An O2 ‘agent error’ has taken my phone number and put my life on hold

When O2 transferred my pay-as-you-go phone service to a pay-monthly contract, an agent wrongly deactivated the number. It says the number will be given away to another customer if they can’t fix the issue within 30 days. I’ve had the number for more than 20 years, since I was 13. Over three weeks I’ve spent nine hours on 14 phone calls with at least 20 people on different continents, none of whom seem to be able to communicate with each other.

Each time I call I have to start from scratch. I’ve submitted a formal complaint but had no response. The ombudsman can’t step in until eight weeks have passed, by which point it’ll be too late because my number will be permanently lost.

In the meantime, I am trying to find a job but I can’t give anyone my number. So job applications are on hold while my savings dwindle. I also have reduced access to internet banking because I can’t receive a one-time passcode on my phone.
RM, Redhill, Surrey

The loss of a mobile phone number in a digital age can have devastating repercussions and it’s a disgrace that O2 did not immediately act. Furthermore, it’s an absurdity to claim it’s possible to allocate the errant number to someone else, but beyond human wit to return it to you.

Providers can communicate when they want to. My complaint to O2 press office was conveyed seamlessly to management and your number retrieved four days before it was due to be reallocated. By then, you’d been without it for nearly a month. O2 blames “an agent error” and has paid £260 compensation. It did not wish to elaborate on why the incompetence of numerous other agents failed to rectify the initial mistake.

Email your.problems@observer.co.uk . Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions