Help & Support from O2 during Covid & Lockdowns

[Chris_K]

Hello, and welcome to the O2 Community.

For those of you who visited the O2 Community during the first lockdown last year, looking for help & support during the early stages of the first UK-wide lockdown, this may all seem a little dejavu. Ever since the first lockdown we've learned a lot and as a result, the majority of our Customer Service agents are working safely from home and will be available to help in any way they can. Don't forget you can manage your account 24/7 and access loads of self-help options via My O2 without needing to contact us. Video and guides on using My O2 here.

What is the current status of O2 stores?
Covid-19 unfortunately continues to cause disruption and uncertainty to all of our lives - individuals and businesses alike - and as a result, there has been various lockdown rules and restrictions in effect across much of the UK over the past several months. These lockdowns have unfortunately impacted O2 stores, along with all other non-essential retail.

The latest status of O2 stores across the UK as of 26 April 2021:

• England: O2 stores re-opened 12 April
• Scotland: O2 stores re-opened 26 April
• Northern Ireland: Non-essential retail due to re-open 30 April
• Wales: O2 stores remained open throughout lockdown due to having Essential Retail Status

Our Customer Services
As mentioned in the opening section of this thread, the majority of our customer service teams are working safely from home or in a Covid-Secure office, so we're in a position where during this new lockdown we have a lot more of our customer service agents available to answer your queries than we did during the first lockdown. We also continue to operate on our current opening times which can be found here.

That said, we predict our teams will become busier in the coming days and weeks so we therefore ask that you only contact us by phone or via social media if your query is urgent. Our My O2 service remains fully operational with many self-serve support options.

Support for customers
We recognise the importance of our network and the need for our customers to remain connected during this new lockdown, so we're committed to providing any support we can to you - our customers.

• Connectivity. We realise connectivity is essential for customers, businesses and communities during this time. It’s why we invest £2 million every single day in our network to make it as reliable as possible and have been playing our part in supporting the NHS and helping to Rebuild Britain. We increased our capacity throughout 2020 to help handle the extra demand on our network.
• Payment Support. We’ve supported our customers since the outbreak of the pandemic and continue to do so, as the current situation makes it difficult for some customers to pay their bill. We’re here to help keep you connected, so please contact us to discuss payment support options available. You can find out more here.
• Supporting home schooling families. Through the Governments 'Get Help with Technology' scheme we'll be giving 40GB of free data on us, to home schooling families who need additional support to allow their children to continue learning online if their face-to-face education is disrupted. More details here.
• Free website access. In always putting our customers first, we’ve made it free for you to access over 30 information and support websites, including booking a COVID-19 test, nhs.co.uk, as well as mental health, domestic violence and financial advice. You can visit all these sites without using your data allowance. See all websites.
• Community Calling. In partnership with charity Hubbub, we’ve expanded our national plan to keep the most vulnerable connected in time for Christmas with Community Calling. We aim to gift 10,000 unused devices and 12 months of free connectivity to vulnerable individuals in the most deprived areas of the UK.
• Gurus on the Community. We re-introducing more of our Gurus back to the O2 Community where they'll help answer as many of your technical queries as possible. We also have a small team of agents on the O2 Community who are able to help with account related queries.

What next?
We continue to live through an unprecidented time in our lives and in our history. Along with the Governments, authorities and services trying to keep Britain safe, we recognise we provide a critical and essential service to millions of customers across the UK. We will therefore continue to do everything we can to keep you connected and support you in any way we can, and we apologise if during this new lockdown it takes you longer to get the help or support you need from us.

We are constantly reviewing how we can support our customers during these uncertain times, and will update https://www.o2.co.uk/covid-19 with all of the latest info, updates and support available to you. 

We’re supporting the UK’s test and trace apps and you can do the same. By using your national app, you’ll help protect your loved ones and your community. These apps use postcodes to understand the spread in different areas so local authorities can act quickly. The more people who use these apps, the more chance we’ll have of stopping the spread of COVID-19 across the UK.

• England & Wales
• Scotland
• Northern Ireland

[MI5]

@Chris_K 

What about click and collect orders to stores in England which are now closed but were due in during the loackdown period?

[Chris_K]

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@MI5 wrote:

What about click and collect orders to stores in England which are now closed but were due in during the loackdown period?

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For any customer who had a device ready to collect in-store, we got in touch to encourage them to collect it before our stores closed yesterday. For any customer who was unable to do so, our store teams have made arrangements to get their device delivered to their home.

For our customers who had a device on back order that was due in-store at a later date, we apologise for any confusion or uncertainty around these orders but there's no need to contact us - we'll be in touch with an update closer to the time once we've worked out the finer details.

[Cleoriff]

Thanks for that info @Chris_K 

[MI5]

Thanks Chris

[pgn]

Thanks, @Chris_K. 

You can also see the dilemma having a Northern Ireland and a Republic of Ireland, this is what ends up happening as the UK transitions out of the EU - as seen on an ATM in Brussels recently:

And no, there is no "official" flag for Northern Ireland:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Northern_Ireland#:~:text=The%20only%20official%20flag%20in,has....

[Chris_K]

Hey all,

As you'll have seen yesterday, full national lockdowns were announced in both Scotland and England. As a result, I have modified the original thread so that it remains relevant and up-to-date during this new lockdown phase. Except for in Wales where mobile operators have been granted Essential Retail status, all O2 stores are closed from today in England, and have been closed since Boxing Day in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

[Cleoriff]

Thanks for the update @Chris_K 

[jonsie]

to be expected unfortunately.

[pgn]

Back to square 1,no square 0.