Sorting out a loved one’s mobile plan is one of the smaller practical jobs after a death, but it still needs doing – SMARTY does not find out automatically, and the plan will keep auto-renewing until someone tells them. SMARTY is a SIM-only mobile network that runs on Three’s infrastructure, sold on rolling monthly plans with no fixed contract term. If you have been searching for a bereavement phone number for SMARTY, you will not find one – the process runs entirely by email.
This guide covers how to notify SMARTY, what to send, what happens to the account, and the things worth knowing before you start – including why the account cannot simply be transferred into someone else’s name.
Quick reference
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Phone bereavement line | None – SMARTY has no dedicated bereavement phone number |
| proofs@support.smarty.co.uk | |
| Response time | SMARTY aims to reply within one working day |
| Documents needed | A copy of the death certificate; confirmation of your relationship to the deceased |
| Early termination fee | Does not apply – SMARTY plans have no minimum term |
| Account transfer | Not possible – SMARTY cannot transfer ownership of an account to another person's name |
How to notify SMARTY
Email (the only route)
Email a copy of the death certificate to proofs@support.smarty.co.uk. SMARTY’s own help article states that a family member, next of kin, solicitor, or friend can make this request – you do not need to be the account holder’s executor. SMARTY asks you to have the death certificate ready before you make contact, since it is required to verify the request. A clear scan or photograph is accepted.
SMARTY’s stated aim is to respond to this email within one working day.
(Source: SMARTY Help Centre – Closing the account of someone who has died.)
If you need broader support first
SMARTY also runs a separate accessibility and vulnerable-circumstances service, reachable at smartyaccessibilityservices@smarty.co.uk, by phone on 0333 338 1047, or by textphone on 0800 033 8011 (all Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm, aiming to reply within two working days). This is a wider support line covering bereavement alongside other vulnerable circumstances such as serious illness or domestic violence, rather than the specific account-closure route. For a straightforward account closure, the death-certificate email above is the direct path; use the accessibility line if you need additional support around the process itself.
(Source: SMARTY Help Centre – Accessibility with SMARTY.)
What documents you will need
SMARTY’s requirements are minimal compared with banks or pension providers:
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Death certificate | A scan or clear photograph – SMARTY does not ask for the original by post |
| Your relationship to the deceased | State that you are a family member, next of kin, solicitor, or friend acting on their behalf |
You do not need to be the estate’s executor to notify SMARTY of a death, and SMARTY’s own guidance is addressed to “a family member, next of kin, solicitor or friend.”
What happens to the account
Once SMARTY has verified the death certificate, the account is closed. Two things make SMARTY’s position simpler than most contract mobile networks:
- No minimum-term contract, so no early termination fee. SMARTY sells rolling monthly SIM-only plans with no fixed term – customers can already cancel at any time without a cancellation charge, so bereavement does not need to trigger a separate fee waiver the way it does with 24-month handset contracts. This is a structural difference from EE, O2, Vodafone, and Three, whose bereavement policies specifically address waiving an early termination fee that would otherwise apply.
- No account transfer. SMARTY’s help article states plainly: “We can’t transfer the ownership of a loved one’s account to another person’s name. We know that this is inconvenient, but it’s a legal requirement that’s designed to protect our customer’s personal details.” If a family member wants to keep the number, they will need to set up their own SMARTY account (or an account with any network) and port the number across – see below.
(Source: SMARTY Help Centre – Closing the account of someone who has died.)
SMARTY’s own published process does not separately address handset finance, because SMARTY is a SIM-only network – it does not sell financed handsets bundled with its plans. If the deceased used their own or a separately financed device with a SMARTY SIM, any device finance would sit with whoever provided that finance, not with SMARTY.
Keeping the phone number
Because SMARTY cannot transfer the account into someone else’s name, keeping the number requires porting it elsewhere rather than a simple rename:
- Request a PAC (Porting Authorisation Code) for the number before the account is closed – text PAC to 65075 from the SMARTY SIM itself.
- Use that PAC code to move the number to a new SIM, either a new SMARTY account in the intended person’s name or a SIM with any other UK network.
- Do this before emailing proofs@support.smarty.co.uk to close the account – once the account is closed, there is no published route to recover the number.
SMARTY runs on Three’s network infrastructure, so the same PAC-porting mechanics that apply across UK mobile providers apply here. For general context on how number porting works after a death, see what happens to a phone contract when someone dies.
Things to watch out for
There is no phone number to call for account closure. SMARTY’s bereavement process for closing an account runs by email only. If you have been searching for a phone line specifically for this, use the email route – it is the one SMARTY’s own help page describes. This is consistent with the wider trend among app-first, SIM-only mobile networks such as giffgaff and iD Mobile, which also handle bereavement primarily by email or chat rather than by phone. See our giffgaff bereavement guide and iD Mobile bereavement guide for comparison.
No account transfer. If a family member wants to keep using the same mobile number, SMARTY’s policy does not allow the existing account to simply be renamed. Arrange a PAC-code port to a new account before the old account is closed.
No early termination fee to waive. Unlike networks selling 24-month handset contracts, SMARTY plans have no minimum term, so there is no exit fee question to raise in the first place.
Tell Us Once does not cover SMARTY. The government’s Tell Us Once service notifies HMRC, the DWP, the DVLA and other public bodies in one step, but it does not extend to mobile networks or other private companies. SMARTY must be notified separately by email.
Summary
To notify SMARTY of a death, email a copy of the death certificate to proofs@support.smarty.co.uk, along with confirmation of your relationship to the deceased. SMARTY aims to reply within one working day. There is no early termination fee to waive, because SMARTY plans have no minimum contract term. The account cannot be transferred into someone else’s name, so if the number needs to be kept, request a PAC code and port it to a new account before the old one is closed.
For related guidance, see our complete guide to what to do when someone dies, what happens to a phone contract when someone dies, and our guides to giffgaff, iD Mobile, Lebara, and Three (SMARTY’s parent network) for comparison with other network bereavement processes.