‘Bailiffs may be sent to the house,’ family of dementia sufferer, 90, told about closing his Vodafone account

A Vodafone customer for 18 years who now has dementia was paying monthly by direct debit for a phone he hadn’t used for two years. Photograph: Bloom Productions/Getty Images

A 90-year-old man with dementia was threatened with bailiffs after his wife tried to cancel a mobile phone contract that he can no longer use.

Vodafone refused to close Frederick Brown’s* account because he could not remember his security passwords, and the company told his wife it might take enforcement action if she cancelled the direct debit. Brown, who has been a Vodafone customer since 2005, is currently paying £22.75 a month for a phone he has not switched on for two years.