Unable to claim £10 free credit on Big Bundle promotion sim

[Technic]

Hi, hoping someone here can help.

I ordered a £10 big bundle sim from the O2 website under the current promotion that promises £10 free credit and 20 GB of data. Received the sim, followed package instructions to top up £10 to activate, but on trying to claim the £10 bonus texting FREE10 to 21500 got a message back saying "This offer isn't you." Also checking my balance tells me I only have 7 GB of data instead of 20.

I phoned 4445 for help, they told me that my sim is valid for the promotion and eligible for the £10 free credit and 20 GB data. They didn't know why I wasn't getting the promotion bonuses, and didn't seem to have any way to fix it on their end. Instead I was told to text MORE to 2424 to get the data, and keep texting FREE10 to 21500 in the hopes it would eventually work.

Since then I've had a text message saying my 20 GB has been activated. Texting BALANCE to 20202, it says I have 7 GB of big bundle data and 13 GB of offer allowance for UK and EU. That adds up to 20 GB, so it seems I've got that part now at least? Not sure if this is how the promotion bonus is supposed to be applied to an account.

Unfortunately still no luck with the £10 free credit, it simply refuses to allow me to claim it. Reading back through past posts with this same problem, it seems something that can only be fixed by someone at O2.

If anyone knows an O2 rep here who I can message to fix this problem, thanks for the help.

[pgn]

Your best bet is to contact O2 via Social Media, links are as below for O2 on Twitter and Facebook, @Technic - I cannot remember how the PAYG accounts in my house managed to get this offer back in the day, but it did appear so long as the SIM was obtained from an O2 Store, and not from dated stock in a discount outlet, eg. B&M or Home Bargains, etc.

Good luck!

[Technic · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the advice. I tried 4445 again, and this time they were able to work out what was going wrong, and fix it for me.

It seems there are occasional hiccups in the system when processing these £10 free credit bonuses, resulting in your attempt to claim being blocked, even if the sim is confirmed valid for the promotion and eligible for the bonus like mine was.

If anyone else encounters this same problem, and happens to find this thread while searching for a solution, in my case the fix was that O2 had to bypass the block by manually adding the £10 credit to my account balance as a "goodwill gesture" after I contacted them.

[pgn]

Great news, @Technic - seems to be another of O2's automated systems that isn't, for some cases. Glad 4445 could help, and kudos for persisting - lines can get busy, and not all agents are as knowledgeable. 

Enjoy the holiday, and Merry Christmas.