After a Relative's Death: How LMT and Tele2 Handle a Deceased Customer's Final Bill

A social media post in Latvia has sparked wide discussion about how mobile operators LMT and Tele2 handle a customer's final bill after death. The author wrote that when his mother died a year ago, Tele2 offered condolences and cancelled the last bill, while after his wife's father died, LMT reminded him that the final bill had to be paid. The amount was 23 euros, and the author stressed that the sum was not the issue; the attitude was, at a time when the family was already grieving. The topic affects any family that loses a relative, yet the operators' official procedures are unfamiliar to many.

The comment thread

LMT responded to the post with condolences and an invitation to make contact privately, but the author replied that the response had come after eight days and the bill had already been paid. Dozens of people shared experiences involving Tele2, LMT, Bite and Tet. Some said the formalities were settled quickly, while others described months of correspondence, repeated document submissions and debt collection letters. One woman said that after her mother's death, ending her LMT contract took three months; another said that after her sister died, the operator also demanded payment for a phone bought in instalments. One commenter said Tet demanded the return of a decoder issued 12 years earlier. LA.LV noted that these are individually described cases that cannot be verified.

What the companies say

Ilze Saulīte, director of LMT's private customer service, explained that a contract is not terminated automatically when a customer dies. Relatives can re-register the number to the actual user free of charge at a customer centre, presenting a death certificate and an identity document. If the number is no longer needed, the contract can be ended with a free-form application and a copy of the death certificate. The final bill is informative, and relatives do not automatically take over monthly payments; however, when an inheritance is being settled, the heir inherits the customer's obligations.

Tele2 also does not close all lines immediately, because several numbers under one person's name may be used by family members. The company also receives information about deceased customers from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) and contacts users, giving them time to re-register numbers. According to both companies' answers, passing a deceased customer's monthly bills automatically on to relatives is not their policy.