The cancellation guide makes no reference to either of the following issues I had with cancelling my contract that might be of interest to other customers looking to cancel their contract.
1. Your device might be locked to the o2 network (even if you are out of contract) and it can take up to 7 days to receive a code to unlock it. They will not volunteer this information when you request your PAC code, so you need to request it at least 7 days before you actually want to switch.
If your phone is locked to o2, when you come to insert your sim card from your new provider, you will see a message like "Enter network unlock code" and you will be unable to use your phone. If, like me, your number has already transferred to the new sim card, you will be left without a working phone until o2 provides you with the code. You can request the code for free using the online form https://www.o2.co.uk/apps/help/help?qid=1&q1=2&route=unlocking&case=Handset%20Unlocking%20Form or by giving them the details over the phone but they say it can take up to 7 days to receive it. I couldn't be without a phone for 7 days, so ended up using an online 3rd party service that provided it within 10 minutes but it cost £15. Annoyingly, I actually got the code from o2 about 6 hours later! Legally, o2 have to provide the unlock code free of charge but there isn't any stipulation about how long they can take to process it. It evidently doesn't actually take 7 days because 3rd parties can do it a lot quicker (for a fee), so it gives me the impression o2 are deliberately being awkard because they don't care about customers that are leaving them and are just meeting their legal obligation.
2. If you cancel mid-billing period, you will be due a refund but you have to request it to get your money back. If your account is in credit when you receive your final bill, the email notification that your bill is ready will simply say "there is nothing to pay this month" even though money is actually due to you! However, if you view your bill online, you will see that it says "If you have a credit on your final bill, please go to www.o2.co.uk/finalbillrefund and we'll arrange to have this refunded to you." The implcation being that, if you don't complete the form, you won't get your money back!
I can understand why companies don't care about customers that are leaving them but, by making the process (in my opinion) unecessarily difficult, they are ensuring that ex-customers stay that way. I certainly won't be going back.
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