Chaos as Three Mobile call centres SHUT DOWN due to coronavirus
The telecoms company said it’s shutting all stores and the majority of call centres in light of the latest government COVID-19 advice.
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
Ministers have ordered all "non-essential" establishments to close to stop the spread of the virus - this includes pubs, theatres and shops selling non-critical products.
In an update to customers, Three said: “Following government guidance, we’re closing our stores and our contact centre staff won’t be able to get to work as usual.
“Our aim is to look after those who are most vulnerable so please use other ways to get support during this time.”
Three goes on to advise customers to use other means of contact to speak to the company.
But some customers say they're still having difficulty getting through to the network provider.
One person who tweeted Three today said: "So you advise using online help and when I go online your adviser tells you to call your call centre which is closed?"
Another customer said: "The form to transfer my number with a PAC code isn't working (unknown error).
"Online support are unable to help and your call centre is closed. Not the best experience for a new customers..."
Someone else tweeted: "How do I cancel an order that I thought was an upgrade but is in fact a separate contract."
Three, which has 320 shops across the UK, hasn't said when stores and all call centres are expected to be fully operational again.
However, it told The Sun that some members of staff have now been set up to work from home.
Three has call centres in India and Ireland, both of which are shut, and one in Scotland, which is operating under a reduced capacity.
Rival network providers O2, EE, Virgin and Vodafone have also shut down shops following the COVID-19 epidemic, although they've yet to announce the closure of call centres.
All major network providers recently announced they wouldn't charge customers, or take away from their data allowance, when accessing NHS websites.
O2, Virgin, Tesco, EE, Three and GiffGaff went down last week, leaving millions of people struggling to work from home.
Telecoms providers have recently come under fire for upping prices, with Virgin Mobile hiking costs by up to £80 a year for 140,000 customers.
Sky is upping prices by up to £72 a year in April.