Martin Lewis has urged customers of a major mobile firm in the UK to ‘check your bills now’. He made the warning in his latest ITV TV show.
If you’re an O2 customer, it might be time to dig out your last few bills as you could be liable for hundreds of pounds unfairly charged, according to the new alert from Martin Lewis.
The row began after O2 confirmed it was hiking mid‑contract price increases for up to 15.6 million customers – from the previously promised £1.80 per month to a more painful £2.50.
That translates to about £30 more a year than customers were originally told.
The consumer champion, speaking on ITV’s The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, blasted the move as “outrageous”, warning that some customers are being misled into thinking they had to pay off their handset plan in full if they wanted to leave – an interpretation that’s far from the truth, he said. He urged viewers to ‘check your bills now’.
You can leave penalty‑free, says Lewis, though he said O2’s confusing communication is pushing some to settle device costs unnecessarily.
The trouble is, several ex‑customers who ditched O2 in protest now claim they’ve been slapped with exit fees of “£100s”, and in some cases told to instantly repay the full handset cost – even when they were only attempting to cancel their airtime (SIM) contracts.
He told viewers: “Did you ditch 02? I’ve talked about it a lot on this show because I was annoyed about it after it hiked its price.
“If so, check your final bill hasn’t got hundreds of pounds extra added to it.
“Some people are getting in touch with me directly say they’ve been charged to cancel or asked to repay handsets costs up front. That is wrong. If so, complain to O2.
“Then, if there’s no resolution. Go to the communications ombudsman.”
So if you’ve recently abandoned O2 – or even if you’re thinking of it – he advised to do the following now:
- Check any correspondence from O2 (letters, emails, SMS) to see if you were told you had to pay full handset costs.
- Scrutinise your final bills and bank/credit statements. Unexpected lump‑sum repayments are a red flag.
- Review your credit report for any unexpected entries – a wrong default could hit your credit score.
- If you’ve been wrongly charged, you can complain – either directly to O2 or via the relevant regulator or ombudsman.
Martin Lewis says this could be “one of the biggest causes of complaint” in his inbox – so don’t assume O2 is treating customers fairly, he said.
A spokesman for O2 said this week: “We have been fully transparent about this change, which equates to an extra 2p a day, writing directly to customers and providing the right to exit without penalty if they wish, in line with existing rules.”
