T-Mobile just doesn’t want to let its customers go. We’ve shared stories of customers whose survivors couldn’t get a line shut down after they died , and survivors asked to keep a phone line open so they could hear a loved one’s voice . This isn’t a problem unique to T-Mobile USA, apparently: a widow in Cardiff, Wales brought her late husband’s ashes to the store after they refused to close out her husband’s line.

She didn’t just bring the cremains, of course: that was just to prove a point. In addition, she brought bills for funeral expenses and his death certificate. Was this enough to convince T-Mobile to stop sending her collection notices? Of course not.

It’s not like the family waited around: the son of the deceased called T-Mobile the day after he died to get the process started. The company needed a death certificate: fine. Yet the collection notices started and didn’t stop, and the company wanted his widow to pay an early termination fee.

“We apologise to Mrs Raybould for any distress caused at this difficult time. We can confirm that the account has been closed and the balance cleared,” a T-Mobile spokesperson told the Telegraph. The company blames the letters and refusal to accept their customer’s death on an automated process that employees are apparently powerless to stop until the company is threatened with public shaming.

Widow takes dead husband’s ashes into mobile phone shop after firm refuses to cancel contract [Telegraph] (via our British spiritual siblings BitterWallet)