Pensioner cannot get out of a contract with out Passport or Drivers licence

[saintsfan]

 My sister in law received a red notice of Cancellation today, as she is in her late 70's and lost her husband last month it is already a difficult time. On reading the letter it seems that she owes £18.88, But her current direct debit it just over £17 and she has not missed a payment since she took out the contract in 2022. 

I rang customer services to try and get to the bottom of this, after getting the run around as she does not have the phone in fact it was only a call time contract as the phone was already hers and she did not know the password for this account, also she does not use a computer so no email, along with no passport or driving licence. They passed me onto somebody else who asked what the old phone model was. As this was over 3 years ago and the phone has been destroyed

 At this time they told me to ring back for what reason I do not know. It does seem that when she took out her current contract which included a phone the store did not close the old contact and she has been paying an additional £9.44 from her bank since 2022, but for some reason this stopped after this Septembers payment thus the red notice.  I tried to pay the outstanding  amount and cancel but again could not do this as no ID. I was then told to go to the local store

 Arrived at local store and again refused to do anything as they wanted Photo ID.

Why do 02 Prejudice The older generation and How can she get out of this contract . If she does not pay they will send the debit collectors.     

[madasaf1sh]

@saintsfan 

The Photo ID thing is to protect the customer and o2 from fraud, as sadly they need to verify the customers details, and Photo ID such as Driving License and Passports can be checked using government databases..

The local store would not be able to help anyway, as they cant take or process payments.. 

it might be worth looking at this https://www.o2.co.uk/access-for-all/services-and-support and seeing if they can help...

[saintsfan]

 Thank you for your reply, and I understand the problems with Fraud, But It still does not address the situation that a lot of elderly  people do not have a passport of driving licence so what do they use. They must have just used a proof of address when the store gave her the new contract and never closed the old one

[MI5]

@saintsfan 

Recognised ID cards are easy to obtain for such circumstances.

It isn't discrimination by O2 as there are many companies and retailers that have ID in place to prevent fraud. Remember, lots has changed in the online digital world in the last few years.

https://www.citizencard.com/apply-for-a-uk-id-card-online

[Enlli]

I'm with pensioners on this one. Well, I am 78.

I do have a passport and driving licence but the only time I have to produce one was getting a SIM swap with O2 in store.

Voting wise a national bus pass is sufficient, but not acceptable to O2 as it does not show an address.

We made changes on the land registry this year, but we never produced Passports or Licences.

Why should pensioners have to buy ID to work with O2.

Much better option is to go with one of the 30 day networks that require no more than your card details 

[MI5]

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@Enlli wrote:

Why should pensioners have to buy ID to work with O2.

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Neither a passport nor drivers license are free either and an ID card is much cheaper.

The one I linked clearly states accepted by ALL UK retailers.

[Enlli]

Oh, dear, I never knew you had to pay for Diving Licences or Passports: thank you for enlightening me. Now fully expecting to pay for my driving license renewal in October. Oh wait a minute, it's free.

Still stands, why should someone have to go to the bother just to deal with O2 when their are plenty of other options, and probably better ones.

[MI5]

Merry christmas.

Hope you feel better soon....