Anybody know anything about the legal situation regarding mobile contract law and death?

The delightful Three are still billing my father for his mobile phone despite them being advised of his death (and the phone not even been switch on for at least 6 weeks…)

They even send the bills FAO Executor…

Get on Twitter or Facebook. Ask them publicly. Might shame them into sorting it.

nPower did this to a friend’s Dad. Friend mentioned that he was going to take them to the ombudsman and it was like a magic word. All sorted double-quick.

It seems so crap and unnecessary. Good luck.

Cubicle drones who couldn’t give a flying one about humans, only set procedure shocker! 🙄

Find a 3 shop go in store on a busy time and tell them what you think of their customer service in a loud voice, and if they dont help use a phone to speak to their customer care department on loudspeaker very loudly.

only way is to shame firms into saying sorry, so sorry youve lost your dad, the pathetic idiots running some companies should be publicly humiliated for their behaviour at hounding deceased persons families. Ive been there.

I went into a Three local shop to query why they were still sending bills and apparently they insist on receiving a death certificate.

They also insist that the person to phone billing dept is the same person that first notified them. Oh that will be my brother, who works abroad…

I’ve now emailed them a copy of the cert and I’ve asked them who to contact to make a complaint.

Talk about trying to make things as awkward as possible.

My recollection is that the phone went dead so I switched it off. I checked yesterday and it’s been reactivated.

I’m tempted to give them a new forwarding address c/o Garden of Remembrance, Hazlehead Crematorium….

****!

Apart from the young woman in the shop, she was really very helpful, a star infact.

Whilst it’s immoral and really distasteful to keep billing some who’s died, peopels affairs don’t end when they die.

They should send a final bill to the executor of your Dad’s will to be settled on conclusion of his estate. If he was in a fixed term contract it will mostly likely include a penalty to end early.

Some businesses will waive certain things when customers pass-away, but they’re surprisingly rare.

EDIT: Sorry just read your update, personally I’d say the rules on estates etc trump 3’s bullshit T’s and Cs. If they’ve been notified, the you’ve told them. If they don’t want it settled sod ’em.

I’d expect a final bill. Having had my brother phone them to advise them of my fathers death.

To reactivate the phone and continue to bill is another matter.

And my brother didn’t say they needed a copy of the death cert either, so presumably they failed to mention this salient fact.

@P-Jay: well it’s going to be difficult to claim we didn’t notify them when they stuck FAO Executor in the bill address….

some info here off the three website

http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,varset_cat=billing,varset_subcat=3772,Case=obj(15764)

When I dealt with a similar matter a few years ago, companies would return the certified death cert promptly. This lot say they will destroy it for confidentiality reasons. Is this a new thing generally, or are three being unhelpful.

We got letters for years from Radio Renthals addressed first to Mr James Govan (Deceased) and then later Mr James Deceased. My grandad would have laughed his head off at that so we didn’t mind too much but talk about shit. Hope you get it sorted!

Thanks for that project.

I thought dealing with talk talk to close down the landline/internet was bad enough. That was a breeze compared to this.

I guess it doesn’t help that it wasn’t me that dealt with them in the first instance, but they seem to be going out of their way to make it as difficult/awkward as possible….

When my mate died his girlfriend had to produce the death certificate to Vodaphone in store. Hope you get it sorted. Oh and don’t take it out on the person in the shop, its not their fault.

it’s a bit different with a mobile phone contract because you are paying for the handset in monthly installments unlike gas, electric, water etc where you pay for what you use rather than get the product upfront

@skids: you mean like a landline/broadband contract? As I said TalkTalk were bad enough but at least it managed to get that done by phoning back before 4.30pm….

@squirrelking: I found myself getting tetchy with the girl in the shop so I stopped and apologised. She was very helpful and I made a point of thanking her, she did more than just her job. Bloody Eastern European immigrants, coming here, being pleasant, sympathetic and helpful…. 😉

And as I said, the phone has been switch off since early August. They even added an extra fiver to the bill as the direct debit having been rejected (which is what we told them what with my dad being dead and his account being frozen by the solicitor and everything).

Get on Twitter or Facebook. Ask them publicly. Might shame them into sorting it.

This is a good idea. They like to keep their feed happy and positive.

I had a few issues with First Utility earlier this year, spent ages on the phone to them with no satisfactory solution, so I posted publicly on their Facebook page – I had a response within minutes and the next day they offered me £60 compensation.

Same thing last year with Green Flag after a 3 hour wait for roadside assistance. No luck through customer services – £40 cheque after being vocal on FB.

Stop paying them.

Inform them in writing why you have stopped paying. They will have to come to you to settle things once and for all. They need an incentive otherwise the will continue to suck money out of any account they can.

How can they possibly enforce non-payment?

3 have been the second worst company I’ve ever dealt with, Comet claiming 1st prize.

Overseas call centres, an inflexibility that was mind-blowing and a total inability to abide by their word. Twitter was the only useful method to shame them into action.

Wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.

I do hope you get some resolution in what must be a stressful time.

My dads account has been frozen, what with him being dead and all.

So they have not been paid. Hence them sending us bills. Had they sent a here is a final bill please pay we would have. Reactivating and continuing to bill is the issue. Along with not telling us they need a death cert. And throwing up barriers all over the place.

I’m quite prepared to go the whole hog on this on. They’ve now acknowledged receipt of the death cert, apparently they will reply within the next 5 days….

I usually find e mailing MD’s etc works well.

Try giving this chap a call.

David Dyson Chief Executive

Email david.dyson@three.co.uk

Telephone 01628 765000

it’s a bit different with a mobile phone contract because you are paying for the handset in monthly installments unlike gas, electric, water etc where you pay for what you use rather than get the product upfront

I’ve not looked at a contract but presumably until the final monthly bill is paid the handset isn’t actually the property of the person?

But a google brought up this:

Seems simple enough.

http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,varset_cat=billing,varset_subcat=3772,Case=obj(15764)

I’m quite prepared to go the whole hog on this on.

See above.

My dad moved care homes to a nursing home, he was immobile due to a broken leg, terminal cancer and doubly incontinent, prat from santander call centre, said i should put him in a wheelchair and put him on a bus to bring him into the local town branch so he could fill in a form to confirm his new address when i again explained he was immobile, the chap cheerfully explained buses in london had ramps for disabled people to use to get on the bus.

After numerous official complaints we got the account changed and then dad died, and the book of non existent rules came out again, to close his account.

Shame the ignorant pathetic idiots who run these companies with no compassion or understanding, and remind them forcefully that one day it will be them on the phone, and that every day that passes that day gets closer for them, to what youre now experiencing.

Everybody else I’ve had to deal with (which as I’ve stated above that includes TalkTalk who are not exactly known for being that helpful) have been put you through to the right department, condolences, we’ll get the final bill sent out. Condolences again…

Only Three have been a real PITA over it.

Handset is a Lumia 520, hardly high cost item and my dad had it for at least a year (I’d say a couple but I’m not sure without checking the phone itself).

We phoned up early August, I monitored the phone until it went dead (or at least I think I did, it was early august and, well, my dad had just died, 12 days after my mum, so I can’t be 100% over that but its certainly what I did for telephone/broadband). Now its active again… The paper correspondence makes no reference to the requirement for a death cert. just another months bill… last month not paid…

I can show we notified them, their contract is with a dead man, I’m prepared to be reasonable over matters but if they want to do it the hard way I’ll go all the way to the ombudsman.

But lets see what they come back and say first though.

their contract is with a dead man

No, their contract is with his estate.

3 have been the second worst company I’ve ever dealt with,

I’ve only dealt with them once, and I wasn’t impressed. OH bought a netbook and it came with some free 3G dongle or other that we didn’t particularly want. Salesgit said it was a free trial and we could cancel after 30 days. Yeah, whatever then.

OH rang 3 to cancel, and they just would not take no for an answer. She sat there going “no, I just want to cancel it… no, cancel it… look, just cancel it…” over and over to the point where she was almost in tears. I was about to take the phone off her and tear them a new one when they finally relented.

I presume every organisation has good and bad staff, but man, what a piece of work.

No, their contract is with his estate.

Point of note, debts cannot be transferred. If he’s deceased and has no money, no-one else is liable.

I had this with, Carphone Warehouse I think, when my dad died (not 100% certain on this so don’t get out the pitchforks). The regular helpline was an absolute shower, totally unsympathetic. However, they have a specific department for dealing with bereavement, which once I’d discovered after the 40th phone call, were absolutely lovely and sorted it out straight away. Maybe see if 3 have something similar?

Well, a bill with the outstanding amount amended to zero ‘as a goodwill gesture’ and the account finally closed has just arrived.

So fair play to them in the end.

Staff in their shops were always very helpful, no complaints there. Support could be, well, more supportive.