Hi I was in a pay monthly contract with o2, had a balance of around £250 remaining which i paid off in full to leave them to another provider. I asked for an unlatching code back in July, which it was sent within a day but the code did not work. I've now gone through about 4 of these requests with them and each time i was told to wait 7 days, only to have the same code sent out to me. After all this time they're telling me the only options are now to go to a side street shop and have it unlocked (they will compensate the costs but the manager at the end said we never advice customers to use these shops for many reasons) or i have to wait again to see if there is anything else that can be done. Out of interest and proper principals i chose to wait a few days longer to see what they will say. I'm not comfortable in using services outside the network provider. o2 have inconvenienced me in so many ways, i can't afford to go out and buy a new phone and my business relies heavily on data and need to always be reached. I have a feeling that o2 will just brush this off and leave me no option but to get it unlocked elsewhere. As the network provider, surely that have a responsibility to get the phone unlocked and i shouldn't be asked to do any of this. What am in entitled to claim back from them? for the inconvenience and now a phone that i've got no choice but to use an o2 PAYG sim card (3GB data and 1500 minutes per month for me drains in about 2 weeks). Thank you.

UK mobile networks look set to be forced to make it free to unlock phones at the end of customers' contracts, it was announced in The Budget. Currently, each major network offers different options to consumers who want their phone unlocked, with most charging for the privilege. Unlocking a phone allows customers to switch networks as they please. Following this week’s Budget, the government says that all mobile users should be able to have their handset unlocked at the end of their deal without paying. While it is hoping to get networks to sign up voluntarily, the government has promised to pass laws to force networks to comply if an agreement can’t be reached. http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/news/2016/03/mobile-networks-set-to-be-forced-to-unlock-phones-for-free/?utm_campaign=insight&utm_content=160321&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uswitch&utm_term=mobiles-content-pod

My son has a Samsung Galaxy S4 on PAYG which was locked to Orange when he bought it 2 years ago. He has requested the Network Unlock Sim from Orange as he wants to change providers to Vodafone. He paid the £10.00 admin fee and waited. This was over a month ago and every time he rings them he gets a different excuse or fob off as to when he will receive the code. The second call he made after waiting 10 working days for the code, he was told the IMEI number had been taken down wrong by Orange, and he will have to wait another 10 working days for a new code. Yesterday he was told he would be emailed the code by midnight. Nothing arrived. Now he's being told because his phone no longer has a Orange number, there is nothing Orange PAYG team can do to help, goodbye. Surely this can't be right. All he wants is the code so he can start using his phone again, because he hasn't been able to for over a month.

I have a second-hand iPhone 4S on EE and I am being charged £20.45 to unlock it from their network. Is there are legal basis for them to levy this charge? I understand that "the main reason that networks are allowed to lock phones in the first place is because generally when a phone is sold locked it's at a subsidised price..." - however, I have no contract with them, so why can I not be released upon request? "All the networks do it" is not the basis for law. Also of interest to me, the fact that parking charges - and over-charging - previously acceptable to millions of people, is now found to be in contravention to the law. How can I request my money back from EE?

Hi Guys Will put the Vodafone Ref Shortly. Have a contract with Vodafone. One of the lines was recently taken out and a Galaxy Note 4 was supplied with a number that ive later found out was a recycled number. I got my bill today and ive been charged £19.99 for a unlock code I haven't requested. The IMEI number given was an Iphone, I later found out this was the previous account holder to that number. CS gave me the name of the person who did this... Mohammed (The previous account holder) I have a question. Vodafone says if the details dont match then they wont process the order. They say it was done very recently. With that in mind, why was I charged? Why did you process this? Why did you give me the name of the Person who did this? This account was cancelled almost 3 months ago and your careless has breached the Data Protection Act...

Hi, I have been spoofed by a website called Official iPhone unlock, mobile phone oprators unlock your phone at the end of your contract for around £20.00. I thought this company was charging the same amount as they stated they could do the unlock quicker and the price was the same, however, the £19.99 plus VAT they took off me was for a "preorder", they said the cost of a full factory unlock from Orange, was £99.99 with a discount of £19.99! They refuse to refund me, so this is a well organised spoof

Hi Lee I hope you pick this up today because i want it resolved ASAP! Ive waited long enough and was told I should have the unlock code in 7 days... I requested an unlock code for the new HTC One M8. I originally confirmed i was happy to pay the £20 unlock fee when i made the original enquiry to Customer Services. Since then I have had 2 emails asking me whether I am happy to pay £19.99 for the code and to confirm in email. Please see the email trial below Lee, I respect what you do and you are probably the best at VF compared to what I normally deal with. IMHO this is to be sorted ASAP and I'd like this expedited. Other firms have offered to unlock the phone cheaper and quicker than you after enquiries last night. Ive already confirmed im happy to pay the charge... But your staff dont seem to beable to read my confirmation I am happy to do use this. [#6562881] is your ref.

Hello all, I am hoping you might be able to help me. I bought a SIM free iphone 4 from the Carphone Warehouse a few months ago, and put my existing SIM card into it. All fine. When I came to the end of my contract with T-Mobile a month or so ago I gave notice to cancel, and took out a new cheaper contract (with no phone attached) with 02. However, I have not been able to use the 02 SIM card in my phone, as the phone has automatically locked to T-Mobile. Here's the difficulty: - T-Mobile won't unlock the phone as it was not bought through them; - the Carphone Warehouse won't unlock the phone and deny all responsibility for the situation; - if I were to go to some backstreet operation to get the phone unlocked I would void my Apple warranty; - I can't use my 02 contract, although I am still paying for it; and - I am still paying through the nose for my T-Mobile contract, even though the two year term has expired and I want to leave. I'm therefore left with a situation where I cannot use my new contract with 02 in my existing phone because I can't unlock it from T-Mobile without voiding my Apple warranty, and I'm paying for two mobile phone contracts, one of which I do not need, and the other which I cannot use. I have spent literally hours on the phone to 02 (not really anything to do with them), T-Mobile (who say they can't help, although I have had so many different and conflicting answers from them it took forever to establish this), the Carphone Warehouse (who point to their terms and conditions and deny all responsibility - by far the worst customer service BTW) and Apple (who have been lovely, but ultimately unable to do very much). I have a legal background, and so am reasonably aware of consumer protection legislation (though this really isn't my area). From my limited knowledge, it seems to me that I have a number of justifiable complaints: - I was not sufficiently warned when taking out the phone that it would lock to the first SIM card provider, and that I would not be able to change networks without immense difficulty and voiding my Apple warranty (apparently this is noted in the Carphone Warehouse's terms and conditions, though having just located them I cannot see that it is). The term (if indeed there is a "term") is therefore unfair and not binding on me. - The new 02 contract is not fit for purpose - I bought it for use in my existing iphone, but cannot use it due to the difficulties I have described. I should therefore be entitled to damages and rescission under the Sale of Goods Act. - According to something I found on the internet, the regulators looked into the practice of "locking" phones, and concluded that it was justifable because network providers subsidise the cost of phones, and so were entitled to tie customers into contracts for a certain period in order to recoup that cost. Now, given that I bought the phone outright it would seem to be that this reasoning does not apply to my case. If there is no subidy to recoup then charging for unlocking is simply a restraint on my freedom to transfer between network providers, which is exactly the kind of thing the regulator is there to prevent. Currently my plan is to write to the Carphone Warehouse to make a formal complaint, and if that does not work, to go to the regulator. Do any of you have any advice that might help me? Thanks in advance for your help. Liz