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Anyone done a PAC dance with Lebara lately?

The BBC would love it in their consumer programmes., as a ready reckoner reference ! Your chance at another glory, Garetc !
Haha - I'm quite happy to fly under the radar!

It would make a good trash-mag article, Take a Break maybe? :D

'My 7-week hell without my spare mobile number'

😂
 
Well done for finally getting the number back @garetc, I think I'd have never been able to do it just because of the rediculously long time you had to spend talking to customer services and constantly following up on it. I've certainly seen my fair share of inadequate customer service.

A few years ago we were going abroad to somewhere in the EU but due to Covid we couldn't just buy a local SIM for our 4G router at the shop we got one from before. We needed 30 GB of data so we bought 2 x 15 GB Vodafone Prepaid Mobile broadband data only Prepaid SIM's (back in the day when they still offered free roaming so this was a good deal on paper) and they both arrived so we felt prepared.

However when we arrived neither of the SIM's worked even after entering the correct APN. I felt like the issue must be on my end so I was very determined to get to the bottom of this, but after a factory reset of the router it was no better and it looked like it was a Vodafone issue as the router wouldn't connect to the 4G network at all.

We then called Vodafone CS and were just played an automated message in a very serious voice saying they were super busy and understaffed because of Covid so there was no phone customer service. So I had to resort to the chatbot, Tobi. It kept insisting it could help me but just sent me going round in circles. I eventually worked out the magic words to get past it into a queue for a human agent, but even once I got to the front they seemed not to understand and asked me to restart my phone even though the SIM was in a router. After going through their whole script (1.5 hours later) the problem was the same. This repeated multiple times (going onto chat multiple times a day for a few days). At about 8 a.m. in the morning I finally got someone who knew what they were talking about and got straight to the point having understood that the SIM was in a router. They said as there were 2 SIM's somehow linked to the same account neither was working. So they did something on their end and they said it would work, and then it did magically start working. And we used at least 45 GB on that SIM without issue, so it looks like they might have given us unlimited data as well somehow.

And I've also had a messed up EE upgrade, where we'd requested a PAC and got the callback with great deals. But they messed it up by forgetting one of the lines (even after we agreed to the T&C's for it) and forgetting to add the "Roam in EU" add-on even though they said roaming would be free and it stated free roaming on the contract. This took multiple calls over a few days to get fully sorted out, but the first was the funniest, with someone just saying "Well there's a PAC on that account so of course the upgrade won't go through, and saying well we haven't offered free roaming for years you'll have to pay £2.47/day."

I do have a secondary number in the form 07778 AAAECF, and I wonder how good/valuable this one is. I got it through a free Vodafone Network Trial eSIM that I got in early July, and then ported it over to Three PAYG (a SIM without credit) just to keep it for a bit. As a longer term solution with minimal cost, where do you recommend I keep this number?
 
Well done for finally getting the number back @garetc, I think I'd have never been able to do it just because of the rediculously long time you had to spend talking to customer services and constantly following up on it. I've certainly seen my fair share of inadequate customer service.

A few years ago we were going abroad to somewhere in the EU but due to Covid we couldn't just buy a local SIM for our 4G router at the shop we got one from before. We needed 30 GB of data so we bought 2 x 15 GB Vodafone Prepaid Mobile broadband data only Prepaid SIM's (back in the day when they still offered free roaming so this was a good deal on paper) and they both arrived so we felt prepared.

However when we arrived neither of the SIM's worked even after entering the correct APN. I felt like the issue must be on my end so I was very determined to get to the bottom of this, but after a factory reset of the router it was no better and it looked like it was a Vodafone issue as the router wouldn't connect to the 4G network at all.

We then called Vodafone CS and were just played an automated message in a very serious voice saying they were super busy and understaffed because of Covid so there was no phone customer service. So I had to resort to the chatbot, Tobi. It kept insisting it could help me but just sent me going round in circles. I eventually worked out the magic words to get past it into a queue for a human agent, but even once I got to the front they seemed not to understand and asked me to restart my phone even though the SIM was in a router. After going through their whole script (1.5 hours later) the problem was the same. This repeated multiple times (going onto chat multiple times a day for a few days). At about 8 a.m. in the morning I finally got someone who knew what they were talking about and got straight to the point having understood that the SIM was in a router. They said as there were 2 SIM's somehow linked to the same account neither was working. So they did something on their end and they said it would work, and then it did magically start working. And we used at least 45 GB on that SIM without issue, so it looks like they might have given us unlimited data as well somehow.

And I've also had a messed up EE upgrade, where we'd requested a PAC and got the callback with great deals. But they messed it up by forgetting one of the lines (even after we agreed to the T&C's for it) and forgetting to add the "Roam in EU" add-on even though they said roaming would be free and it stated free roaming on the contract. This took multiple calls over a few days to get fully sorted out, but the first was the funniest, with someone just saying "Well there's a PAC on that account so of course the upgrade won't go through, and saying well we haven't offered free roaming for years you'll have to pay £2.47/day."

I do have a secondary number in the form 07778 AAAECF, and I wonder how good/valuable this one is. I got it through a free Vodafone Network Trial eSIM that I got in early July, and then ported it over to Three PAYG (a SIM without credit) just to keep it for a bit. As a longer term solution with minimal cost, where do you recommend I keep this number?
You never know with numbers and their values, sometimes they go for silly money other times they go for nothing. I got a number that was 07AA BBC 0000 for about £12. This number was 07AA BBC DDDD but the other one I have in the range is 07AA BBB CCCC.

I’m not really too bothered by the number, it was really the principle, didn’t want them to get it and then sell it on for any amount when the customer service was so bad.

1p Mobile might be a good option for your number, others on here might have a better idea of cheaper pay as you go providers.
 
I do have a secondary number in the form 07778 AAAECF, and I wonder how good/valuable this one is. I got it through a free Vodafone Network Trial eSIM that I got in early July, and then ported it over to Three PAYG (a SIM without credit) just to keep it for a bit. As a longer term solution with minimal cost, where do you recommend I keep this number?
O2 Classic SIM from eBay might work.

You just need to use it every 6 months to keep it active.

2p per SMS 3p per minute

1p Mobile might be a good option for your number, others on here might have a better idea of cheaper pay as you go providers.
Not good for parking due to the minimum £10 top up requirement every 90 days

It's like the end of an era now. No more waking up excited for the next garetc post. :(
Debating whether I want to move my main number back to Lebara from Talk Home next week or wait another billing cycle, I can start my own port drama for everyone!
🤪

Current Lebara port issue is the other way though, trying to move my dad from Lebara to Spusu for a trip to Switzerland and Spusu is unable to take ports from Lebara with no timescale for resolving it...
 
Intertesting that Vodafone also allows PAC dance without top up.

Fist time hearing this.
Very interesting. Vodafone's porting-in page "Keep My Number" states to port in you need a Pay Monthly or PAYG Plan. This may be true, maybe not. If I try - for sim dance purposes - it won't be with a number I value.

I have a plan-less payg sim ordered from their website and it is live, able to receive calls and texts and even seems to have data working! (I think Three payg sims have been known to do that, perhaps in the hope it will help you sign up.)

A text to 65075 just got me a PAC Code (without porting in) so possibly they block non-paying porters on arrival not departure?
 
Just taken the plunge on a Lebara £1 contract as a second sime for my daughter as O2 in Liverpool is not the best.

What do you guys do to ensure you don’t pay the increased monthly charge after 7 months? Do you cancel in the app at month 6 or any other way?
 
Just taken the plunge on a Lebara £1 contract as a second sime for my daughter as O2 in Liverpool is not the best.

What do you guys do to ensure you don’t pay the increased monthly charge after 7 months? Do you cancel in the app at month 6 or any other way?
Cancel the auto-renew online anytime after the month 6 payment is taken and before the month 7 renewal date
 
misread
 
So which is the most recent SIM to do the PAC dance without having to topup?

I need to port-out from Voxi and then back to Voxi again.
 
I'll be doing it next week, waiting for my Asda or Three SIM to arrive.

Ordered yesterday along with my new Lebara SIM. Lebara arrived today, no sign of the others.

Lebara even called to try and persuade me to stay.
They will have a problem calling me, their sim is in a 4g router!
 
Ordered a Three sim via Phonehouse, giving Phonehouse the Lebara PAC code and number to be transfered. Switched off auto auto renew button on my Lebara account. Trust this will close that Lebara sim account at the end of the current month?
 
Ordered a Three sim via Phonehouse, giving Phonehouse the Lebara PAC code and number to be transfered. Switched off auto auto renew button on my Lebara account. Trust this will close that Lebara sim account at the end of the current month?
It will close it on the day the PAC is actioned and you shuffle off to Three.
 
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