O2 has apologised after a customer said the mobile phone company told her she would need to meet her abusive and aggressive ex-partner in person to remove his phone from her family account. The anonymous victim, who wrote to the Guardian newspaper, described her ex as emotionally aggressive and manipulative, and said he does not know where she now lives.
Writing to the Guardian, the customer explained that she had a family plan with O2, which meant all family phones were registered to her account. When her partner left, he stopped paying his share of the monthly phone bill, so she attempted to remove his phone and his children’s phones from the account. O2 told her that he would need to join a conference call with her and O2 to agree the transfer of the numbers in question.
Customer describes struggle to get ex to engage
According to the letter, getting the ex-partner to engage with the process required support from a mutual friend, and then he claimed he could not join the conference calls. The customer said O2 had only one suggestion: that she and her ex meet in person for the call.
The victim wrote: “I need to take him off my family account, but it says the only way is for him to join me for a joint call with O2.” She added: “Getting my ex to engage with this involved support from a mutual friend; then he claimed he could not join the conference calls. O2 had only one suggestion: that he and I meet in person for the call.”
O2 issues apology and confirms policies
In response to the account, O2 issued a statement. The mobile phone provider, which competes with Vodafone, EE and others, said: “We have a range of policies to protect and support customers who have been victims of domestic abuse, ensuring they can safely disconnect unwanted numbers without having to meet an ex-partner in person.”
The company added: “This existing support was not accurately offered, and we apologise for the experience she had, and the time taken to resolve her issue.” The statement did not provide details on how long the resolution took or what specific steps were taken to resolve the customer’s case.
The incident highlights the challenges abuse survivors can face when managing shared accounts with former partners. O2’s apology acknowledges that its standard process was not correctly applied in this instance, and the company has confirmed that policies exist to allow customers to disconnect numbers safely without in-person meetings.
