'Burn in Hell' Telenor ask a teenage girl

Just minutes after Maiken Fredriksen Iversen phoned Telenor to make a complaint, a disgruntled customer service agent sent her a text message to say he hoped she would burn in hell.

The 16-year-old from Kirkenes contacted the Norwegian mobile network operator on Thursday to ask why she had not received a warning message when she was about to exceed the monthly limit on her subscription, newspaper VG reports.

“He told me to download an app to keep a check on my usage,” Iversen told the newspaper.

“I said that shouldn’t be necessary, since I’m supposed to receive a notification via SMS. He then asked me to ‘be a little bit helpful’. I said that wasn’t good enough but wished him a good day before hanging up.”

A few minutes after the call, Iversen could hardly believe her eyes when a text message arrived from a Telenor number:

“It’s rare to encounter this level of cheek. Hope you burn in hell!”

Another message from Telenor informed Iversen the company had activated a mobile broadband service which she had not requested.

Furious, the girl’s mother, Mette Fredriksen, called Telenor to ask for clarification. When the company failed to get back to her with an apology, Fredriksen reported the matter to the police and went to the media.

Speaking to VG, Telenor’s communications director Tor Odland said the company apologized unreservedly for the offence caused. He personally called the family after learning of the incident.

“This is serious! Nobody should be treated like this. I’ve never heard anything like it.”

Odland said the employee behind the infernal text message was “very sorry”, adding that there were “no excuses” for his behaviour.

Though she accepted the apology, Mette Fredriksen said she and her daughter had long been customers of Telenor but now planned to take their business elsewhere.

NTB