Ported to EE Saga

[Andy700]

Long story with countless calls to O2 since 9th Feb, but on this date my wife and I ported to EE by mistake with two EE sims arriving in the post which we had to use as we lost all signal on O2 sims. Should not have happened as we had upgraded our sim only deals with O2 on 11th Jan. My account is a legacy account and my wife's is 360, what difference this makes I don't know except there is a lot of transferring to different departments when we call. After a lot of going back and forward my account issues were resolved by the "back office team" who reverted my account back to how it was before 9th Feb and my original O2 sim started working again. However my wife's account is still an ongoing saga.... There was a fraud raised on the account given the circumstances but no-one from the fraud team made contact, despite being told they would. Then last Thurs an advisor apparently lifted the fraud flag and sent the same request to the back office team as was done for mine in order to get all reverted back. This advisor was to call us on Tues with an update but failed to do so. Spoke with another advisor yesterday evening who could not see anything on the account sent to the back office team and advised us to purchase a new sim only deal and port my wifes number back. Tried this but on entering the EE PAC code it states the mobile number is already an O2 number. We do not know what to do now. I have complained via email 3 times since 12th Feb, waited for 2 manager callbacks that didn't happen and my wifes EE PAC code expires on Mon after which she will incur charges from EE. She has also little to no signal with EE, hence why we need her back with O2, otherwise we would leave them altogether due to the worst customer service we have ever experienced. We are completely at our whits end with countless false promises on numerous calls over the past 3 weeks!!!

[Oxonian]

@Andy700 

There are lots of issues here but what strikes me is that you lodged a formal complain on 12 February. 

O2 are currently taking eight weeks to investigate and respond to complaints, so they are unlikely to revert to you until the second week in April. And as your record will be noted as under complaint, it is doubtful that any other O2 team will be willing or able to engage with you until that point.

In the interim, I suggest that you try to message O2 on social media, in the hope that someone from that team just might respond :-

Facebook : https://o2uk.co/O2CFB

X (previously known as Twitter) : https://o2uk.co/O2CTW

Instagram : https://o2uk.co/O2CIG.

A complete schedule of how to contact O2 is in :-

Guide: How to find help & contact O2 

Please keep us updated on developments. 

[Andy700]

Thanks Oxonian, appreciate your response and it's good to know the waiting time for such complaints.

I tried the FB contact method... the time between each message was hours at times, however they did respond. They just kept insisting I needed to get a temporary number, that I should speak with the sales team or purchase a new contract online, despite this not being required for my account to be ported back with the exact same circumstances. Also, I explained how I had already tried this but on entering the EE PAC code it said my wifes number was already with O2.

Tried phoning today again and after 2 useless advisors who said they couldn't do anything more for me, I got through to a guy who seemed to realise the urgency and mess my wife's account is in. He spoke with his supervisor, apologised for everything so far including the multiple false promises and failed callbacks I had previously received. He stated that there was a fraud flag on the account, therefore nothing could be done until it was removed, he has sent a request to have this removed and then they will attempt to port my wife back in the same manner as mine was without the need for a temporary number. I also explained how her current EE PAC code expires this coming Monday and she will be incurring charges from EE from that date. He acknowledged this and advised that O2 would refund this and provide compensation also, as was done for me. Unlike previous advisors he said he has added this to the notes on the account for any other advisors to read, but he would also give us a call on Tues to update us. I still have little faith due to previous experience, hence why I recorded this call today for reference.

[Oxonian]

@Andy700 

Thanks for the update. I wouldn't hold my breath for the call from O2 next Tuesday and would chase them up promptly if it is not forthcoming. 

Did you inform the O2 customer service advisor that you were recording the call ? If you didn't, I suggest that you search Google for :-

is it legal to record a 'phone call

If you didn't tell the advisor that you were recording the call, you are getting into a murky legal area once you try to use the recording for any reason ! 👍

[Andy700]

Will do.

Yeah, I informed him alright and he in turn advised it was being recorded at his end also so I should feel reassured by that and the assurances he had made to me. As you say though, I won't hold my breath and see if Tue happens. Thanks again!

[Oxonian]

You are welcome @Andy700, I look forward to your next update. 👍 

[Andy7001]

As predicted the callback never happened and we have had countless false promises via phonecalls and Facebook Messenger since. My wife remains with EE who is likely to start charging her again very soon due to still being with them. We have explained on numerous occasions how my account was reactivated, my number ported back and my original O2 sim started working again, all without the need for a temporary number, and we wish for the same actions for my wifes account. Several advisors have tried to get us to take out a new contract with a temp number and then port back the number she wishes to keep. On attempting this it keeps stating that her number is already with O2. The latest is that the social media team have sent this to the "reconnections team". This is what we have been told for the past fortnight. Also sent in a subject access request for my wifes account notes and telephone recordings. The notes are far from being a true reflection of what each advisor has told us on the numerous calls. They also show how each complaint we submitted to the complaint review service email address have been closed as "Non FCA complaint". The call recordings play but are just white noise with no speech. We are at our wits end. So much so we have complained to the Communications Ombudsman at the 56 day point since the issue arose on 9th Feb, as per their protocol. Will see the outcome from this as I believe their decision may be binding. Again, any advice would be appreciated.

[Oxonian]

@Andy7001 

I am confused - are you @Andy700 in disguise ? 

Based on the fact that you have already complained to the Communications' Ombudsman, my advice would be to sit and wait for his ruling. His ".....decision is binding on O2, but not on you as a customer" :-

Customer+Complaints+code+250523.pdf (o2.co.uk)

https://www.o2.co.uk/documents/456036/4246828/Customer+Complaints+code+250523.pdf

Incidentally, did O2 say why your closed complaints were deemed to be "Non FCA complaint" ? 

I look forward to you letting us know the Ombudsman's decision ! 👍  

[Andy7001]

Yeah, same Andy, different accounts.... that's another story, a walking disaster with anything O2 related at present 🙄

No, they were asked about the closed complaints via email and messenger but no response.

Yeah, will do. I see mixed reports about the Ombudsman outcomes online, however we have no other option and are not looking much. Just the same done for my wife's account as was done for mine, i.e. account reactivated/reverted back to how it was before 9th Feb, number ported back from EE, original sim working again and compensation applied for lack of service and inconvenience caused. This was all done for my account, without the need for a temp number and all this hassle, so cannot understand the difference being made with my wife's account 😩

[Oxonian]

Thanks @Andy7001, it's all somewhat bemusing, please let us know the outcome when the Ombudsman articulates his decision. 👍