Here is a cautionary tale of a young(ish) man, full of ambition to experience another mobile phone provider who was cruelly betrayed by the very people he though would be his salvation.
After years with my existing provider my contract was up and I spied the opportunity to escape my confinement within a ridiculously named company into the sunlight and air of one whose name represented both the numerical and alphabetical freedom that all mobile users yearn for.
My vehicle for escape came in the guise of a £17.00 a month SIM only deal and, with a feeling of excitement building in my stomach, I stepped out of my telephonic comfort zone and I hit the order button.
Working on the principle that no man should be left behind I decided that I couldn’t allow my beloved phone number, which had been through countless love affairs, break ups and PPI calls alongside me, to remain trapped in the hellish database of my existing provider.
So I braved the honeyed voices and seductive wiles of my existing providers Disconnection Team. Amidst silky promises of high data allowances and smooth assurances of countless free apps and sport I held my nerve and emerged victoriously with the treasured PAC Code which would secure my phone numbers freedom!
The SIM appeared when O2 said it would, happy days!
With trembling hands, I inserted my new SIM into my phone and prepared to cut the metaphorical cord with my existing provider and transfer my faithful phone number from the gladiatorial combat arena of their database to the green and open spaces of O2’s database, where it could run free and make lots of other phone number friends and bask in the sunlight.
Then it all went wrong.
The lady at O2 said the temporary number O2 had given me wasn't recognised as belonging to any account. I didn’t exist. She was unable to change my number.
As the gloom began to descend though she perked me up by assuring me that O2 would look into it and call me back to tomorrow once it was all sorted to complete the rescue of my number.
Of course they would, O2 were a good and noble provider, they wouldn’t leave you hanging, not when the stakes were this high and the freedom of both customer and number hung in the balance.
No call came.
Forlorn and forgotten by O2 I went on holiday, my debit card and phone number still in the clutches of EE.
On my return and refreshed by my break, I decided that something terrible must have happened at O2 which would have prevented them from calling me back as they had promised. I would persist with escape.
There was one problem however. I would have to do battle once again with the dreaded Disconnection Team. I steeled myself, wiped the sweat from my brow and dialled the number.
It was an epic duel. They hammered me with lower monthly prices, I countered with their historic over charging, they came at me aggressively with the prospect of paying another month’s bill, I deflected weakly with the fact there had been a mix up with O2 and it wasn’t my fault. As exhaustion set in I began to falter. The O2 dream began to slip away.
The fatal blow was landed when they asked if I was still within my 14-day cancellation period.
Weary and defeated I meekly answered ‘Yes’.
I called O2 to abort my short lived contract.
They couldn’t find my account. My O2 number wasn’t registered. Nothing had changed and the problem hadn’t been resolved.
I felt betrayed. I had gone up against the Disconnection Team of my existing provider not once but twice to try and join O2 and they had rewarded my endeavours with apathy and broken promises.
All of a sudden I felt relived. Whilst my existing provider may not be perfect they had delivered. O2 had not.
But Omy bitterness toward O2 was short lived for when I asked if I would be refunded my bill of £19.20 they replied ‘Of course’.
They did said it may, accidently, be taken out of my account but told me not to worry, just give them a call and they’ll refund it in full.
Disappointed but respectful I moved on.
Imagine then my dismay, confusion and disappointment when I called to claim my full refund after discovering that the money had, indeed, been taken out of my account only to be told that I would only receive £11.54.
Somehow O2 had seen fit to charge me £7.86 for my 13-day contract. A contract that was not realised only due to their inability to properly register a phone number to an account.
No calls made (except to the internal O2 number) no data used.
Please read this tale and be warned that even when they completely mess things up, it is still you who will have to pay even when they promise you that you won’t!!
MichaelL
