To think I am being stolen from? And what can I do? I am desperate

[PollyPicksMe]

Over a week ago now, my phone was stolen. It’s insured so I got a replacement phone the next day. Along with a new SIM that has my usual number on from my provider

After a few days, it became clear the SIM wasn’t activating. O2 shop looked into it for me, and I was told it needed to be manually activated by their ‘back team’. So I had to phone customer services, again

I have been told repeatedly by customer services that it’s being past to the back team, and I’ll be activated within 24 hours.

They have told me this for 8 days now :(

On day 5 I think it was, I escalated it and complained to their CEO as suggested on here. I copied in their complaints department email. No reply. So I followed it up, still no reply.

I phone customer services and they tell me the same thing every time - We understand your frustration but it’s being sorted now and you’ll be up and running by tomorrow. But tomorrow never comes.

I am locked out of emails. Online banking. Various, multiple medical teams involved with my DC cannot contact me. There’s too many teams and departments to update them on my temporary phone number, being borrowed to me by a friend

I can’t access my Apple ID. Can’t verify who I am without my number.

I can’t access any banking accounts. They all want text verification. I recently had my Passport renewed and it isn’t here yet. So I don’t have that to prove who I am if I go into Branch to sort it out that way. The nearest branch is also an hour away.

I am so fed up. Their social media team are awful. I have messaged again today to explain and see if they can help. They replied with ‘We can see we have already looked into this for you. We will reply when we have an update’.

I would bet you £1million I would never get a bloody update!

I can’t even escalate this to the Communications Ombudsman - It has to be 8 WEEKS before they are allowed to get involved

I feel as if I am being robbed - Paying for a device and service I can’t use, and a kick in the teeth of being lied to and ignored over and over

What else can I do? How can I do any more?

Patience is a virtue that I have buckets of. Sadly those buckets have run dry!

I have multiple teams involved medically and the NHS and others are useless at permanently updating numbers at the best of times. I can’t even email them from my usual email address

I can’t sort things with my bank either as they want photo ID to prove who I am. Something I don’t have at the moment, not to mention they’re an hour away

You can’t change your password on all of your accounts - I’m finding almost everything wants a text verification (if I’m lucky an email notification, but again, no access to that either!)

I had SO many problems with O2.
I phoned and phoned, I kept getting told different things. It was a huge drain on time and energy!
In the end, I went to the O2 shop and sat there til it got sorted! They were keen to help (get rid of me) as I was sat with a loud baby taking up one of their help stations!

It shouldn’t have to be though. Not in this day and age when you rely on your phones so much.

Actually porting your number to a new provider may be the best option.

O2 seem to have long-standing connection problems. Check out some of the less favourable recent reviews on eg MobilePhonesDirect, mobiles.co.uk etc.

and whatever you do do not be patient! Balls to that. It’s the most direct and vocal that get action. So much time wasted by us being nice!

I had this issue (with EE) when I got a new phone. It wasn’t stolen, just an upgrade. I went into the store and handed to a person and they fixed it in about 15 minutes.

I agree you should go back into the o2 shop and start raising high hell. There will be something they can do if they are motivated to make the effort. I don't see what other option you have right now.

When you're sorted - minimum write down your main email account password - then hide it somewhere in the house - if you have your main email then everything else is manageable.
Change to EE. This is awful service. Do they know a child's hospital appointments are being put in jeopardy?

If this hasn't already been suggested call and when prompted ask for "retentions" - this has always worked for me when trying to speak to a human who has the power to resolve things!

For the health side I’d go to your GPs receptionist and see if they can access your nhs account and change the settings so you can access appointments or alternatively read it to you.

The O2 shop were helpful but they can’t do anything, they say, because it’s the back office team (who are only requested via Customer Service over the phone) they can’t help

It needs manually activating and that has to be done with them

I have also been told that the ‘back office’ who are essentially I suppose like IT people, don’t speak directly to customers and just get instructed by customer services

OP, I wouldn't just threaten to contact consumer champion columnists, I'd actually do it. Kate Morley from the Telegraph is like a terrier with a bone when she gets into it. Mark it urgent.

Has a company treated you unfairly? | How to contact our consumer champion

Get in touch with Katie Morley, who is here to help. Whether you've been ripped off by your insurer, fallen for a scam or bought faulty goods, no problem is too big or small to send her way.
Email her at: [email protected] and please include the following:
Name:
Address:
Telephone number:
Describe what would you like me to investigate in as much detail as you can:
Please provide permission to discuss your case with all relevant organisations:
Documents – please list what supporting documents you have attached relating to your case.

She's also on X: @katiemorley_

Thank you, but I have my main email. I know the login details to everything but it won’t allow me in without text verification

This. Go in mid morning on a busy day and let it be known that you won't be leaving until it's been sorted.

Take sandwiches, talk to other customers about your problems.

All the best.

I completely hear you about the difficulty of getting anything sorted or actioned without a mobile number: I don’t think people realize how massively dependent we are on our phones for 2FA and how difficult it is to get a new number associated with your main accounts.

But yeah. I reckon a sit in in an O2 store might so it if nothing else does. Failing that a new sim with some serious assertiveness around regulations on transferring numbers hang on I will dig the rules out

Oh OP, I knew it was about O2 before I even got to that part in your post

was it [email protected] you used to contact them? I’ve heard some have success with this email recently. I’ve made some movement with my own complaints with their Twitter/X team, but the most help I got was via the o2 app chat - with a lot of patience.

Unfortunately the standard email complaint route won’t work and no one will ever respond. The majority of O2 cases go to the Ombudsman.

DH had very similar with O2 a couple of months ago. Three weeks without being able to use his phone because a seemingly small thing needed to be done by the back office team. Who never did it.

His complaint was ignored and has never been acknowledged. The Twitter team couldn’t have given less of a shit even when told he is medically vulnerable and stuck without the means to call an ambulance. They know he was three weeks without service because of their fault yet refuse to refund the airtime he paid for that they didn’t let him use.

it was jaw-droppingly awful. Never in my life would I have ever imagined a large company like this would treat its customers as badly as this. They will be gojng out of business soon if they keep this up as nobody will want to deal with them at all.

I’ve had a similar experience with 02 and it nearly drove me mad.

I got a free LinkedIn premium trial and direct messaged a number of senior executives at 02. I had a reply from two within a day and the issue was sorted within a week. I’ve shared a screenshot of the person who was the most helpful.

Actually, there often isn't something they can do. It's got fuck all to do with being motivated to make an effort but nice to see how little you think of retail workers. I used to work in a retail shop for a similar company and in these instances the most we could do would be to call customer services for you. It was pretty pointless.

Oh, and if any customer started raising high hell, I.e. being abusive, the shopping centre's security would be called.

You need to go to your bank no matter how far away it is.

Bring all the documentation you can lay your hands on that proves you are who you say you are - everything you used to get your passport, plus council tax bill, utility bill, police report wrt your stolen phone - and beg them to check your accounts.

If you don't have a police report on the theft of your phone, you need to get one as a matter of urgency. Go and report the theft.

I'd do this.

Don't listen to we can't help, they have to.

I'd cancel my contract with them and get a new phone from a different provider. X

This does not help if you have two factor identification turned on linked to your phone. The issue isn’t that OP doesn’t have her password, it’s that the second of the* *two factors required for identification is her phone number, which she must be able to receive a text on in order to log in from any new device.

OP has already explained this and anyone who actually understands what companies have recently been doing to try and stop unauthorised access will also be aware. Anyone who isn’t up on that really shouldn’t be giving advice like “write down your password”. It is, in part, because of that sort advice that two factor identification has been pursued.

When you make complaint request a deadlock letter this will allow you to go to the ombudsman straight away but to be honest I'd generally a kick up the backside to the company to resolve issue as they will avoid deadlock.

You don't know as much as you think you do!
I was trying to help the OP, I thought she didn't have access to her email as she couldn't remember the password and was used to logging onto it via her phone.
I thought she would have her laptop or desktop or tablet to access it as she couldn't access it I thought the issue was she couldn't remember password not that all she had available in terms of hardware was the stolen phone.
Not everything had to be done via 2FA - you can nominate another email account.

I knew it would be o2! I have ongoing issues with them since December. I've had to escalate to the ombudsman who aren't too clued up tbh. My phone will not hold a connection to 4g/5g! And when that happens I don't get calls and my iwatch stops working too. O2 have the worst customer service I've ever experience.

If anyone has CEO emails as I'm now desperate.