Are O2 customer services unable to help 'Classic PAYG' customers?

[wiganken]

My phone SIM is a ‘Classic Pay As You Go’ type and I am trying to get O2 to disable balance notification pop-ups that are shown after every call.

I rang customer services (4445 using my O2 phone) three times. The first two times were answered by someone in India and it was difficult to understand what they were saying. I persevered for 20 minutes each time (being patient and courteous) but each time I was left on hold and forced to end the call. No racism intended but it really is impractical trying to communicate effectively to someone who speaks English with a strong Indian accent. They understand me but I cannot understand them.

The third time (hoping to speak to a UK call centre) I rang early in the morning at 08:01 hours but was still answered by someone in India and I asked to be transferred to a UK call centre but they said they could only transfer me to a ‘Pay monthly’ UK call centre so I said “okay”. The line went silent and I was left unable to speak to anyone for 10 minutes so, again I was forced to end the call.

All three times I was forced to hang up due to silence from them and nothing happening.

I really want these pop-ups to stop but (reading between the lines) it seems that customer services are unable to help ‘Classic PAYG’ customers. It seems that they need a customer ‘Pay monthly’ account in order to carry out adjustments. Is my guesswork correct?

Is there any guaranteed way to stop the balance notification pop-ups or do I have to live with the annoyance?

[MI5]

@wiganken 

You'll have to persevere with 4445 but it is becoming more and more obvious that O2 are trying to get customers off PAYG and onto contracts. We are guessing, but think the days of PAYG are numbered on O2.

[wiganken]

Yes I got that impression that they want me to transfer to a pay-monthly scheme. It was the first thing they said: "We can transfer you to a cheap pay-monthly' scheme" but I said "No, thank you".

With Classic PAYG I am only spending £2.50 to £4 per month on calls/data and I see nothing cheaper. Also, with PAYG there is no ability for O2 to apply mid-contract price increases.

I take your point though: - I'll stay with PAYG as long as I can.

[Oxonian]

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@wiganken wrote:

My phone SIM is a ‘Classic Pay As You Go’ type and I am trying to get O2 to disable balance notification pop-ups that are shown after every call.

Is there any guaranteed way to stop the balance notification pop-ups or do I have to live with the annoyance?

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It is not just Classic PAYG customers that are subjected to those messages @wiganken. 

I am on a PAYG "Big Bundle" and that message appears after every call and text that I send, even though those are inclusive calls and texts. Hence, the message appears but the balance thereon only changes once per month. 

It is irritating but I have decided to ignore it ! 😀 

[MI5]

No reason to put up with anything just because of someone's incompetence.

[Oxonian]

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@MI5 wrote:

No reason to put up with anything just because of someone's incompetence.

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Agreed @MI5, but as everything else is working OK I am philosophical about it. 👍 

[MI5]

If everyone thought the same about issues, nothing would ever get fixed.

[Oxonian]

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@MI5 wrote:

If everyone thought the same about issues, nothing would ever get fixed.

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Agreed @MI5, but I think that O2 have higher priority issues to resolve at the moment. 👍 

[MI5]

I'm sure more than 80% of issues can be resolved with proper training or correctly written fault maps.

The issue in question is clearly one of them.

Fix the easy ones first and that gives time to work on the more complex issues.

That's basic quality control.

[Oxonian]

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@MI5 wrote:

I'm sure more than 80% of issues can be resolved with proper training or correctly written fault maps.

The issue in question is clearly one of them.

Fix the easy ones first and that gives time to work on the more complex issues.

That's basic quality control.

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Agreed @MI5, but there has to be a will to do these things ; the evidence that O2 want to resolve what might be considered minor or peripheral issues is scant.

You only need to look at infuriating pop-up on this site. That has been raised on many occasions and continues to irritate community members. And O2 haven't even resolved their billing and payment issues when "putting money in the till" is surely a priority for any business ?