13 hours lying on her bedroom floor and AnPost still dont care?

ceegee

wrt to the thread title, its still not entirely clear why your mil couldnt ring the emergency services - this is always available regardless of if the phone is locked.

I'd also be interested to know who purchased the phone, and if you or her sons/daughters checked she was able to use it properly

Wile E. Coyote

OP Whats stopping you from bringing the phone into the hospital, getting your mother in law to answer a couple of security questions and then asking them to deal directly with you to resolve the issue?

WORD

Jev/N wrote: »

Doesn't matter the operator as:

1) All mobile operators, as far as I'm aware, will block/lock the SIM after a period of inactivity and not topping up

2) All operators will heed data protection laws.


Can you clarify whether it's the SIM or the phone itself that is locked/blocked??

It is the phone itself. I had to restart it as the operator needed the number of the sim card to look for the phone number so after i put the card back in it shut down. I started it again and it did not ask for a number.

UDP

All your mother in law has to do is speak to the agent for only a minute where she can answer the security questions and ask them to speak to you on her behalf.

What I dont understand is you want a mobile for your mother in law to be able to take calls from family etc but yet you say she is incapacitated to be able to speak to a customer service rep for less than 1 minute?

You sound very unreasonable here.

amdublin

ceegee wrote: »

wrt to the thread title, its still not entirely clear why your mil couldnt ring the emergency services - this is always available regardless of if the phone is locked.

I'd also be interested to know who purchased the phone, and if you or her sons/daughters checked she was able to use it properly

Word - are you angry with youselves and trying to use anpost as a scapegoat?

I think the family need to take responsibility here

WORD

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

OP Whats stopping you from bringing the phone into the hospital, getting your mother in law to answer a couple of security questions and then asking them to deal directly with you to resolve the issue?

If you see the state that she is in id expect that you would be thrown out of the hospital for even attempting this stunt.

UDP

WORD wrote: »

If you see the state that she is in id expect that you would be thrown out of the hospital for even attempting this stunt.

Then why does she need a phone now? Why can't it be resolved when she is in a better state?

GreenWolfe

I don't know what Postfone could have done for the woman tbh. As far as I can see, the OP's mother-in-law wasn't provided with the mobile phone that catered to her specific needs.

People can often need more specialised equipment than what's available in the nearest shop.

RangeR

OP, this is not a consumer issue. I feel for your situation and I wish your MIL well. However, I feel that you are mis-directing your anger. This is not a problem of ANPost's doing. They can ONLY talk to your MIL or a prior appointed contact [eg, I am an appointed contact on many of my mother's accounts, for varying reasons].

AnPost just cannot talk to you or anyone else, other than your MIL. It's against the law. It really is as clear cut as that.

There are exceptions. For example, if a person dies, a family member can gain access to the service upon presentation of a death certificate but that's the only exception that I am aware of other than a court order.

Jev/N

WORD wrote: »

It is the phone itself. I had to restart it as the operator needed the number of the sim card to look for the phone number so after i put the card back in it shut down. I started it again and it did not ask for a number.

Sounds like incorrect PIN entry and requiring a PUK code as already stated earlier. Something the operators won't really give out to anyone other than the owner, as you've obviously found out.

(BTW I want to edit and preface this by saying that I don't condone breaching DP law and I will remove if mods require but it is a quick and practical solution if you do, as you say, have all the required security information)

First, why don't you get her daughter to ring "as her mother" and answer all the question like that. If you have the info, PRETEND to be her, they will generally be none the wiser and it'll all be sorted.


Now, without sounding too harsh in this situation, if you want your mother in law to have her phone at her bedside, presuming so you can contact her, why can are you arguing with the above poster who suggested you try to get her to answer PostFone's queries if she's in a fit state to have the phone. I'm taking it that she's not, but it's for the near future.

In that case, why are you so irate that the supervisors aren't in the office (around lunchtime) and it has only been circa 1-1.5 hours?

Wile E. Coyote

WORD wrote: »

If you see the state that she is in id expect that you would be thrown out of the hospital for even attempting this stunt.

But yet you want her to be able to take calls from family and friends?

WORD

amdublin wrote: »

Word - are you angry with youselves and trying to use anpost as a scapegoat?

I think the family need to take responsibility here

On the contary. From the start, all the family want to do is get this old ladies phone sorted for her so when she is well enough she can keep in contact with her family. I think that AnPost do a great job but unfortunately when it comes to helping out a customers family they wont respond no matter how much proof that you put their way. The family will sort this out themselves but as for anpost well its been an hour and a half and no phonecall back. Its this level of service that concerns me after the amount of time i spent waiting on the operator and then to be ignored is a tad annoying. God help tham. It must be a strain on their resources to pick up the phone and return a call from a customers concerned family.

UDP

WORD wrote: »

On the contary. From the start, all the family want to do is get this old ladies phone sorted for her so when she is well enough she can keep in contact with her family. I think that AnPost do a great job but unfortunately when it comes to helping out a customers family they wont respond no matter how much proof that you put their way. The family will sort this out themselves but as for anpost well its been an hour and a half and no phonecall back. Its this level of service that concerns me after the amount of time i spent waiting on the operator and then to be ignored is a tad annoying. God help tham. It must be a strain on their resources to pick up the phone and return a call from a customers concerned family.

But you do not need the phone right now since she is not in a fit state to use it. Even if they do ring you back they would be breaking their own policies by helping you out when they do not have any evidence that you are telling the truth.

Lots of people know enough personal details about other people to access their accounts so companies cannot knowingly give information to a non-account holder as it is against the law.

Wow, I pity an post mobile customer service reps.

Diddler1977

WORD wrote: »

On the contary. From the start, all the family want to do is get this old ladies phone sorted for her so when she is well enough she can keep in contact with her family. I think that AnPost do a great job but unfortunately when it comes to helping out a customers family they wont respond no matter how much proof that you put their way. The family will sort this out themselves but as for anpost well its been an hour and a half and no phonecall back. Its this level of service that concerns me after the amount of time i spent waiting on the operator and then to be ignored is a tad annoying. God help tham. It must be a strain on their resources to pick up the phone and return a call from a customers concerned family.

An post have a contract with your MIL not her family.

Your MIL is the customer. Her family are of no concern to An Post.

Maybe you could consider heading to the nearest mobile phone shop. For less then €100 you can pick up a ready to go phone (with credit) suitable for an elderly person.

An Post do not have to deal with you. They owe you nothing.

dudara

OP - I think you're making this far too personal, and not realising the realities of the situation.

There are Data Protection Laws which have to be respected. If you have to wait until your mother-in-law is in a better state to talk to An Post, then you'll have to wait. Alternatively, you can try to work with An Post to find some other way of resolving the situation.

In addition, if your mother-in-law is unwell, and this could happen again, then you need to make sure that either her mobile remains topped up, or there is an alternative alert system.

I hope your mother-in-law gets better soon.

GreenWolfe

Diddler1977 wrote: »

An post have a contract with your MIL not her family.

Your MIL is the customer. Her family are of no concern to An Post.

Maybe you could consider heading to the nearest mobile phone shop. For less then €100 you can pick up a ready to go phone (with credit) suitable for an elderly person.

An Post do not have to deal with you. They owe you nothing.

I've already linked to an example of one. And OP seemed to have ignored it

Wile E. Coyote

WORD wrote: »

On the contary. From the start, all the family want to do is get this old ladies phone sorted for her so when she is well enough she can keep in contact with her family. I think that AnPost do a great job but unfortunately when it comes to helping out a customers family they wont respond no matter how much proof that you put their way. The family will sort this out themselves but as for anpost well its been an hour and a half and no phonecall back. Its this level of service that concerns me after the amount of time i spent waiting on the operator and then to be ignored is a tad annoying. God help tham. It must be a strain on their resources to pick up the phone and return a call from a customers concerned family.

I think you're really blowing this out of all porportion.

It's been an hour and a half. People are entitled to take a lunch and I'm sure your call isn't the only query they will have received today. On top of that your mother in law doesn't even need the phone as you have already said she is in no condition to use it. I think you need to stop worrying about a phone and look after your mother in law.

Diddler1977

Just rereading the thread.

Am I right in thinking the OP wants An Post to break Data Protection Laws in order to get MIL's phone working again even though MIL is not in any condition to use said phone?

OP, why don't you just wait until your MIL is able to use a phone again and she can contact An Post and sort it out.

What use is a working phone to her at this moment in time?

WORD

It has been sorted. I got a phone call from anpost and they have unlocked the phone.
Thankyou to everyone here that helped.
Kind regards.
Word.

GreenWolfe

WORD wrote: »

It has been sorted. I got a phone call from anpost and they have unlocked the phone.
Thankyou to everyone here that helped.
Kind regards.
Word.

It's great that you've got a resolution and I hope that your mother-in-law will get better soon.

Looking ahead, please consider purchasing a handset that would be more relevant to her needs. I would imagine that a Samsung Cobble (afaik from what you said earlier) would be difficult enough for an elderly woman to use normally, never mind in an emergency.

UDP

I hope you go away and think about how unreasonable you were here and I hope you thanked an post very much since they put their neck on the line just so a person would feel unnecessarily "useful" during an bad situation.

mathepac

irelandrover wrote: »

If you don't know how to use something then don't buy it. Or learn how to use it before you buy it. I should not have to have a big Help Me button on my phone because someone else cant read a manual or terms and conditions.

I actually don't care what your requirements are and have no intention of going off-topic to discuss them.

What's at issue here IMHO is the ability of a person who is less able to use or understand tech or the specific T&Cs relating to a product through age or infirmity, where that product IMHO should have been supportive of her needs and her circumstances in extremis, but it failed her.

Like some other posters I am mooting means to ensure someone in need never gets stuck as the OP's unfortunate mother-in-law did, believing she had a viable piece of tech to assist her but not knowing what was required to keep it functional and useful.

Your post is not useful, helpful or on-topic in my view and what's more is extremely non-empathetic and self-centered.

WORD

UDP wrote: »

I hope you go away and think about how unreasonable you were here and I hope you thanked an post very much since they put their neck on the line just so a person would feel unnecessarily "useful" during an bad situation.

Sorted. It pays to talk.
Good bye.

RangeR

WORD wrote: »

Sorted. It pays to talk.
Good bye.

I'll probably get banned for saying this, but what an ass with such a false sense of entitlement.

I'll gladly take a week in the slammer.

jordainius

It only took them 2 hours to come back with a solution which involved them overlooking certain laws in order to help you out.

I only wish the people who worked away in the background to help your mother in law could have seen this thread, little did they know you were ranting about them like this on the internet for nothing as it turned out.

P. Breathnach

RangeR wrote: »

...
I'll gladly take a week in the slammer.

Plead provocation, and you might get off with a shorter sentence.

dudara

Ok - thread closed now

dudara