Urgent Help Needed: Service Issues with Pay As You Go SIM

[Gerry7]

Hi there,

I’m reaching out to the community for assistance with an ongoing issue I’ve been experiencing with my Pay As You Go SIM card. Last month, I switched from a monthly plan to a £10 Big Bundle tariff after moving back to Spain. Initially, everything was working fine, but since last week, I have been unable to send text messages or make/receive phone calls—my iPhone simply displays "Call Failed."

I’ve contacted O2 customer service three times, spending between 60 to 90 minutes on each call, but unfortunately, the issue remains unresolved. During one of these calls with O2 Customer Service, a wrong bolt-on was added to my account, which I am now unable to remove, costing me an additional £5.

Adding to the confusion, in an attempt to resolve the issue, I've switched to the £15 Big Bundle tariff, which supposedly includes international minutes. However, I need to wait another 7 days for the tariff update?

It’s frustrating as I can still use my mobile data and receive text messages from O2, but the line is otherwise non-functional. Has anyone experienced something similar, or does anyone have insights into why my service suddenly stopped working and what I can do to fix it? Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

[Gerry7]

thanks @MI5 . So...if someone wants to leave the UK for a year for example, and still keep the mobile number without a monthly contract, do you know if there is a way to keep a UK number for 12 months? I don't need any data or roaming as I have WIFI where I live, I just want to keep my UK number alive to receive calls and messages, do you know of any service kind of Virtual Number or eSIM that offers this service?

[Enlli]

1p Mobile do a £40 for 365 day SIM with European Roaming. You can then top up 3 months at a time. If you keep it active them the balance does not disappear 

[MI5]

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@Gerry7 wrote:

thanks @MI5 . So...if someone wants to leave the UK for a year for example, and still keep the mobile number without a monthly contract, do you know if there is a way to keep a UK number for 12 months? I don't need any data or roaming as I have WIFI where I live, I just want to keep my UK number alive to receive calls and messages, do you know of any service kind of Virtual Number or eSIM that offers this service?

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O2 PAYG phones are not usually affected by the 63 day rule.

As long as you top up at least once every 6 months, your number should stay active.

[Gerry7]

@Enlli thanks for your message, I have spoken to 1p and even if a friend sends me the 1p card to Spain, they do not recommend transferring the number while you are abroad using roaming as you can lose your number forever if the transfer does not go well.

[Gerry7]

@MI5 thanks for your message once again. From what I have been reading on other posts here, O2 PAYG Sim Cards are clearly affected after 24 hours of being outside UK, so I am afraid the only thing O2 is giving is 63 of hell to their customers