O2 mobile PAYG registered to wrong email account

Slinky

A few years ago OH ran his own business and had his mobile on an O2 business contract with his business email address. When he no longer had the business, it was difficult for him to transfer the number to an account in his own name, and the only option they could give him at the time was to take a PAYG contract with O2, and I think this was ported over with a "temporary number" he was then able to update with his own.

Since then, he's been stuck on PAYG. We've tried to register for an O2 account but it links his number to his old work email which no longer exists and therefore can't be used to verify, and we can't seem to find a way to break the connection to this old email address.

We're not sure if his number is somehow piggy-backing off the "temporary number" he was first given when he took up the O2 PAYG, and daren't try and move elsewhere in case he loses the number.

Can anyone advise a way out of this situation? He'd prefer to stick with O2 as a carrier we're in a not-spot, and would prefer a contract rather than PAYG.

Woodstok2000

Why not move to any of the providers using the O2 network. Giffgaff, sky mobile, tesco mobile etc.

flaneurs_lobster

So when you say this was a 'business' mobile number it was actually both business and personal use.

You want to move the number from a business account to a new personal one?

I suspect that you will find this hard to do, O2 have a duty to prevent mobile numbers being 'SIM-swapped' fraudulently and one way they do this is by addressing notifications to the registered email address.

This will apply particularly to numbers associated with a business.

Quite what the relationship between the PAYG and (dormant?) business PAYM is, I have no idea.

Slinky

The number had previously been his personal mobile, which he then used for his one person business. When he stopped trading, he kept the same number, but they moved it onto a PAYG sim. We're not sure what would happen if we try and move it elsewhere.

It's over 6 years ago since he closed the business and the business account; we were hoping that GDPR rules would have meant that information would no longer be being retained by O2 now.

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82158548#Comment_82158548

GDPR does not have a fixed limit on data storage, As the account is still live then they can keep that data.

elsien

He probably needs to go via customer service and tell them he needs an alternative way to verify who he is, so they can then manually unlink the email address from the account.

There have to be other ways- security questions he can answer about the account, text to the mobile number etc?

531063

As above ring CS, I had a similar problem and to confirm everything they sent a text code to the number which I confirmed