O2 | Mobile Terms and Conditions - On Pay As You Go Our Service Terms Are Worth A Read

Terms & conditions

Pay As You Go service terms

These are the service terms for consumers who take Pay As You Go mobile services from us for their own personal use; If you're an O2 Business customer who only (or mostly) uses the services for business then our O2 terms and conditions for businesses will apply.

The following terms and conditions apply with effect from 3 April 2023. By Using the Service you will be deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions. Please note these terms and conditions are updated from time to time (see clause 12 below). Changes will be posted on our website at www.o2.co.uk/terms. Please check these regularly as continuing to use the Service after changes have been posted on our website will mean that you agree to these terms as amended.

Explanation of Certain Words
Provision of Service
Payment for the Service
Things we may have to do
Your Responsibilities
Assignment
Our Rights to Bar or Disconnect Your Mobile Phone
Right to cancel
Your Right To Return Your Mobile Phone
Limitation of Liability
Matters Beyond Our Reasonable Control
Changes to the terms and conditions
Additional Terms for 4G Pay As You Go Services

1. Explanation of certain words

1.1. In these Terms and conditions:

"Account"

means the account which records details of the amount of credits you have, from time to time;

"AIT"

means Artificially Inflated Traffic and occurs where the flow of calls to any particular revenue share service is, as a result of any activity on or on behalf of the party operating that revenue share service, disproportionate to the flow of calls which would be expected from good faith commercial practice and usage of the Network;

"Charges"

means all the charges associated with the Service described in the Price List;

"Content"

means textual, visual or other information, software, photos, video, graphics, music, sound and other material appearing on or available through the Service including all information supplied by content providers from time to time;

"GSM Gateway"

means a device (not designed or adapted to be capable of being used whilst in motion) for wireless telegraphy designed or adapted to be connected by wireless telegraphy to the Network or the cellular telecommunications system of another network operator and used solely for the purpose of sending or receiving messages conveyed by means of the Network or the cellular telecommunications system of another network operator;

"Mobile Phone"

means a cellular telephone and a SIM Card approved by us for connection to our Network;

"PAC"

means Porting Authorisation Code;

"Network"

means the cellular telecommunication system run by us;

"Price List"

means our periodically updated list of charges for the provision of the Service to customers;

"Registration"

means our acceptance of your application to register with us for the Service once you purchase call time from us and "Register" has a corresponding meaning;

"Rights"

means copyright, trademark and other relevant proprietary and intellectual property rights relating to Content;

"Service"

means any or all (as the case may be) of the following services: airtime service enabling you to make or receive calls and to send and receive data by means of the Network, the ability to send and receive email via the Internet, the ability to access information from the Internet and any additional services we agree to provide to you;

"SIM Card"

means the card or other device bearing a unique telephone number programmed to allow a Mobile Phone to access the Service;

"STAC"

means a Service Termination Authorisation Code;

"Terms and conditions"

means these terms and conditions and our current Price List;

"User Guide(s)"

means any guides or documentation supplied with your Mobile Phone/SIM card either by us or by the manufacturer of your Mobile Phone, which explain to you how the Service works, how to purchase call time and/or how to use your Mobile Phone;

"Using the Service"

means when your Account is first activated or when the Mobile Phone or SIM card is received by you, if later;

"Voucher"

means a call time voucher of the type described in your User Guide(s) which represents call time;

"WAP Services"

means services provided via Wireless Application Protocol (a secure specification that allows users to access Content via handheld devices such as a Mobile Phone);

"Web Services"

means services provided from our Website www.o2.co.uk and any additional websites linked from our Website.

We", "us" and "our"

means Telefónica UK Limited of 500 Brook Drive, Reading, Berkshire, RG2 6UU, United Kingdom; Registered in England under No. 1743099;

"You"

means the customer to whom the terms and conditions apply, and it includes a person who we reasonably believe is acting with your authority.
1.2. The Price List contains explanations, definitions, notes and conditions which form part of these terms and conditions. A copy of the Charges is available when you purchase your Mobile Phone and will be included in your welcome information or may be obtained by visiting our website www.o2.co.uk.
1.3. All services, offers and promotions are subject to additional terms and conditions advertised in our marketing literature and on our website www.o2.co.uk. Please check our site regularly as these terms are updated from time to time.
1.4 Use of WAP Services and Web Services are subject to our WAP and Web Services terms and conditions respectively, available to view on our Website. Please check our Website regularly as these terms are updated from time to time.

2. Provision of Service

2.1. We agree to make the Services available to you on the terms and conditions of this Agreement (subject to availability). This Agreement will start, and you are deemed to accept the terms and conditions of this Agreement, when you start Using the Service. You may cancel the Agreement at any time in accordance with clause 8.1. The Service is not available in all parts of the United Kingdom or our Europe Zone, nor in all other countries and may be restricted to certain areas within those countries where access to the Service is possible. If you use your Mobile Phone abroad outside of our Europe Zone, you will be charged for incoming calls. You may be charged to receive certain premium rated text messaging services.
2.2. We may using reasonable skill and care exercise our discretion to refuse to provide any part of the Service to you (and this may involve barring certain numbers from the Service on a temporary or permanent basis, in circumstances where it is necessary for us to do so). Networks and Services are variable in nature and not fault free and may be impaired by geographic, atmospheric or other conditions or circumstances beyond our control and you will be entitled to the quality of Service generally provided by a competent mobile telecommunications service provider exercising reasonable skill and care.
2.3. We will do our best to provide Service to you and any additional service requested by you (such as roaming) or if you instruct us to change your Service (e.g. to bar calls) by any date we have agreed with you but our ability to do so may be affected by circumstances beyond our control and we will not be liable to you if this is the case. However, please see clause 8 for information about compensation rights for certain delays where you are moving to another provider.
2.4. Our Network may from time to time require updating, upgrading, modification, maintenance or other work which may result in partial or complete non-availability of the Network and/or Service.
2.5. Until such time as you Register with us, but limited to a period of 3 months from the date you purchase your Mobile Phone, you may use your Mobile Phone to make emergency calls or calls to us to purchase call time.
2.6. Some Services or additional services provided by third parties may require the disclosure of the location of your Equipment. If you do not wish this to be disclosed please contact 1300 from your Mobile Phone. You may be able to adjust settings on your Equipment to prevent certain location-based services. Please note we may pass information about the location of your Equipment to emergency services.
2.7. We or our agents may record or monitor telephone calls between you and us (or our agents) for training, quality control and our lawful business purposes.
2.8. If you experience any difficulties with your Mobile Phone within 1 year of purchasing it, you should contact the manufacturer for replacement or repair under the manufacturer's warranty service detailed in the User Guide(s). This does not affect your statutory rights. If you bought your Mobile Phone or SIM Card directly from us and it is defective, not in accordance with any description given to you by us, not reasonably fit for purpose or it develops a fault you will be able to return it for repair and, if appropriate, replacement or refund. Please contact O2 Customer Service for details. You should call us as soon as possible if any of the circumstances above apply to you to ensure that you are able to exercise any rights you have.
2.9. We will use reasonable endeavours to maintain Content but it may be incomplete, out of date or inaccurate and is provided on an "as is" basis. It is a condition of us allowing you access to Content that you accept that we will not be liable for any action you take in reliance on Content.
2.10. We may vary Content or the technical specification of Service from time to time.
2.11. The Service enables access to Content. You may only use Content in a way that does not infringe the Rights of others ('Approved Use') and you must comply with all other instructions issued by us regarding use of Content. You shall not store, modify, transmit, distribute, broadcast, or publish any part of Content other than for an Approved Use. The re-selling, copying or incorporation into any other work of part or all of the Content in any form is prohibited save that you may print or download extracts of Content for your personal use only.
2.12. You are solely responsible for evaluating the accuracy and completeness of any Content and the value and integrity of goods and services offered by third parties over the Service. We will not be a party to or in any way responsible for any transaction concerning third party goods and services, except in the case of negligence on our part.
2.13. If you use the O2 Online My O2 service via the O2 Online shop it is a condition of this Agreement that you provide us with a current email address for billing purposes and that you maintain this address and advise us promptly of any changes to it. It is your responsibility to verify that your email mailbox is in proper working order and you must assume the risk of all consequences for errors in sending and receiving email, unless caused by our negligence.
2.14. Not all Mobile Phones will be able to receive the Service. We only agree to provide the Service to Mobile Phones of a make and type approved by us.
2.15. You may ask us to include your Mobile Phone number in a telephone directory and/or a directory enquiry service. However, you should be aware that, if you request this service (for which we may charge a fee) your number will be made accessible to companies that compile information for marketing purposes. If you are worried about this, you can prevent it from happening by registering your mobile phone number with the Telephone Preference Service on www.tpsonline.org.uk If you want your mobile phone number to be included in a directory and/or a directory enquiry service, please contact Customer Services.
2.16. We may cap your data allowance in our Europe Zone (outside of the UK). Any use in excess of these caps will be charged first at our EU Web Daily and EU Web Daily Bolt On rates, then once you’ve reached your tariff data allowance, at our Web Daily and Web Daily Bolt On amounts. For data level of cap and rates to be charged see www.o2.co.uk/help/pay-as-you-go/roaming-in-europe and www.o2.co.uk/termsandconditions/mobile/pay-as-you-go-web-daily-web-daily-bolt-on-monthy-web-bolt-ons-and-web-snack-bolt-on-terms-and-conditions.
2.17. In our Europe Zone (excluding the UK) making calls or sending texts to premium rate numbers, directory service numbers and some non-geographic numbers (which can vary over time) aren’t included.
2.18. You may only use our services in our Europe Zone (excluding the UK) for periodic travel, like holidays or short breaks. If you’re not genuinely using our services for period travel we may have to charge you for using our services in our Europe Zone (excluding the UK).
2.19. All use of our services will be subject to our Fair Usage Policy see www.o2.co.uk/termsandconditions/mobile/o2-consumer-fair-usage-policy. We may suspend or terminate your access to our services in the event that you breach our Fair Usage Policy.

3. Payment for the Service

3.1. You pay for the Service by purchasing a Voucher and registering it with us or by purchasing call time using your E Top-up, credit card or debit card, all methods as described in the User Guide(s) or by any other method approved by us from time to time.
3.2. Each time you incur charges, the credits that are registered on your Account will be reduced according to the duration of the call/message and the type of call/message by reference to the charges shown in the Price List.
3.3. Top-ups by credit or debit card can be in increments of £1, subject to a minimum of £10. Call time purchased by debit card or credit card will be credited to your Account, subject to our carrying out our usual security checks. We will not have any obligation to make a refund to you where you purchase more call time than you intend, for whatever reason. However, if you terminate this Agreement you may be entitled to a refund of prepaid credit e.g. if you switch providers using a PAC or STAC code (see clause 8 below). We may deduct reasonable costs that we may incur when administering your refund.
3.4 You're responsible for entering the correct phone numbers and ensuring that any Pay As You Go credit purchased using the Pay As You Go top-up service is credited to the correct O2 Pay As You Go phone. We will not be able to reverse or refund any payment made using the Pay As You Go top-up service which has been incorrectly attributed as a result of your error. Once you have completed a top-up, you'll be notified by SMS to the O2 Pay As You Go phone credited.
3.5. If you wish to stop using the Service at any time after the 14 day Trial Period, there will generally be no refund of unused call time, except for certain limited circumstances e.g. if you switch providers using a PAC or STAC code (see clause 8 below).
3.6. You may be charged to receive certain premium rated text messaging services and multimedia messaging services. We will not notify you of call charges for premium rate services operated by third parties. Details of these charges and any changes will be available on our website (http://www.o2.co.uk/premiumnumberpricing). Please check these before calling premium rate numbers.
3.7 . If you change tariffs for any reason (e.g. when upgrading or moving to a promotional offer) you may not be able to move back to your old tariff.

4. Things we may have to do

4.1. Occasionally we may have to:
- 4.1.1. alter the number of your Mobile Phone, or any other name, code or number associated with the Service for reasons beyond our control such as where requested to do so by a governmental authority or regulatory body or where we reasonably believe that the alteration will enhance your use of the Service. If this is the case we will give you reasonable notice;
- 4.1.2. temporarily suspend the Service (or any part of it) for operational reasons or in an emergency or for your security;
- 4.1.3. bar certain numbers from the Service on a temporary or permanent basis in order to prevent fraud or in circumstances where we would suffer direct loss.
4.2. From time to time we may have to migrate your Account from one billing platform to another. In these circumstances we will notify you if migration of your Account will affect your Service in any way.

5. Your Responsibilities

5.1. You must use your Mobile Phone and any replacement Mobile Phone and the Service in the way described in the User Guide(s) or any other instructions issued by us. From time to time it may be necessary for us to amend or supplement our instructions to you on the introduction or withdrawal of products and/or services, for reasons of security or to prevent fraud. It is important that you read and understand the information contained in the User Guides and other instructions as they will apply to your use of the Service from when you Register your Mobile Phone with us.
5.2. You agree:
- 5.2.1. and warrant that all factual information you provide to us is correct;
- 5.2.2. not to make a call or send a message or to take pictures or video or send, upload, download, use or re-use any material, which is offensive, abusive, indecent, defamatory, obscene or menacing, a nuisance (including to our staff) or a hoax in breach of any Rights or privacy or otherwise unlawful
- 5.2.3. that the SIM Card is supplied to you under licence and shall at all times remain our property;
- 5.2.4. to contact O2 Customer Service immediately if your SIM Card or your Mobile Phone is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed or likely to be used in an unauthorised manner and to cooperate with us in our reasonable security and other checks.
5.3. If your Mobile Phone or your SIM Card is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed or used without your authority, we shall have no obligation to make a refund to you of the credits left on your Account.
5.4. We recommend that you purchase insurance cover for your Mobile Phone to cover loss, theft, and accidental damage on your Mobile Phone. This is available through us at point of purchase or upgrade. Contact O2 Customer Service for details.
5.5. You must not use or permit anyone else to use your Mobile Phone or the Service fraudulently, or in connection with a criminal offence, in breach of any law or statutory duty;
- 5.5.1. to make a call or send a message to take a picture or video or send, upload, download, use or re-use any material which is offensive, abusive, indecent, defamatory, obscene or menacing, a nuisance (including to our staff) or a hoax, in breach of any Rights or privacy or otherwise unlawful;
- 5.5.2. to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety as set out in the Communications Act 2003; other than in accordance with acceptable use policies of any connected networks and (if appropriate) any relevant Internet standards;
- 5.5.3. to generate AIT; or via a GSM Gateway so that the Service is provided via the GSM Gateway to third parties;
- 5.5.4. to persistently send automated unsolicited communications.
5.6. You must tell us immediately by writing to The Data Controller at Telefónica UK Limited, 260 Bath Road, Slough SL1 4DX or by emailing mycare@o2mail.co.uk, if anyone makes or threatens to make any claim or issue legal proceedings against you relating to your use of the Service or the Content and you will, at our request, immediately stop the act or acts complained of. If we ask you to, you must confirm the details of the claim(s) in writing.

6. Assignment

You may transfer your Account with us to a third party provided you first contact O2 Customer Service to tell us and the third party calls us to Register with us. Once the third party has Registered with us, he/she will be deemed to have accepted the terms and conditions. We shall be entitled to assign or transfer our rights under this Agreement or any part of it on the same terms to any third party.

7. Our Rights to Bar or Disconnect Your Mobile Phone

7.1. If you do not carry out any chargeable activity at least once in any 6 month period your Mobile Phone will be disconnected and you will lose any remaining credits balance on your Account. If you wish to be re-connected after this time you will be given a new Mobile Phone number.
7.2. We may at our discretion bar or disconnect your Mobile Phone if we have reasonable cause to suspect fraudulent use of a credit card/debit card, your SIM Card or Mobile Phone.
7.3. In addition to anything else we can do, we may bar or disconnect your Mobile Phone at any time if:
- 7.3.1. you fail to comply with the Terms and Conditions in any material way; or
- 7.3.2. you telephone us to report that your SIM Card or your Mobile Phone is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed; or
- 7.3.3. if you are persistently abusive, make threats, repeatedly cause a nuisance or annoyance or otherwise act illegally towards our staff or property, or that of our agents; or
- 7.3.4. you use or permit any other person to use the Service to generate AIT; or
- 7.3.5. you use or permit any other person to use the Service via a GSM Gateway so that the Services are provided via the GSM Gateway to third parties; or
- 7.3.6. if you do anything or permit anyone else to do anything which we reasonably think adversely impacts the Service to other O2 customers or may adversely affect the Network.
7.4. If your Mobile Phone is disconnected and you wish your Mobile Phone to be reconnected to the Network, you must contact O2 Customer Service If we agree to reconnect you, you must pay a reconnection fee unless the disconnection was due to our negligence. Details of the current charge is available on request.

8. Right to Cancel

8.1 You may cancel this Agreement , stop using the services and, if applicable, return your Mobile Phone to us in accordance with clause 9:

by notifying us up to 14 days after receiving your SIM card (this is known as the Change-Your-Mind-Period) (please refer to clause 9 below);
by giving us notice at any time after the Change-Your-Mind-Period for any reason. At the end of this notice period we will disconnect your Mobile Phone and close your Account;
by giving notice if you consider that we have failed to fulfil our obligations under these terms in any material way and we fail to resolve this within 7 days receipt of such notification;
by giving notice that you do not accept a change that we notify you of in accordance with clause 12.3; or
by using a PAC or STAC that you have requested from us to switch to a different provider. This Agreement will terminate on the date that the new provider activates the services that you are switching.

8.2 We may cancel this Agreement if we have the right to terminate or suspend your access to the Services as set out in clause 2.19 and clause 7.

8.3 Information regarding your right to switch providers and to port your mobile number (using PAC or STAC codes that you request from us), including rights to compensation for certain delays, is available from our customer services team. If you request a PAC or STAC code, we will provide you with further information about the process, including any charges payable, repayment of credit balances and the impact on any other services we provide to you.

9. Your Right To Return Your Mobile Phone

9.1. Unless we've said otherwise and if you purchased your Mobile Phone/SIM card directly from us, you can cancel before the end of "the Trial Period" (also known as the Change-Your-Mind-Period, which starts the day after you receive your SIM Card. You may return your Mobile Phone/ SIM card to the place where you bought it from to obtain a refund of the price paid, provided the Mobile Phone/SIM card is undamaged, in good working order, in the original packaging and complete with all original parts and you have proof of purchase. The phone must be returned unlocked and free of security software or other protection that would disable it or prevent us from accessing it, for assessment, repair or refurbishment. If the device is locked or disabled when you return it and we provide you with a replacement device, we reserve the right to charge you the full cost of the device and /or not process a refund. If you bought your Mobile Phone/SIM card directly from us, we will bear the cost of returning the Mobile Phone/SIM card to us if you follow our returns procedure (Contact O2 Customer Service to arrange this or see /help/phones-and-devices/our-returns-and-repairs-policy if you ordered your Mobile Phone/SIM card via the online shop). If you do not follow our returns procedure you will bear the cost.

9.2. Subject to clause 7, we will refund to you the money equivalent of all credits left unused on your Account (excluding any free call time which you received) within 28 days of your returning your Mobile Phone/SIM card. You can use the Service during the Trial or Change-Your-Mind Period, but you will not be refunded for what you've used.

9.3. As a consumer of goods and services you are entitled to certain statutory rights, for example, the right to return defective goods to us, if bought from us, and the supply of Service by us using reasonable care and skill. The provisions of this clause 9 do not affect your statutory rights.

10. Limitation of Liability

10.1. We have no liability to you other than to exercise the reasonable skill and care of a competent mobile telecommunications provider or retailer.
10.2. We do not accept liability for indirect loss, such as loss of profit, loss of business, costs, expenses (unless such losses were reasonably foreseeable to both of us when this contract was entered into), or any other form of economic loss.
10.3. You agree that O2 has no responsibility for the deletion, loss or corruption of any Content transmitted or maintained by the Network, unless this is caused by our negligence.
10.4. We accept liability for death or personal injury to any person resulting from our own negligence.
10.5. If we are found liable to you, our liability to you under the terms and conditions will not exceed £3,000, except if we are found to be liable to you under clause 10.4.
10.6. Each provision of this clause 10 operates separately. If any part is found by a Court to be unreasonable or inapplicable the other parts will continue to apply.
10.7 Nothing in this clause 10 affects your statutory rights. For example, if we are
responsible for delays when you are switching providers you may have a right to claim
compensation. Please see clause 8.3 for more information.
10.8. If you want to complain about our Service, contact customer services. If you are still unhappy you can write for an impartial review to: Complaint Review Service, PO Box 302, Dunstable, LU6 9GN. Please include your Mobile Phone number if you write to us. If we don't resolve your complaint you can contact the Ombudsman Services: Communications. You can find their details at http://www.ombudsman-services.org/communications. They offer a free, independent service, but will only deal with your complaint if it's still unresolved after 8 weeks or there is a deadlock situation. The European Online Dispute Resolution site ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/ allows consumers to submit disputes relating to online purchases with us. You can check our Website for a copy of our Code of Practice on complaints and for our latest information on alternative dispute resolutions. We are here to help. If something goes wrong, we want to put it right. You can find out more about our complaints process in our Customer Complaints Code which can be found at https://www.o2.co.uk/how-to-complain.

11. Matters Beyond Our Reasonable Control

If we cannot provide the Service to you because of something beyond our reasonable control, we will not be liable to you for this.

12. Changes to the terms and conditions

12.1. Subject to clause 12.5 below we may increase or decrease our Charges at any time (including the introduction of charges for aspects of the Service previously provided free). Where we increase the Charges for the elements of the Service you are using we will notify you before the changes become effective. Notification will be via text message or by email (if you have registered your email address with us).
12.2. We reserve the right to change our terms and conditions of Service from time to time. We will notify you of any changes to these terms by posting them on our website at www.o2.co.uk/terms. In addition to this we may also notify you by messages on our IVR top-up system, messages via the Service (such as voicemail, text or media message) by means of national advertising campaigns or by email.
12.3. Subject to clauses 12.4 and 12.5 below, if we vary any of the Charges or change the terms and conditions in such a way that is not to your exclusive benefit, we will notify you and you may cancel this Agreement under clause 8.1(d) above and stop using the Service. Notification will be via electronic message, text message or by email (if you have registered your email address with us). We will also post details on our website at www.o2.co.uk/termsandconditions.
12.4 We may not notify you of changes to these terms and conditions if a change is purely administrative and has no negative effect on you or if we are required by law to make the change.
12.5. We will not notify you of call charges for premium rate services operated by third parties. Details of these charges and any changes are available at /premiumnumberpricing. Please check these before calling premium rate numbers.

13. Additional Terms for 4G Pay As You Go Services

13.1 These terms and conditions apply to anyone taking a Pay As You Go service from us that provides access to 4G.
13.2 These terms apply as part of your standard Pay As You Go service terms which can be viewed at http://www.o2.co.uk/termsandconditions/mobile.
13.3 Access to our 4G services is only available on selected packages, ask in store or check on our website for more details.
13.4 The 4G package allows you to access our 4G services in the UK and in our Europe Zone (excluding the UK) where available.
13.5 We reserve the right to implement 4G speed caps in future. Any details will be listed on our website.
13.6 Our 4G services may be affected by the number of people using the 4G service, maintenance and upgrades, faults from other networks, the weather, other environmental factors or degradation.
13.7 You should check our coverage checker at /coveragechecker before signing up to our 4G services. This is an indication and prediction of outdoor coverage, but coverage may vary depending on time and location. Data reception and speeds may not be as good indoors or in a car. Radio-based mobile technologies can also be affected by local factors including buildings, trees and even weather conditions. The coverage checker is a guide and does not guarantee signal coverage. Check for live network updates in affected areas at http://status.o2.co.uk/.
13.8. In order to access 4G services you will need a 4G ready phone, 4G services package, 4G sim card and you may need to do a software update on your phone if it does not have the software required to access 4G services. You're responsible for ensuring you have inserted your 4G sim and installing a 4G software update on your phone (if required). You must follow any instructions we send you about accessing our 4G network. Visit www.o2.co.uk/4g/setup for more details.
13.9 Once you have access to our 4G services, you will be able to access mobile internet data over our 4G network whenever you are in a 4G coverage area. When in our other mobile data network areas (for example Edge/GPRS/3G/HSPA areas) you will still be able to access non-4G data over these networks as usual.
13.10 Your data allowance (where applicable) will be used for all our different types of mobile data (for example Edge/GPRS/3G/HSPA areas) and will not differentiate between the types of mobile data you are using. The data allowance will not rollover from one month to another.