Pay & Go. You can pay, but you can never go.

[Anonymous]

I bought O2 Pay & Go with the exact purpose to use it a year later abroad. I was asured in store that the Pay&Go phones are not locked for O2 mobile network. Being on holiday in Europe I had a problem with a local sim-card. On coming back I called the Customer Support and they say: No, no it's not us. It was that European network.
Now I am in the US, wasting a month for awaiting for unlocking details. Having been promised twice so far to check my email, spent hours chatting with agents just to be asked againn and again to top up and only than they will send me the unlocking details.
Eventually, I qiuted saying good bye to O2 and just feel sorry for wasting my time and money on roaming with them.
Every time I asked them to unlock my phone they asked me for new additional info, and then told me to wait for a week, then for a week and now more than 30 days later and an unfair request to top up 15 pounds maintaining balance (which I can't spend on anything. It should be there for yet another 7 days) I am still with a locked phone. I've just given up.
Stay away from O2. There are much better mobile networks in the UK.

[MI5]

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@Anonymous wrote:

we developed it specifically for people to be able to travel to other countries, buy a local sim and pop it in the phone without any need to involve the original operator

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That would work great if you only bought the SIM and a SIM free phone at full price, however, consumers demand a cheaper phone to go with the SIM which the networks have to subsidise so they lock the phone to ensure some level of financial recouperation. The option is still available for anyone to buy a SIM free phone and a PAYG SIM separately.

[Anonymous]

That would work great if you only bought the SIM and a SIM free phone at full price, however, consumers demand a cheaper phone to go with the SIM which the networks have to subsidise so they lock the phone to ensure some level of financial recouperation. The option is still available for anyone to buy a SIM free phone and a PAYG SIM separately.

But of course the operators don't explain any of that when you buy your phone and sim...

[Anonymous]

Your claim to have created the basis of PAYG?

All of the GSM technology was developed by european telecoms standards committee. A lot of the original gsm and VoIP was developed by French engineers (I'm not French btw). I was part of a small subcommitte. I can't remember what else we were working on that committee at the time but one day we were getting frustrated with the cost of roaming when we knew it doesnt cost the operators any more so had a think about how we avoid mobile phone users being tied to an operators roaming charges when we went to another country. We had no idea what it would be called or how it would be marketed.

100's of people in total developed the overall mobile phone technology. None of us benefited financially from all this work - it was sponsored by the EU and the companies we worked for.

[Anonymous]

@ComaChameleon, the issue isn't ab 15 pounds. Of course you are right it's not a huge sum of money. The thing is I was promised a few times that the phone would be unlocked within 7 days and then 7 days again and it never happened. Yesterday I was said again to top-up 15 pounds, but this time to maintain this balance for 7 days. It means it should be not less than 15 pounds all the time. I've never been informed ab that 'rule' before and moreover when I asked to send me a link or sth where this regulation is stated, got a link to T&C a few times, but it's not mentioned there.

[Anonymous]

@adamtemp64, thanks for the link. I filled in that form days ago. It was a start of my endless communication with O2 team concerning unlocking

[Anonymous]

@ElizabethB, you did a great job. It was a good idea to make sim-cards free from networks. I can understand the networks locking the phones to keep the customers although don't approve of that, but we live in a corporate world.
In the US on a price tag they mention the network which provides the phone or state 'unlocked'. O2 agents told me a few times that their phones are not locked. I only want them to provide accurate info. Yesterday I was angry and I needed to let go of my emotions. Yes, I was naive. Apparently, everybody knows ab locked phones except me ha ha. Everybody knows that a phone can be unlocked in a small private shop on high street or market)) I just wanted to do it legally with O2, but failed

[MI5]

The point of the £15 is that O2 will take that amount from your account when they process the unlock code (its the fee for unlocking) if you didn't have £15 credit at the time the unlock request was processed this is probably why it failed in the past...

[Anonymous]

Please god do not get me started on US shopping. 

Not all shops especially out of town shooping centres except Visa but will take it at there customer service desk for you to buy a voucher with a handling fee added on. 

Plus prices are displayed without the state tax added on which catches a few people out.

[Anonymous]

Lets also not mention gratuity.

[Anonymous]

@steersy, I understand what I am angry about. Why are you angry? I didn't make any personal remarks to you (unlike you did towards me) I said thank you for your advice. What are these remarks ab US shopping? I didn't get you personally started on anything. I am not talking ab US shopping. I am talking only about my problem and how I was treated by O2 customer support. If you have never had any negative experience with them, that's good for you. I am glad that there are people who are satisfied.