ME vs O2: One Man's EPIC BATTLE... To Cancel His Contract

How hard can it really be to cancel your contract with O2?
It turns out... VERY hard.
Sir Edmund Hillary faced Everest.
David faced Goliath.
And I... tried to cancel my O2 contract. An epic battle for the ages.
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Many thanks, JH.

[@Rscanlon322]

As someone who worked in a call centre for a mobile provider and quit after only 2 months I can tell you a lot of companies use these inconvenience tactics. Most of everything you need to do with regards to checking your account details and signing up for services is easily available. But as soon as you try to cancel anything there’s a million different hurdles to jump. Companies are betting on you just giving up and staying with them. Usually your best option is just to get talking to a human as fast as possible

[@robbiepeterh]

This is pure madness. You should be able to simply log into your account, click a button that says cancel, get a confirmation email and then move on. What madness. I feel your pain and this really should be unlawful on their part.

[@kat3325]

That’s why British humour exists… It a coping mechanism to survive this type of torture.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Yup

[@spitfire-ls8oj]

​@@JamesHargreavesGuitarI'm from New Zealand and I relate to this humor

[@brendanmcpeake3697]

Just cancel direct debit and you will find that they get in touch with you fairly quickly to see what's going on 😂

[@Miaou12]

😅😅😅

[@slowdivebreeze1]

That’s exactly what I’d do straight off. Don’t have the patience for the rest of it.

[@haxemeback9304]

​@@slowdivebreeze1 Did you get in trouble for it

[@Soulmasons]

James, What a brilliant video, this really needed to be done. Showing up what all these huge companies do to us all everyday. Keep up the good work. Out the corporate scammers!

[@grrr.9998]

This is a serious issue, companies increasingly are obscure, impede and undermine their customer's attempts to contact them regarding their contracts.

[@CraigCholar]

As an American, I have never heard of O2. From the gist of this video, I feel blessed.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Count yourself extremely lucky

[@Jimmy-Vance]

If you know T-Mobile US, then you know O2.

[@TheMrdominator1997]

Your not lucky as you guys get ripped off in the US

[@mungofinalfi4480]

@@TheMrdominator1997 *You're

[@ChubbyChecker182]

More tension than Oppenhemier 😁

[@TheStrongBoyz19]

These types of videos with your humour and a change up to what you usually do are another great reason why I love the channel. Would you like to show your vinyl collection since you did show your vinyl pressing of your upcoming album? I'm a vinyl collector and interested to know what yours is. Love the video James.

[@factoryfactory7142]

Whats this got to do with oasis?🤷‍♀️

[@thefrontrank2006]

Love this… Just had a HMRC anxiety flashback 🤯 Keeping it real with your Sports Direct mug: Man of the people Please turn that hold tune into a banging track 😂

[@rshepherd45]

Definitely relatable. I would suggest you get that cancellation in writing as well, just to ensure its verified.

[@jacktebel]

nah this was a right laugh, thanks for wasting your afternoon to make mine! when you asked if the system was down she was so confused haha

[@nelftm]

I went through a similar experience with your "system is down" phone call - but with Virgin Media, and ended up hanging up on them. I complained on Twitter and they pointed me to a WhatsApp number where I could speak to a human. Ended up speaking to an automated bot and gave up again. These companies should be fined for making cancellations so difficult.

[@rhys_parsons3292]

I fucking hate the complexity of having to cancel car insurance, phone contracts etc it’s a pain in the arse. I feel your pain

[@brandonwholikesstuff]

Hello mate love this video would love more like it seeing the inner depths of the mundane life but you somehow make it interesting. Well done

[@geremymac]

Well done James, you held it together nicely. I would of been left with no TV or furniture by the end of this call

[@anonymousshitposter1743]

Deffo a different video but I'm here for it! This was hilarious keep it up James! Any updates on the studio/record label?

[@ZenyBux]

Hahahaha the music you’re using mate! 😂😂 This is hilarious! XD Keep this up James! x ;)

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Lol thanks will do!

[@OSW]

Watched this when it came out but hadn't left a comment! This is the best way to cope with such interminable inconvenience -- make content 😂 Well done winning the war

[@jbird4627]

WOW, you’re so patient on the phone. This is why I leave this stuff for the wife as they would’ve been told to get f##ked and my phone would’ve went through the window. I salute you my friend patience of a saint. 👍🏼 Oh yeh, I’m looking forward to you’re Oasis getting back together and doing a UK tour video.

[@julesb7783]

I had the same when switching to O2 (from Tesco). Ported number over, all good. Tried setting up my O2 voicemail, not good, kept connecting to my old Tesco voicemail. All very weird. Took about a month to get it sorted, numerous calls, chats, etc. Every person I spoke to fobbed me off, or passed me on to another department. So frustrating. I will be leaving when my contract is up!

[@georgehtwells]

I work on the phone for Vodafone and now I understand the frustration people have when they come to me saying they’ve been trying to get through to a person for hours

[@alfonsequerivel9451]

We’ve al been through this kind of loophole ! Good luck James !

[@peefernie]

That was painfull and definitely relatable!

[@MusicFromThePast]

That was like pulling teeth lol Congrats on the cancellation though

[@ThePinkfloyd51]

This was insane!

[@paddynevs5885]

O2 v James is the biggest rivalry since Noel and Liam 😂😂

[@justjohn86]

This was most entertaining.

[@chivchila]

I honestly, envy your patience! I’m facing an absolute nightmare. I want to cancel my contract for the second number I’ve got which I don’t even remember signing contract for. I was asked to pay £249 early cancellation fee. Absolute nightmare

[@thesingingaccountant1]

Great vid, music reminded me of curb your enthusiasm

[@bartekpiwonskiofficial]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😅😅😅😅 It's so funny cause it's true. The sad thing is, it's often the case with other companies, not just O2. But you're absolutely right about customer service. They don't do themselves any favours by treating customers in this way as this video demonstrates.

[@dontliethetruth]

this is a kafka-esque hell, my guess is the hurdles are put up on purpose

[@Coldcasereview]

Of course. When they said just gonna put you through to retentions just say no, I want to cancel and tell them you're in a hurry, it's not rocket science.

[@K.R.O1875]

I had some rather traumatic experiences with O2 a few years back. I feel your pain. Any chance you'll be doing a video on American Idiot now that you've finally listened to it? Would love to hear your thoughts on that and other Green Day albums.

[@BreakneckTV]

Ok so I watch your channel because I’m a big Oasis fan. As an American I have no familiarity with 02. Having said all that, this was a hilarious video and I watched the entire thing for some reason 😂

[@BreakneckTV]

The pain and bewilderment in your voice as you wipe your forehead and say “I’m not sure what the purpose of that lie was” 😂😂

[@christophertune8162]

Thank you, James. I had a similar experience. I was paying for data but not getting any on my Samsung tablet since the migration from virgin mobile. So gave up and tried to cancel which took about an hour. O2 are a joke. They don't even respond to complaints. Avoid O2.

[@RussellHarland]

To be fair, the robot said that your patience was appreciated. First class sevice.

[@riquiffer]

You're a warrior, congratulations

[@georgecase5908]

Reminds me of dealing with literally any company in Canada. It was a nine month process here of calling, going into the bank, over and over and over, just to get a credit card closed

[@rodent1412]

Great job mate O2 needs showing up for their appalling service. I’ve had exactly the same experiences as you, they are dreadful. I never take any of their offers as I know it will be impossible to cancel them in the future if I don’t like them. One bit of advice but I don’t know if it still applies and how I found it but you used to be able to schedule a callback, I found that the only process that got me anywhere. Well done fella.

[@simontunnicliffe2107]

Good on you James, you've shown amazing restraint on this video here haha! they think you have all this time to waste though don't they doing this, you could have been at work or had a meeting to go to, anything, taking hours to do something which should take 10 minutes. It also doesn't help when you don't get an English person to speak to so you can't always catch what they say due to their accent and vice versa.

[@ashleyberry1116]

She mugged you off. The system went “down” when she didn’t know what to do. 😂😂

[@olliefilmer7400]

the hold song was doing my head in as well 🤣🤣

[@rtraktsdn1197]

Im getting anxiety just 5mins into this video. I went through this for 5 MONTHS with Virgin Media.. I'll never forget it. Over 1 hour on the phone each time talking to someone in India.. multiply that by about 12 - 15 calls.. that's around 15 HOURS repeating myself over and over to a different person each time. It actually psychologically damaged me at the time. After then confirming they cancelled the contract, they continued billing me for another 10 months. After not paying the overbilled amount, I began receiving solicitors letters for an unpaid bill for services that were already cancelled!!! Absolute dumb asses (to put it mildly)

[@keidasshu6209]

It's the same thing from me. I o2 will burn slowly in hell with Lucifer and Co.

[@JennGlamnc44]

Jeez! I’ve been going through this b***s*** for the last month! Do they not have the staff or what. Absolutely ridiculous. I am fed up, but I’m determined to get through once and for all. Cos this must be a tactic to hold onto customers

[@pfonseca67]

It’s exactly the same in Portugal. Even worst, at the “retention team” (or whatever they call it) you spend more than hour hearing about the benefits of the company and so on and so forth. I started polite and said the same thing 3 times. After that I just started shouting and insulting the poor fellow that has this scripted job. At the end I didn’t solved anything, grab my wife (a lawyer) headed to the nearest shop and let she do the talking. At the end I cancel all contracts with my operator (Meo) and when just to another provider and bought everything new. And I’m really glad I did.

[@osheruzzi545]

They soon get in touch when you cancel your direct debit.

[@mikef9609]

Hi James I have just returned to Australia from a great UK trip. Now the hell has started. Cant contact 02 by phone even to sit on the line for hours or get transferred to someone., cant find and email to contact them with. Just going round and round in circles and and am still being charged.

[@joa1232]

Ok one question: before you started the video, what made you start recording the whole thing? Did you just thought oh this is gonna be a nightmare I better record this?

[@alanbruce1061]

This is up there with the secret chord episode JH. Certainly feel your pain brother

[@ashleyberry1116]

Did you notice how when you were in queues you had to endure foreign staff who barely spoke any English and as soon as you got to the business end you were connected to folk who appeared to be British.

[@warpiglet4759]

int' A.I. brilliant! 🤣🤣

[@MankyFrilla]

I may have smashed the ****** iPad to bits! Aw ffs man 👽☮️

[@maxdecimus13]

When I was younger, I worked in a few call centres like these. It is very telling that they kept putting you back in the queue and you have to start again. This is reflective of a company where the employees are hamstrung and constantly having customers kicking off on them. They just want to pass it on to somebody else. Believe me, there was nothing worse than getting someone on who started with 'right, I've been transferred 4 times now, and you're going to sort it out,' before finding out that you can't. I've worked in places where it is like this and ones where it isn't. It's a culture and set of processes that come from the very top.

[@kingjhimself]

I’ve had a similar issue but much more convoluted. Spoke to them first to cancel the contract in January, they said they did but didn’t. I received confirmation of cancellation 3 more times before they eventually cancelled it via social media. I spoke to them over the phone, on chat, social media and sent 3 emails to the complaints email as well as going through resolver. Not once did I receive a response. They then sent me a letter to say my contract was cancelled and my bill was written off, then 2 days later sent another letter saying my account was in arrears. I have never used the contract due to a dispute and paid for it for 2 years before I should have been able to cancel. Small claims court beckons!

[@hixsy]

You got transfered all over the world by the sound of it. Absolute pain..

[@vijeshprajapati5120]

Thank you!! You saved me😂

[@JoeSmith-bf5tp]

Hey James, did you ever do a story about how oasis was going to be on the trainspotting soundtrack

[@henry-lee-music]

@JamesHargreavesGuitar: You're a very patient man.

[@MankyFrilla]

Wet should have an AUTO CANCEL Contract at purchase point.. 👊🏼

[@Wwesattitude]

Absolute Hero 😂

[@Optomisma]

I feel your pain . This kind of thing happens to me with every fu..in thing I use . Absolutely pisses me off .

[@Ben-oc3jq]

Good video and i don't blame you for not signing up to anymore o2 contracts however in my recent experiences moving house this terrible customer service is the same for just about every company in any profit based industry and it seems like it may even be done on purpose to make it difficult for people to end contracts or complain about a service/product... Well ok lets get real of course it is done on purpose.

[@Gravedigger2024]

I fucking hate these corporations. Oh don’t get me started. I could rant all day. Great video, James. I just hope you deterred hundreds of people from joining O2. Power to the people!!

[@widdershins4778]

Omg patience of a saint.

[@MrCheswickMusic]

With AI taking up all the Indian call centre jobs, you know that this kind of crap is only gonna get worse, you know? It'll be like Kubrick's 2001 "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that, you can't cancel your contract" ha ha

[@cantthinkofaname77]

Sometimes the Twitter account of companies react as they don't want people to see disgruntled customers. Problem is these overseas call centres take ages, work from set questions and struggle to understand

[@monkimusic4813]

put the SIM from IPAD in your phone then ring???

[@Miaou12]

Your stubbornness has finally paid off! Let's all make this video huge by liking it and commenting it. This is of public interest. May O2 go to hell !!! Tips: When a cancellation process becomes too ugly and beyond bearable whatever the plan/contract you're in, the ultimate thing you can do is to stop or cancel the direct debit payments with your bank. Those big companies can't be bothered to file suit against you on behalf of a handfull of £/€/$... I did it once with my ex mobile provider a few years ago. Never heard from them since 👋😛😉

[@deanrussell2224]

I managed to cancel mine and went to smarty saving me nearly £60 a month for double the data - had no problem with coverage so far, in fact it’s been better in Hampshire than O2

[@jamesthecat]

Mine too, it was the best thing I did. The joke was that I got such a weak signal with O2 that I knew it couldn't be worse, but the operator still claimed otherwise! He said anything and everything to try to stop me getting the PAC code, including manipulative & obstructive phrases like 'I don't see how that would help'. Absolutely disgraceful. I complained about that, and the fact that their data isn't accurate (which really needs to be audited) on the forum, but it seems to full of shills.

[@deanrussell2224]

@@jamesthecat totally worth the effort in the end but yes I agree - it’s worse than cancelling a gym membership…

[@OperationBlueprint]

I wonder whether the best thing to do, given you're no longer tied to a contract, is cancel the direct debit with your bank?

[@OperationBlueprint]

Or sign up with another supplier and they'll shut down the O2 account.

[@jimmyrustle3784]

​@@OperationBlueprint You'll need a PAC code to transfer the number. To get the PAC code you will have to do a similar run-around. The easiest way is to cancel the direct debit. They will chase you for an unpaid bill for a number you haven't used and send debt collectors, but you just ignore them and open the door to no one. Telling someone to cancel the contract over the phone without doing the full multi-hour runaround is not sufficient, as we couldn't verify your identity so didn't cancel it even after you told us and said you were cancelling the DD because we were be obstructive. This is the method of mobile phone companies.

[@LIVERNIL723]

Be careful when buying Car Insurance because there are Companies that don't offer any Telephone service and support/aftercare; so albeit a claims phone number, everything else is off the table and no human contact.

[@snads8415]

I had a similar issue with EE. When I eventually got through to someone they said that they'd noted the system to cancel the direct debit. I wanted to use the unlimited data till the end of the last payment month and they said yep no problem. They then cancelled my sim so I couldn't use it despite having 3 weeks left to use it and they didn't cancel the direct debit so I got charged again 😂😂😂

[@rubberchix]

Is this about Oasis?

[@AgentsofRush]

I left O2 quite a few years ago and went to Virgin as they would give me the proper deal I wanted at the time. Now Virgin have handed everything over to O2 😭😂

[@Optomisma]

Wait until cash has gone and this is how we will deal with banks .

[@MKYCmusic]

Are you sure they actually cancelled it?

[@chivchila]

I’m facing an absolute nightmare. I want to cancel my contract for the second number I’ve got which I don’t even remember signing contract for. I was asked to pay £249 early cancellation fee. Absolute nightmare

[@simmysimmy3748]

All the services are at it, I've been there.. they're an absolute disgrace

[@chrisj1602]

I’m tied into O2 for a couple more years but I’ll be moving elsewhere as soon as I can!

[@thesingingaccountant1]

Same crap at every company these days!!😢

[@Ft.Gagiano]

Glad to see contract cancelations is not yust crap in south africa also. But around the world.

[@marcb8934]

The security question is for example maiden name or favourite pets name or place you grew up on lol

[@removeyoutubehandles]

why am i about to watch a 23 minute video of a man cancelling a data contract

[@Edb3]

You're the one who read the title, then clicked the video?

[@thesingingaccountant1]

Because KZbin

[@GereDJ2]

Seems more like Customer Dis-service.

[@MrSKAGNASTY]

I would of gone to the nearest 02 shop

[@awkwardhoors]

Ah well see, ye sat down with a Sports Direct mug, so ye subconsciously knew ye were in it for the long haul...!

[@MrToshstag]

Hi James,it's not just 02 mate,three and virgin are the same,you can do everything online exept cancel anything,it took o2 three weeks to transfer my number over to a 5g sim card when i upgraded,cancel your direct debit and thay are soon in touch and you get to speak to an human

[@CaptainCommonsense142]

As a fellow O2 user I can say oh you poor soul

[@MankyFrilla]

I've had to go thru the same, now imagine when the whole system becomes AI, no humans to arrive to At All... 😥👊🏼

[@LegsON]

The beauty of a 1st world country!🤣

[@kenny75photography2]

I guess you won't be leaving a 5 star review on trustpilot James. ;-)

[@allandudson9684]

There's only one way to cancel this sort of shite these days... stop payments to these idiots and they will soon cancel it for you when they realise they're not getting your money.

[@Secretelite1234]

I couldn’t even ring them because with O2s deplorable signal it kept cutting off 😅 making me pay £900 to cancel when I’m supposed to be paying for unlimited internet but it never works as 90% of the time all I have is 1bar 3G. Worst service ever

[@atrax2636]

I have exactly same problem with O2. After 2h talking to different people by phone finally someone was able to “cancelled “ my contract and ensured me I will get final bill after 14 days. Never happened. I still have to pay my bill for data 😡

[@goncaloveiga]

This is pure Kafka.

[@arshadahmed2497]

Doex o2 provide good network in uk ?

[@angelakenyon7490]

Usual average

[@MrUpTheRa1234]

If you are a real James Hargreaves fan, you will cancel your O2 contract too

[@LIVERNIL723]

Vodafone; Yep. Possibly around 2016; gave both myself and my dad heartache; they are near enough a swamp of quicksand; they'll put you through retentions to try and dissuade you from leaving; relentless and tried to impose an 'unpaid' £150 or so bill.

[@Zero-tb5os]

Wish it was simple. Thank you> I know the process now.

[@mcburnski]

I had a Vodafone add before this video

[@boguscop]

My iPad has iMessage on it so I could send a text message. It’s also just a Wi-Fi iPad not cellular