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Closing accounts due to bereavement or terminal illness

Help and support

We have a team dedicated to supporting you in the case of bereavement or a customer being diagnosed as critically ill.

Our priority is to make things as simple as possible, by giving you all the information you need.

Our Bereavement and Critical Illness team can help with closing an account, transferring it to Pay As You Go or, following a successful credit check, moving the phone number to a new Pay Monthly account.

What to do if the account holder is critically ill

We know this may be a difficult time, so we’re here to help. Please choose what you’d like to do:

We know this may be a difficult time, so we’re here to help.

To disconnect the service, we’ll need the following information:

  • Account number

  • Account holder’s full name

  • Account holder’s address

  • Account holder’s mobile number

  • Your mobile number

  • Your full name

  • Your address

  • Your contact number/email address

  • Your relationship to the account holder

  • A forwarding address for any future correspondence

You can provide information in the following ways:

  • Call us on 0800 090 18 20. We’re available Monday to Friday 8am - 7.45pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am - 5.45pm

  • Email us at: Bereavement&Criticalillness@virginmediao2.co.uk

  • Write to us at O2 Bereavement Team, PO Box Virgin Media O2 Sunderland SR43 4AA

We’ll process your disconnection request within seven working days, but it’ll take up to 14 days to clear any remaining balance on the account.

We will waive any early disconnection fees, but you’ll still be liable for any outstanding balance on loan agreements to pay for devices such as phones, tablets or watches.

If we need more information, we’ll contact you using the details you’ve given us. 

Here’s what to do if you’d like to change the name on the account and take over the mobile number.

1. Set up a new Pay Monthly or Pay As You Go account in your own name – this can be done in the following ways:

  • On our website

  • In one of our stores

  • By calling us on 0800 081 0255

We’ll need to run a credit check to set up a Pay Monthly contract.

2. Once your new account is set up, you’ll receive a welcome pack in the post. This will include a new SIM card with your new phone number and the SIM serial number – we’ll need these from you so we can transfer the old number to your new SIM.

3. Give us the phone number and serial number of the new SIM, as well as the phone number you want to keep. You can do this by emailing Bereavement&Criticalillness@virginmediao2.co.uk or calling us on 0800 090 1820. We’ll then transfer the old number to the new Pay Monthly contract or Pay As You Go SIM in your name, free of charge. Once we’ve received your request, we’ll update the accounts within seven working days.

We’re available Monday to Friday 8am – 7.45pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am - 5.45pm.

Please make sure you save any important information like contacts, text messages and voicemails from the old SIM, before we close the original account. Once it’s closed, this information will be lost.

What to do if the account holder has passed away

We’re sorry to hear this. To make things as simple as possible, please choose what you’d like to do:

If you’d like to disconnect all O2 services, we’ll need the following information: 

  • Account number

  • Mobile number

  • Your full name

  • Your address

  • Your contact number/email address

  • Your relationship to the account holder

  • A forwarding address for any future correspondence

You can provide information in the following ways:

  • Call us on 0800 090 18 20. We’re available Monday to Friday 8am - 7.45pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am - 5.45pm

  • Email us at: Bereavement&Criticalillness@virginmediao2.co.uk

  • Write to us at O2 Bereavement Team, PO Box Virgin Media O2 Sunderland SR43 4AA

We’ll process your disconnection request within seven working days, but it’ll take up to 14 days to clear any remaining balance on the account. If we need more information, we’ll contact you using the details you’ve given us.

If the customer who has passed away was a customer of both O2 and Virgin Media, with Volt benefits, you can manage their Virgin Media account by visiting Virgin Media's bereavement page. Virgin Media also has a team dedicated to supporting you at this difficult time.

Here’s what to do if you’d like to change the name on the account and take over the mobile number.

  1. Set up a new Pay Monthly or Pay As You Go account in your own name – this can be done in the following ways:

  • On our website

  • In one of our stores

  • By calling us on 0800 081 0255

We’ll need to run a credit check to set up a Pay Monthly contract.

2. Once your new account is set up, you’ll receive a welcome pack in the post. This will include a new SIM card with your new phone number and the SIM serial number – we’ll need these from you so we can transfer the old number to your new SIM.

3. Give us the phone number and serial number of the new SIM, as well as the phone number you want to keep. You can do this by emailing Bereavement&Criticalillness@virginmediao2.co.uk or calling us on 0800 090 1820. We’ll then transfer the old number to the new Pay Monthly contract or Pay As You Go SIM in your name, free of charge. Once we’ve received your request, we’ll update the accounts within seven working days.

We’re available Monday to Friday 8am – 7.45pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am - 5.45pm.

Please make sure you save any important information like contacts, text messages and voicemails from the old SIM, before we close the original account. Once it’s closed, this information will be lost.

If the customer who has passed away was a customer of both O2 and Virgin Media, with Volt benefits, you can manage their Virgin Media account by visiting Virgin Media's Bereavement page. Virgin Media has a team dedicated to supporting you at this difficult time.

We also accept notifications from Life Ledger – a free death notification service that helps simplify the administrative process. Their platform allows you to contact all the companies (including O2) connected with the deceased, removing the need to have the same difficult conversation over and over again.

https://app.lifeledger.com/o2

Last updated: 05/02/2025


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