Harassed widow takes husband’s ashes to T-Mobile to prove he is dead
18 Nov 2014
A grieving widow had to take her late husband's ashes into a mobile phone store in a bid to persuade staff to terminate his contract, Mail online reported.
Maria Raybould, 56, was continued receiving bills from T-Mobile after her husband David, 57, died of cancer – and was threatened with bailiffs if she failed to pay up.
The day after Raybould's death, the phone company was informed about the death by her son. The company asked to see a death certificate so staff could cancel the contract.
She continued to receive threatening letters telling her to pay £129 or face a cancellation charge.
She said it had gone downhill since then and she had had texts asking if David wanted to pay an extra £2.50 for broadband and letters saying that the bailiffs would be coming.
David had been paying £26 a month by direct debit for a Samsung Galaxy SII Mini on a contract with T-Mobile.
Mrs Raybould told the Telegraph that she had been to the shop with the death certificate, with a letter from the crematorium, the funeral bills - even his ashes. She said she had a panic attack on one occasion as she went outside the shop.
After she returned, she was told by the woman at the counter that the company would cancel the contract. Yet, she continued to get notices.
According to Mrs Raybould it was easier to bury David than it had been to sever ties with the phone company. The company has since apologised for the trouble, and blamed the letters on a delayed-payment processor.
