Sunita Somvanshi
Three Mobile has told customers they can apply for compensation following last Wednesday’s major service outage. The network disruption on June 25 left thousands unable to make calls or send texts for approximately 14 hours.
Starting around 8am, the problems primarily affected voice calls and text messaging while data services remained largely functional. Over 9,300 issues were logged on Downdetector at the peak of the disruption, with nearly 80% of complaints relating to voice call failures.
“We’re really sorry for any inconvenience caused,” Three stated after restoring services. The outage extended beyond Three’s direct customers to users of affiliated networks like ID Mobile and Smarty, which operate on Three’s infrastructure.
The disruption caused significant real-world problems. Many doctors’ surgeries using the Three network had to cancel thousands of appointments. Numerous customers reported missing important calls, including medical appointments and other essential communications.
Unlike broadband and landline services, mobile customers aren’t automatically entitled to compensation under Ofcom’s schemes. However, Three has confirmed they’ll review compensation claims individually.
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“Ofcom advises that compensation for mobile signal outages is dependent on the circumstances,” explained Simrat Sharma from Uswitch. “But in extreme cases where repairs take much longer, you may be entitled to an additional refund or account credit.”
To request compensation, affected customers must contact Three’s customer service team directly. When applying, customers should provide specific details about how long their service was disrupted and what impact this had on them. Three will then assess each claim on its individual merits.
The outage comes just weeks after Three’s £15 billion merger with Vodafone created one of the UK’s largest telecommunications companies. With a similar disruption occurring in January 2025, questions about network reliability are increasing.
An Ofcom spokesperson recommended: “Anyone affected by this outage should contact Three directly, and if dissatisfied, consider logging a formal complaint.”
Three hasn’t specified potential compensation amounts or guaranteed payments to all affected customers. Those who experienced significant disruption should contact the company through their customer support channel to determine eligibility.
