from the move from Virgin as it gained unlimited data when moved (2023) despite only being £10/m at the time but with the price rises it will become £19.xx in April which is pretty disgusting price increase really over a couple of years. As it is just a backup sim I'll be moving it to something cheaper - lately I've seen no reason to stay with O2.
 
willhub said:
I was thinking of switching from O2 due to this but the perks of O2 and the actual price is still competitive when you have a phone with them.
Click to expand...

See, I'm finding the opposite. Killing the airtime plans alone, I am getting a spusu sim for £7.90 a month for 50GB data, plus unlimited minutes and texts. Device continues as is. Will be saving about £50 a month after switching the three airtime plans for spusu.

From a device perspective for a new phone/plan... Looking at a new iPhone 17 Pro Max from o2, it's £30 upfront and £66.31 for 36 months, 125GB data and unlimited minutes and texts. iDmobile via USwitch is £29 upfront and £53.99 per month for 24 months, 500GB data and unlimited minutes and texts. Both include roaming.

That's without the £2.50 a month April price rises with o2, iDmobile is £1.50 a month.
 
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MrBukey said:
See, I'm finding the opposite. Killing the airtime plans alone, I am getting a spusu sim for £7.90 a month for 50GB data, plus unlimited minutes and texts. Device continues as is. Will be saving about £50 a month after switching the three airtime plans for spusu.
Click to expand...
That's what I'm currently on with o2 for £8pm, with roaming capped at 25GB.
 
The saga continues. They've sent me a termination notice to claim back the device costs of one of the devices, though the other two seem like they might be okay. The notice doesn't give an amount, gives an account number which no longer exists on the myo2 portal, and the original paperwork doesn't give the account number so I can't tell which device it is. They are demanding payment within 14 days of the notice, which is dated 31 November and took 7 days to arrive.

I've had a formal complaint opened for 9 days which they still haven't contacted me back about, and still getting no joy with customer services. Don't know what else I can do at this point, other than e-mailing Lutz Schuler's office (I know it will be a team that get it, but maybe they'll have a bit more impetus) and sending a next day delivery snail mail letter? At least then if it gets to the Ombudsman, I can demonstrate I've gone completely above and beyond?
 
I've been with o2 for over 10 years, then Giffgaff before and before that o2...but lately the service seems poor. Took 30 mins for a customer service person to answer call and all help seems clueless and give me stock answers which rarely addresses my issues.

I get Disney+ through my O2 but that's full price now.

I'm now out of contract and looking at black Friday deals to beat the £15pm I'm paying for 30Gb data (which is too much for my use really).

Uswitch have some decent O2 deals but I can't upgrade to them (apparently this is a fairly recent change) so I'm left wondering if I just move to a new network,.or open a second O2 contract on my account and then try and port the number to the new contact and cancel the old one.

But I'm kind of inclined to move to something else... Any recommendations?
 
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I just switched to ID Mobile.

Don't use much data so just wanted cheaper than £10 a month.

O2 was going to end up being over that and climb every year, so i jumped ship.

ID mobile comes in at £6 month for 15GB data and is a 1 month rolling contract with no annual price rises. (now 20GB for £6 from Carphone Warehouse)

Switch over using the PAC code was done very easily.
 
Pickers said:
I've been with o2 for over 10 years, then Giffgaff before and before that o2...but lately the service seems poor. Took 30 mins for a customer service person to answer call and all help seems clueless and give me stock answers which rarely addresses my issues.

I get Disney+ through my O2 but that's full price now.

I'm now out of contract and looking at black Friday deals to beat the £15pm I'm paying for 30Gb data (which is too much for my use really).

Uswitch have some decent O2 deals but I can't upgrade to them (apparently this is a fairly recent change) so I'm left wondering if I just move to a new network,.or open a second O2 contract on my account and then try and port the number to the new contact and cancel the old one.

But I'm kind of inclined to move to something else... Any recommendations?
Click to expand...

Was £3 a month for 40gb recently on HUKD :cry:
 
It’s basically “pick your poison” when it comes to UK network providers.
Here in NI, O2 and Vodafone were the best options because they had wider coverage, albeit with slower speeds compared to the competition.
However, because of this, the general population have become institutionalised to using O2 (along with its various MVNO’s) that it has just become a total PITA to use.

I also recently moved to ID which has slightly less coverage (although it has improved considerably since I last used the Three network) but there’s generally much less traffic to compete with.
I was a bit baffled as to why ID still performed a hard credit search for an £8 per month (rolling) contract but I knew this going in.
 
I found O2 useless in Edinburgh during tourist season. I'd have a full signal but zero internet as the network was overloaded. I've ditched them now and am on Lebara at £1.65 a month. It's only 35gb data but I also have a Three data sim with 500gb.
 
Just to update here in case anyone finds themselves in similar situations with O2 (I've heard a few similar horror stories elsewhere about people trying to cancel and them messing up the disconnect of line and device).

O2 eventually called me back last week. It took almost 2 more hours on the phone, being passed between 4 different agents. The first said that there was nothing that they could do, but they'd escalate and someone would phone me back. I wasn't happy about that because I'd waited weeks anyway, and so they passed me across to someone. The next 2 people couldn't do anything either, and suggested that I waited until the account was overdue - I explained that I wasn't willing to do that and get marks on my credit file.

The final person explained that the contract had been terminated for too long at several weeks, so couldn't be recovered to correct it. They said that there was nothing to be done, whilst acknowledging that O2 had messed this up, although they were looking for alternatives. I explained that I needed them to fix it or to get someone that could fix it as O2 were legally obligated to, or write off the balance for that device... Although I explained that I knew they probably wouldn't do that and I understood why that would be the case - but if they were looking for alternatives, then it was a valid option but obviously their choice. I also said that if they couldn't do any of those things, that I would need a deadlock letter to take to the Ombudsman, and given the situation I'd need that now because I wasn't willing to wait until the account was overdue - if they were telling me nothing could be done, then that was a conclusion which I should be allowed to progress with now.

A bit more of time on hold and he came back and said he'd been authorised to apply a credit to the account of that device's balance to wipe it out... So success in the end (and probably a total of 4 - 5 hours on the phone and a lot of frustration).
 
It’s a typical example of how systems and processes have taken over from common sense.
Unfortunately just the world we live in, O2 are not alone.
 
Absolutely agree, and it's getting worse unfortunately. As companies stop investing in proper staffing, stop backfilling, and just taking as much as they can for shareholders, things slowly fall apart. Because so many companies are just as bad, it's often jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

Calculations are made that many people will just give up - not many people I know would have been determined to sit it out for so many hours on the phone (and if that had failed pushed it through to the Ombudsman). Some would have, of course, but they only have to deal with those that can find the fight and the effort to do so (and it is exhausting). The numbers stack in their favour, and they still come out with money for it.

There really should be stiffer penalties, but there isn't and won't be... And yet too many still argue for less regulation of our corporate overlords...
 
They are a garbage company these days by the sound of things. I wonder if the merger with Virgin Media has made things worse.

Mid contract price rises should never have been allowed, but to increase the prices even more than the contract agreement is just contemptuous.

I moved to TalkMobile after looking at all the options, and they've been good so far.
 
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They did this to me a number of years ago after confirming over the phone no charge. Sent me a huge bill but went down the Email complaint route and was sorted pretty easily.
 
I had a nightmare with moving to sky. No idea how to explain what happened but my mobile contract seemed cursed. Any account it touched, broke down. I couldn't order or ctivate my SIM myself - had to do so over the phone or agent chat. I then couldn't link my account for online management. 2 weeks of being fobbed off a d told to do the same steps again and again, I eventually told them I wasn't sticking around and got a PAC code to move back to O2.

Got o2 set up whilst at the beach it was so easy. Wait 3 days and it's number transfer day and sky b0rked it again. Their sim didn't deactivate and the contract didn't cancel - another 2 hours on the phone and thankfully now seems sorted. I'll never ever go back to sky because I've used up all my email addresses creating accounts that they then broke.
 
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