Should she turn off the phone?

[#1]

Ok, I have a friend whose mother has just passed away.  The mother had her own house with a broadband / phone package with Plusnet (recently set up).  What she is wondering is whether she should switch everything off, or not, as the house is empty most of the time but she will be there herself at times to carry out repairs / tart up and so on?  To my mind I think she should switch everything off as soon as possible in case of a break-in or something.

[#2]

Hi Bluesplayer,
Sorry to hear of your friend's loss. Has your friend contacted us to inform us of this so that the account is closed or does she want to carry on with the service?
I'm unsure what you mean by "switching everything off". Are you referring to the router?

[#3]

From a personal perspective, if the house is to be left empty for extended periods of time, unplug/remove the telephone as you don't want it ringing endlessly with telemarketers etc. at all hours especially if there are nearby neighbours.
Same applies to the internet / router. If it isn't going to be used, unplug and take away the equipment.  If the house is broken into there is less chance of any services being abused.

[#4]

Good advice.
When my father died and his house became empty we kept all the services running, but unplugged and "hid" unused equipment unless visiting.
That meant whenever a member of the family was there we had use of all the normal services, something that came in particularly useful for the funeral which for complex reasons was some weeks later.
It also made the subsequent sale so much easier and the new occupant was able to move in easily, just transferring everything (which were then in my control as executor).

[#5]

Quote from: Linn

Hi Bluesplayer, Sorry to hear of your friend's loss. Has your friend contacted us to inform us of this so that the account is closed or does she want to carry on with the service? I'm unsure what you mean by "switching everything off". Are you referring to the router?

Yes, she has been in touch and the broadband side of things has been switched off.  She is giving some thought to the phone now.

[#6]

I'd second what's been stated previously in the thread.
If the broadband service has been ceased then there is no need for the equipment to be plugged in. If the phone service is still being supplied then it's completely up to your friend if she wants to keep a handset plugged in or not when she's not going to be in the property. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' answer to this, it's down to her own personal preference.