MSE News: Ditched O2 after it hiked its price hike? Check you've not been wrongly charged

MSE_Chris

O2 has told some customers leaving the firm that they'll be charged £100s to cancel their contracts, while others have been asked to repay handset costs in full upfront. But this is WRONG. If you're affected by O2's price hike on a price hike, you were entitled to cancel your airtime contract penalty-free within 30 days of being notified of the increases, and to continue to pay off any handset contract as normal.

Read the full story:
'Ditched O2 after it hiked its price hike? Check you've not been wrongly charged £100s to leave'

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la531983

I didnt even ring o2 to tell them what i was doing. Logged in yesterday and they have credited my bill and raised the usual bill with just the handset on it.

So experiences have clearly differed wildly.

suzzyB

I'm one of the unlucky ones.  After having an O2 representative be incredibly quick to offer me a reduction on the airtime part of package with no change to my almost brand new device plan (taken out in August) , I discovered a few days later that he cancelled my device and I have an enforcement notice letter demanding I pay £1200+ for my phone in 14 days otherwise I would be passed on to debt collectors!

Hours and hours of phonecalls have been made by me.  Conflicting advisors.  No help.  Eventually told no way to reinstate my device plan and I have had to go onto a payment plan.  Even though I have a monthly direct debit set up for the device there's still a chance I will still have the direct debit for £1200 come out this Friday.  I am very nervous.

On top of that O2 have not given me my virgin media Volt benefits despite me having emails saying I qualify.  I had all of this before perfectly set up.

As much as I love the MSE advice, I really wish I hadn't bothered negotiating.  I have a feeling my problems with O2 will run and run.

I have lodged complaints but have had no response.  Only 4 more weeks till I can go to the ombudsman!

RedBear

I've had a nightmare! Called to leave after receiving the email about the hikes. They offered me a better airtime plan so decided to stay. Few days later I received an Enforcement and Termination for my device plan and need to pay it in full in 14 days. I have since been in touch with them every 2 or 3 days via their chat or phone trying to get it sorted. Every time I have to go through the whole sage as there never seems to be notes taken. Every time I'm told its sorted and a monthly plan has been put in place. Yet my latest bill has my full device plan cost on it. I had to cancel my direct debit as it was going to take the full amount. My bill now says its overdue and when I speak to them, they speak to me as if im in financial hardship and that my account is in arrears and they'll set a payment plan up. 4 weeks later, I can't see a payment plan, and my bill is still overdue. I'm now getting concerned about the impact this could have on my credit. I've been with O2 for over 8 years and never missed a payment.

moneyfoolish

I'm another with the same problem. Called to leave and was offered a better airtime plan so decided to stay. A few days later received an Enforcement and Termination for my device plan and need to pay it in full in 14 days. Amount was £532.03. After 2 telephone calls where I was told it would be sorted out and each time promised a return call at an agreed date neither which occurred I emailed an official complaint. In the meantime I received an email telling me that £532.03 would be taken from my Direct Debit on December 4th which I saw was on the O2 system. Then I saw on my Bank Statement that the Direct Debit had been taken on December 1st. Yet another telephone call where I was told I had to contact my bank and raise an indemnity claim so I told them I expected them to raise a credit on my account and transfer it to the credit card from which it had been taken. Was told this would be done  but then received an email saying my request for credit would be reviewed and I would be sent a decision within 2 working days! Finally received an email from the Resolutions Department which was very apologetic and told me the original device plan would be re-instated and that they had issued a stop on the Direct Debit payment due on December 4th and that my complaint had been closed! I have no replied to that telling the Resolutions Department that I assume they don't know that the payment they stopped on December 4th was actually taken on December1st!!! Sent that yesterday and have not received a reply so it looks like yet another telephone call tomorrow!

stan4olino

Interesting! Sorry to hear people have been asked to pay! My wife and I have been some of the lucky ones! Requested the code that we need to transfer the numbers, signed up to new operator! One week later we got refunded the remainders of our monthly fees! We were both on a sim only deals with O2! We did not even need to call O2 it was all sorted by the new operators! 

woops

I bought a 2 year phone and O2 airtime plan through Affordable Mobiles.  I do not have 2 lines on my bill from O2 for device plan and airtime plan.  Just one charge which states -  2025 Standard Plan Handset IND0S8 Airtime Plan. 
I checked with O2 before I cancelled that I would not be charged for an Airtime plan under right to cancel.
Now after cancelling they have sent me a bill with a £460 charge for termination.
I have queried this with O2 and they are now saying that this a third party charge and needs to be resolved with Affordable Mobiles.

QuietNatPerson7903

Recieved my monthly bill yesterday that included £268.11 for the line I cancelled in November following the price hike as per my rights. 

Called O2 straight away. Spoke with 2 agents who had no idea about the price increases, our rights to cancel or who Ofcom are - very concerning. Not taking their repeated quoting of the standard cancellation policy for an answer; I asked to raise a complaint and speak with a supervisor. 

Luckily for me, the supervisor did know what I was talking about. Realising that the agent who had cancelled my line in the first place had selected the wrong cancellation reason. She managed to rectify it, removing the charge from account. 

90 minutes of my life I will never get back and very concern about the level of training O2 Agents recieved regarding this issue 

woops

said:

I bought a 2 year phone and O2 airtime plan through Affordable Mobiles.  I do not have 2 lines on my bill from O2 for device plan and airtime plan.  Just one charge which states -  2025 Standard Plan Handset IND0S8 Airtime Plan. 
I checked with O2 before I cancelled that I would not be charged for an Airtime plan under right to cancel.
Now after cancelling they have sent me a bill with a £460 charge for termination.
I have queried this with O2 and they are now saying that this a third party charge and needs to be resolved with Affordable Mobiles.

Update.
Didn’t get anywhere with call centre.
got final bill threatening debt collectors.

raised a formal complaint with o2.

3 weeks later have got the following.

”” We have an update for you on how your complaint is progressing with us. We’ve tried to contact you to discuss in more detail, but we were unable to reach you. We didn’t want to delay things, so we’ve gone ahead and offered a proposed resolution.

We’ve looked into it and here’s what we found:
Thank you for reaching out to us regarding the Early Termination Fee applied to your account. On behalf of O2, I would like to offer our sincerest apologies for the confusion and concern this has caused, particularly as you were previously informed that a cancellation during the Right to Exit period would not incur any fees. We recognise the importance of upholding the commitments made in our communications to you, and please be assured that we are fully committed to resolving this matter as a priority.

Here’s a summary of the complaint outcome and what we propose as a resolution: 
After a thorough review of your account, we are pleased to confirm that because you transferred your phone number ending in 6092 on November 25, 2025, you were within your Right to Exit period. Consequently, the Early Termination Fee should not have been applied to your final statement. To rectify this, we are offering to cover the outstanding balance of £466.01 on your account to clear the amount owed in full. 

If you are satisfied with this proposed resolution and wish to close this complaint, kindly inform us by replying to this email. Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us using the details below or visit o2.co.uk/contactusfor additional support options.”