Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National

O2 working: How to claim compensation after network down

O2 said its 4G and 3G services had been restored after an hours-long network outage which meant millions of customers were unable to connect to the internet. (Picture: EPA)

O2 has restored its network after customers were unable to access 4G and data services for hours on Thursday.

Furious customers said they were unable to connect to the internet without a wi-fi connection. The issue also caused problems for services like Transport for London's electronic timetable at bus stops, which rely on the network.

O2 blamed the issue on a third-supplier and Ericsson.

O2 boss Mark Evans said: "I want to let our customers know how sorry I am for the impact of our network data issue has had on them, and reassure them that our teams, together with Ericsson, are doing everything we can.

"We fully appreciate it’s been a poor experience and we are really sorry.”

Am I entitled to compensation?

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that services should be carried out with reasonable skill and care.

Therefore, depending on the circumstances, you may be entitled to money back for loss of service whilst the repairs were being carried out.

For your complaint to be valid, you’d have to prove consequential loss, for example, if you had to spend money to use a payphone or connect to wi-fi.

How do I claim compensation?

You can contact O2 customer service by phone, online or via their Twitter account, although be aware that all lines of communication will be extremely busy.

If the response you receive is not satisfactory, you can raise this with Ombudsman Services, which O2 is a member of. The customer would need to ask for a deadlock letter or wait eight weeks starting from when the complaint was first filed.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.