I have recently heard that the phone company 02 is switching off the older 'pay-as-you-go' mobile phones by the end of June.

This will affect many elderly customers and I am one of them.

We use these phones for emergencies as they are easy to operate.

I have been told that the reason 02 is turning off these phones is because they can't keep tabs on how much is being spent on them.

This is a poor excuse as you cannot use the phone until the Sim card chip is topped up.

The agreement when one purchased one of these phones was that you topped it up for £10 annually.

I am not interested in buying a fancy phone and I can't see why I and many others are being forced to purchase another when the one I use functions perfectly well.

I still have a lot of credit left and would like to know if 02 will refund the money.

I feel I have been mugged.

Vim Rodrigo, Rivermead Road, Rose Hill, Oxford