Telia cuts off new chief's phone over unpaid bill

Telecom operator Telia has cut off a mobile phone registered to its newly named chief executive designate, Mr Anders Igel, due…

Telecom operator Telia has cut off a mobile phone registered to its newly named chief executive designate, Mr Anders Igel, due to an unpaid bill, the company said today.

"It has been closed," Telia spokeswoman Ms Marianne Laurell said today. "If you don't pay on time you get a reminder and after that [if a bill remains unpaid] the subscription is cut off," she said.

Telia, the Nordic region's leading telecoms operator, said on Monday that Mr Igel would become the group's new chief executive at the latest from September 30th, replacing Ms Mariane Nivert who is retiring.

Mr Igel, in London as chief executive of office supplies group Esselte, was not available for comment.

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The Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladetsaid Mr Igel's unpaid bill of 2,591 Swedish crowns ($250) fell due on January 14th.

The paper said an official at Esselte, which has been paying for the subscription, had found documentation showing the bill had been paid on January 10th.