Cut off deaf disabled person

[Anonymous]

I'm deaf. SMS is important to me, to keep in touch with my father and with other people. Not everybody has whatsapp, for example my father who has a Doro feature phone as he's not wholly technologically minded (he's 72.)

I am disabled. I am a full time wheelchair user and require 24 hour care. This can be a precarious and vulnerable situation to be in.

I spend several weeks a year on respite care somewhere where there isn't any mobile signal (on any network). I'm on my way home now from one such stay, where SMS visa Tu Go has been essential for me to communicate with my father as a result of my wheelchair frame snapping and contingency planning to get an alternative wheelchair to me and my broken wheelchair recovered.

From now on, whenever I go on respite that source of support and confidence will no longer be available to me, because of the closure of Tu.

The communications ombudsmen has stated (correctly) that the closure of Tu was a business decision and is allowed according to the terms and conditions of customer contracts, so can't do anything other than offer me to reverse out of my contract. Which won't solve the problem of me being incommunicado. Whilst it may be legality correct, it does not make my communication blackout any better.

Thanks for nothing, O2.

[MI5]

They really don't care.
I'd suggest you look at Three or EE who allow the use of calls and texts over wifi.

[Anonymous]

Thanks,
I shall probably have to do so but have a different number for when I'm at home because Three and EE's coverage where I live is limited compared to O2.

[MI5]

But you can still use it on the wifi (assuming you have wifi at home)?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I was thinking more about availability when I'm out and about in local towns / on busses. O2 definitely has the best coverage round and about where I live.

[MI5]

Ah, I see.
You could always try and connect to as many free wifi hotspots as you can when out in town and on public transport etc. I know many places do this these days.
Well good luck anyway with your decision making.

[Bambino]

@Anonymous It's appalling that O2 has not taken you, and probably others in a similar situation, into consideration when making the decision to end TU. Perhaps our community manager @MercedesS could get involved to see what could be done about getting you a free boost box to use with your WiFi at home? We know they're available and have already been offered to some customers.

Another alternative might be to invest in a dual sim phone, such as a OnePlus, so you could use a Three sim at home, which offers WiFi texting, and an O2 sim for when you're out and about.

Hope you can get this issue resolved.