Plan.com Contract Cancellation

gz35dv

Hi all, hoping someone can help. My Father signed up with Plan.com for a multiple (2) phone contract a few years ago, 2 x £26pm = £52pm, as part of a deal with his retired social group. He got a phone & number for himself and my Mother on a 3 year deal, which was quite good at the time. He renewed the contract in March this year. However, in May he passed away suddenly. By the time my Mother had got round to sorting their affairs, she tried to cancel my Fathers phone and number by contacting Plan.com. But they have said she cannot cancel, and must continue with the rest of the contract, or pay a huge settlement figure. She is happy to keep her phone & number, just wants to cancel my Father's as it's a wasted £26 per month. They are still refusing, even though she has offered to provide a copy of the death certificate. But still they won't. Can anyone suggest a way she can resolve this matter? Thank you.

cannugec5

“A provider should close the deceased person’s account on request. You shouldn’t have to pay a penalty fee (also known as an Early Termination Charge or ETC), although business accounts may be treated differently. “

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/accessibility/notifying-a-provider-of-a-customers-death/#:~:text=A%20provider%20should%20close%20the,accounts%20may%20be%20treated%20differently.

Ofcom rules as above are clear that they cannot charge for cancellation in the event of a death. 

However it looks as if it will be up to plan.com if they will offer your mother a contract in her own name or at all. 

I think she needs to go back to them and quote OFCOM . 

Alderbank

cannugec5 said:

“A provider should close the deceased person’s account on request. You shouldn’t have to pay a penalty fee (also known as an Early Termination Charge or ETC), although business accounts may be treated differently. “

Plan.com is a B2B company. They don't sell to the public but their clients include registered charities. The OP's late husband's social group is probably one of these, and has contracted for a block of phones which they then make available to their members.

Since the group consists of retired members, sadly it will not be unknown for members to pass away. The social group may (and in my opinion should) have a scheme for new members to take over rented phones of members who took them on in good faith but are no longer able to use them because of frailty, dementia or other reasons affecting older people.

Edited to add:
Exchanging the SIM number for a different one at handover should be trivial.

gz35dv

Thank you so much for your comments and advice. After further investigations it seems my Father signed a 'Business Contract' in the name of his his aikido club, so it will be difficult to get out of this. However, I understand if my Mother waits, possibly 25% into her 3 year contract (9 months after renewing), she may be able negotiate an exit for a lesser ETC fee.