Phone provider texts 16-year-old customer 'Hope you burn in hell'

A mobile phone customer in Norway had contacted her provider to ask a question in regards to a notification service she had expected that was seemingly not working.

The teen and her mother were both shocked by the response received from the company's customer service representative. According to The Local (via Norwegian newspaper VG), the teen contacted her mobile service provider, Telenor to ask why she did not receive a text warning message she was about to exceed her monthly limit. “He told me to download an app to keep a check on my usage,” Maiken Fredriksen Iversen, 16, told VG. “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 later Iversen purportedly received a text message from a Telenor number that said, “It’s rare to encounter this level of cheek. Hope you burn in hell!” Maiken noted his rudeness, but said she did not detect any level of aggression when she had been speaking to the representative. Mette Fredriksen, Maiken's mother, was outraged and called Telenor. The company did not return her call or apologize, so she called police and also contacted local media. If the text or lack of apology weren't enough, reportedly the teen also received a second text informing her that a mobile broadband service she did not order had been activated. Telenor's communications director Tor Odland told VG he called the family to apologize. “This is serious! Nobody should be treated like this. I’ve never heard anything like it.” Odland noted there was "no excuse" for the employee's behavior and that the customer service representative was "very sorry". It was not reported whether or not that rep is still employed with Telenor. The company did say it would fix the account and remove charges. The Ivensens were long-time customers but now reportedly plan to find another mobile service provider. "I was speechless and a bit frightened. I think of what could happen if the message had come to a youth with low self-esteem or psychological problems," Mette Fredriksen told VG (translated).