Difficulties of changing phone networks

[fv1609]

I've not chosen a good time to change phones with W&P upon us. But I was tempted to get a fancy phone that could send e-mails with a screen large enough to show pictures & able to display documents in Word -essential to check that I am not about to buy a book I already have. So would be very useful at W&P.

 

Just as banks don't really like you changing banks, although there is a mechanism to make it easy, everybody drags their feet. The same seems to apply to phone networks. To get the fancy phone at a reasonable tariff I had to change networks.

 

I had to wait 48 hours before the new one became activated on the network & with an overall wait of 5 days to get my old number transferred. Well despite the shop saying it was going to be good coverage at home & me checking online that there was good coverage even indoors. I can get no signal indoors & only marginal in a few hotspots around the garden.

 

The new phone company have accepted the problem & given me a full refund. But they cannot stop the mechanism that will in 3 days time disconnect my number from my present phone & allocate it to a phone I no longer possess.

 

I have had to take out a new contract with my original provider & get a new number. Although I am still a customer I can't use my existing contract as that will cease in 3 days.

 

Once I am disconnected I must swap to my new sim card to tell the new company I wish to terminate the connection that no longer exists & get a PAC from them to give back to my original company to retrieve my old phone number. That in theory means in 72 hours I will have my old number back. But I can see feet might be dragged again.

 

So a lot of people I'm meeting at W&P will find my number unobtainable for much of the event. Oh yes & multiply the problem by two as I changed all this on my wife's phone as well!

 

Despite checking online for coverage I find it doesn't work & the company that provided the old phone that gave good indoor coverage gives for my post code "not recommended"!

Edited July 16, 2010 by fv1609

[woa2]

Clive

 

Come and see me at W&P and I can give you advice and help about mobile phones. I will be near McArthur gate in Monktons.

 

Robert Davey

[fv1609]

Clive

 

Come and see me at W&P and I can give you advice and help about mobile phones. I will be near McArthur gate in Monktons.

 

Robert Davey

 

Robert I was thinking of changing to your lot. The trouble was in the shop nobody knew when any of the phones I wanted would be delivered, so I went with a newer company that had them in stock.

 

There was no mechanism to ring your old company as all telephone menus relate to existing customers. When I followed options to try to lead me to an operator I was put on hold for 10 mins then was cut off.

 

I wish there was a means whereby you could pay a deposit for a signal sniffer (that couldn't send or receive messages) that you could try out at your home & see if there was a worthwhile signal.

 

Then return the sniffer, get your deposit back & sign up (or not) depending on the outcome. It would save a lot of stress for the customer & avoid phones being returned to the shop in a used condition that obviously knocks some value off them.

[woa2]

Robert I was thinking of changing to your lot. The trouble was in the shop nobody knew when any of the phones I wanted would be delivered, so I went with a newer company that had them in stock.

 

There was no mechanism to ring your old company as all telephone menus relate to existing customers. When I followed options to try to lead me to an operator I was put on hold for 10 mins then was cut off.

 

I wish there was a means whereby you could pay a deposit for a signal sniffer (that couldn't send or receive messages) that you could try out at your home & see if there was a worthwhile signal.

 

Then return the sniffer, get your deposit back & sign up (or not) depending on the outcome. It would save a lot of stress for the customer & avoid phones being returned to the shop in a used condition that obviously knocks some value off them.

 

Try a shop in big shopping centre as they tend to have staff who what they are talking about and are more helpful. My Daughter had problems and the shop in Bluewater centre was helpful.

[mogmaner]

just tell your existing network you want to leave and they will ofer all sorts to keep you ,just look up the fone you fansy befor you ring.

[fv1609]

Try a shop in big shopping centre as they tend to have staff who what they are talking about and are more helpful. My Daughter had problems and the shop in Bluewater centre was helpful.

 

Yes I was in Salisbury within 100yds there were the 5 main networks & several general phone shops. The trouble was not with the quality of the staff who generally take time trying to help or even longer time when they sign someone up on a contract for credit checks etc. I had to have fresh credit checks with them although I currently have two accounts active & have paid both religiously every month for 20 years, this meant nothing as I was opening a new account. I could understand it if my accounts had lapsed & there was a break & I was starting again.

 

The argument was that on Mon when my PAC goes through those contracts will terminate.

 

I found myself going back & forth between the two shops getting answers from one & delivering to the other. I think both shops I had to queue up four times in each & wait for the member of staff dealing with my problem. At one stage a transaction was put on hold for 15 mins waiting for their customer care line to give a response. I had to abandon this as my 2 hour parking was up & had to go & move to another car park. Then back to the end of the queue.

 

Started at 1030 finished at 1430, not a fun day really!

[fv1609]

just tell your existing network you want to leave and they will ofer all sorts to keep you ,just look up the fone you fansy befor you ring.

 

Yes I noticed this & as the process of getting a PAC got further advanced even more offers emerged. Even so they were way off what I could get just starting off a contract with Roberts old company.

 

I tried to resurrect these deals but firstly they were only valid at that moment. Secondly even milder offers were not available because I couldn't be regarded as an existing customer, because when the PAC goes through on Mon I'm not a customer any more.

 

I can't see why a PAC initiated last Wed has to wait to be actioned on until Mon. Yet on Fri it is too late to stop it, I thought this all about technology & rapid communication for goodness sake!

[mogmaner]

phone the network direct you will get a beter deal than the shops can offer and it is normly done there and then they know your credit from billing .

[Tony B]

It is said by them who care, that it would take sixty five years to read through all phone offers. My current tale of whoo. I have been with my network since they started I wanted a Sonim phone, the Land Rover one without the Landy logo. So I can get one on the same price tariff as I have now, but to get I have had to renew my contract through an agent. So now to keep my old number I have had to A) Change old number to a pay and go sim, which I'm still waiting for, then B) actbvate P&G sim C) Then request transfer of old number from P&G to new phone number contract. Life is toooooshort! And this is with the same network!

[fv1609]

Well I thought it was all settled. I returned both phones within 12 hours of being activated as I found I was unable to use the phones from home as we were told we could. I had the contracts terminated by the manager of the shop who gave me a receipt for the returned phones.

 

I thought it all went fairly smoothly & felt pleased that '3' although unable to provide the service "as made known at the time of purchase" had behaved helpfully & graciously.

 

BUT that has all changed. '3' did not process my cancellation for a further week. I am now being billed for the use of the network for that week for the phones that I no longer possess.

 

OK £10 odd not a major sum, but the stupidity & annoyance of being billed has got up my nose. Something potential customers of that network night like to consider.

 

:banghead: