O2 working: How to claim compensation after network down

O2 has restored its network after customers were unable to access 4G and data services for hours on Thursday.

Furious customers said they were unable to connect to the internet without a wi-fi connection. The issue also caused problems for services like Transport for London's electronic timetable at bus stops, which rely on the network.

O2 blamed the issue on a third-supplier and Ericsson.

O2 boss Mark Evans said: "I want to let our customers know how sorry I am for the impact of our network data issue has had on them, and reassure them that our teams, together with Ericsson, are doing everything we can.

"We fully appreciate it’s been a poor experience and we are really sorry.”

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that services should be carried out with reasonable skill and care.

Therefore, depending on the circumstances, you may be entitled to money back for loss of service whilst the repairs were being carried out.

For your complaint to be valid, you’d have to prove consequential loss, for example, if you had to spend money to use a payphone or connect to wi-fi.

You can contact O2 customer service by phone, online or via their Twitter account, although be aware that all lines of communication will be extremely busy.

If the response you receive is not satisfactory, you can raise this with Ombudsman Services, which O2 is a member of. The customer would need to ask for a deadlock letter or wait eight weeks starting from when the complaint was first filed.