What happens to a phone or broadband contract when someone dies? Every UK provider's bereavement team

A phone contract does not end when the person does. The direct debit keeps going, the handset finance keeps going, and the network has no idea anything has changed until someone tells it. One family we wrote about found seven live contracts in a father's name months after his funeral.

This page gives you the one thing every family needs and nobody has in one place: how to reach the bereavement team at each UK network and broadband provider, what each one asks for, and what you are entitled to. Contact details were checked on each provider's own site in September 2026, and they do change, so if a number fails, search the provider's name and "bereavement".

What you are entitled to

Ofcom, which regulates UK phone and broadband providers, says a provider should close the account of someone who has died when asked, and that you should not have to pay an early termination charge for ending the contract early. Any charges already owed on the account can in principle be recovered from the estate, but providers often waive those too, and some backdate the closure. Business accounts may be treated differently.

The exception is handset finance. Where the phone was bought on a separate loan agreement, as with O2 and several others, the outstanding balance on the device is a debt of the estate even though the airtime contract is closed without penalty. Ask each provider to confirm in writing which parts of the balance have been waived.

Before you cancel anything

• Keep the SIM working for a few months. Security codes for the person's email, bank and social media accounts arrive by text. Once the number is gone, some of those accounts become unreachable. Our guide to the phone itself explains what to do in what order.
• Decide whether anyone wants the number. A relative can usually take the number over, either by transferring the account into their name after a credit check, or by asking for a PAC code and moving the number to their own contract.
• Save the voicemail greeting. For many families it is the last recording of the person's voice. Record it by calling the number from another phone before the account closes, and ask the provider whether the greeting can be retrieved once you have told them about the death.
• Check for other lines. Family plans often have several numbers on one account. Tell the provider which ones should carry on and in whose name.
• Broadband comes with an email address. BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Plusnet email addresses close with the account, and some people used them for everything. Read the email guide before the broadband is cancelled.

What every provider asks for

• The account number, or the mobile or landline number.
• The account holder's full name, address and often date of birth.
• The death certificate, or its registration number. A clear photo is accepted by most; some ask for a copy by post. An interim certificate from a coroner is generally accepted.
• Your own name, address and relationship to the person.
• What you want done: close, transfer to a named person, move to pay as you go, or release the number with a PAC.

Every UK provider's bereavement route

EE

EE has an online bereavement form on its help pages ("Let us know an account holder has passed away") for mobile, broadband or both, with the choice to close the account or transfer it. You can also call 150 from an EE phone or 07973 100 150 from any other. EE may ask for a copy of the death certificate. To transfer, EE asks the new holder to call together with you; they will be credit checked if they are not already a customer.

O2

O2 has a dedicated Bereavement Team on 0800 090 1820, seven days a week from 8am to 9pm, by email at Bereavement&Criticalillness@virginmediao2.co.uk, or by post to O2 Bereavement Team, PO Box Virgin Media O2, Sunderland SR43 4AA. It asks for the account number, the holder's name and address, the mobile number, your details and your relationship. Options are to disconnect, to transfer the account to your name, or to move it to pay as you go. O2 says it processes a disconnection within seven working days, clears any remaining balance within 14 days, and waives early disconnection fees, although any balance on a device loan agreement remains payable.

Vodafone

Vodafone has an online bereavement form and a free dedicated line on 0808 005 7450, Monday to Friday 8am to 10pm and weekends 8am to 8pm, with a call-back option rather than a queue. Have the type of account, the person's full name, date of birth, mobile number and address, and the death certificate registration number. Vodafone will close the account, transfer it, or move it to pay as you go or another network. It accepts photos of documents by email.

Three

Three has a bereavement form on its support site and a bereavement team on 0333 338 1400, 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 6pm at weekends. It cannot discuss the account until it has confirmation of the death, so have the death certificate details ready. Three confirms the cancellation date and sends a final bill that serves as written confirmation. It does not ask for the phone or SIM back. If someone wants the number, Three can issue a PAC to move it to a contract in another name.

Sky

Sky has a dedicated bereavement team for TV, broadband and Sky Mobile. Its help article "Inform us of the death of an account holder" shows the phone number when you choose "Get in touch" and then "Call us". You will need the account holder's name and the Sky account number. Sky can cancel the account or continue it in another name, and will explain what happens to the equipment.

BT

BT has an online bereavement form, which needs the account number or the BT phone number, and a bereavement line on 0800 169 1663, 8am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm Saturday and 9am to 6pm Sunday. It asks for the holder's name, account number, date of birth and address, plus your name, address and relationship, and whether you want the account closed or the name changed. If the account is transferred, the new holder has a short window to decide which services to keep. The BT email address closes with the account.

Virgin Media

Virgin Media has two downloadable forms: a Bereavement Transfer form to move the services into another name unchanged, and a Bereavement Disconnect form to end them. Either can be emailed back, and Virgin Media says it updates the account within seven days. To change the services at the same time, or to talk it through, call 0800 952 2302, 8am to 9pm seven days a week. If the person also had an O2 mobile through Volt, that account is handled by O2's bereavement team separately.

giffgaff

giffgaff runs on email: write to bereavementteam@giffgaff.com with the account holder's full name and giffgaff member name if you know it, their mobile number and registered address, your own name, address and relationship, and a copy of the death certificate. You can keep the account going or close it. giffgaff also accepts notifications through Life Ledger, a free service that tells many companies at once.

Tesco Mobile

Tesco Mobile asks families to call Customer Care on 0345 301 4455, or use webchat, and says it will take care of everything. Other numbers on the same account can be moved to pay as you go, or to pay monthly after a credit check. Its general cancellation page mentions early termination charges, so ask the adviser to confirm that none apply because of the death, which is what Ofcom's guidance says.

iD Mobile

iD Mobile handles bereavements through live chat, where typing "Bereavement" connects you to an agent, or by emailing a copy of the death certificate to documents@idmobile.co.uk with the account holder's name and mobile number. Once told, iD puts all collection on hold for 21 days, then disconnects the account when it has the certificate. It says any remaining balance, including early termination, will not be pursued, and that a phone on the plan does not need to be returned. iD accounts cannot be transferred to another person, so anyone wanting the number should ask for a PAC. iD also works with Life Ledger.

TalkTalk

TalkTalk's bereavement team is on 0345 172 0038, free from a TalkTalk phone, Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm and Saturday 9am to 6pm. Have the account details and the holder's name ready. The team can change the owner or close the account. A TalkTalk email address goes with the account, so save anything in it first.

Plusnet

Plusnet asks families to call 0330 123 9123. Anyone can ask for an account to be cancelled; a transfer can only be requested by immediate family or the nearest blood relative, which Plusnet lists as husband, wife, civil partner, son, daughter, brother, sister, mother and father. Expect a short security check about the account. The Plusnet email address closes with the account.

Other providers

Lebara, Lyca, SMARTY, VOXI, Talkmobile, Sky Mobile, Now Broadband, Zen, Hyperoptic and the smaller fibre providers all have a bereavement route, usually a form or an email address on their help pages. Search the provider's name with "bereavement". The same rules apply: no early termination charge on death, and the account closed on request.

Handsets, finance and returning equipment

A phone bought outright is part of the estate and can be kept, sold or passed on. A phone on a separate device loan is different: the loan carries on and the balance is owed by the estate, even though the airtime is closed without penalty. Before selling or giving away any phone, make sure the person's Apple or Google account has been removed from it, or the next owner will find it locked. Our Apple guide covers Activation Lock. Broadband routers and TV boxes usually have to go back; the provider will send a returns bag.

Telling everyone at once

Life Ledger and Settld are free services that pass one notification of a death to many companies, and several networks, including giffgaff and iD Mobile, accept notifications through them. They save repeating the same conversation, though each company still processes the closure at its own pace and may come back to you for documents.

If it goes wrong

• A bill or a fee arrives after the closure. Reply in writing quoting Ofcom's guidance that early termination charges should not apply on death, and ask for it to be removed.
• Debt collectors write to the person. Send them the death certificate and the provider's closure confirmation, and tell them any genuine debt is a matter for the estate.
• Nothing happens for weeks. Make a formal complaint to the provider. If it is not resolved within eight weeks, or the provider issues a deadlock letter, you can take it free of charge to the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS, whichever scheme the provider belongs to.

The online accounts behind the phone

The contract is usually the easy part. The harder part is what the phone was signed in to: the Apple or Google account, the email, the social media. Departed Digital closes or memorialises those for the family, with the documents sent once and a written record at the end. Packages start from £149.