Extended stay in Australia and my PAYG service now says SOS calls only...

[deejerydoo]

Hi,

This is my second attempt at posting this to your forum, but the first post seems to have been lost in the Ether.

I am in Australia for an extended period. Today, I noticed my O2 iPhone X is saying SOS calls only. So, I tried logging in to my O2 account only to be told there was no account with my email address, despite me using this for more than the last five years. So, I went through the password rest process, as this has resolved this issue for me in the past and now I'm finally in my account it says I have no services.

I had a credit balance on a PAYG SIM. Now nothing!?

I can't call you from my O2 phone and when I try calling your advertised number for calling from overseas, from my Australian number, it says I am unable to be connected.

[Mod edit: Please do not share personal details as your posts are visible to the public. Thanks!]

[pgn · Accepted solution]

@deejerydoo - If you don’t top up, add a Bolt On or carry out any chargeable activity at least once in any six month period, your O2 Pay As You Go sim card will be disconnected and you’ll lose any remaining credit on your account.

If your SIM has been deactivated, a call to O2 will be required to see if it can be reactivated -Guide: How to find help & contact O2

[deejerydoo]

The fact that they do this, without even a courtesy email or text warning is atrocious and tantamount to daylight robbery. As I have already said, I cannot call O2, from Australia, on their advertised number as it says the call cannot be connected. This is likely to be because the overseas number they advertise is a +44 7860, number that the Australian telephone network appears to not like routing calls to. Also, the landline advertised is a 0344 non-geographical number that seems to have the same problem.

[jonsie]

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[Oxonian]

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@deejerydoo wrote:

The fact that they do this, without even a courtesy email or text warning is atrocious and tantamount to daylight robbery. 

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Sorry but it is in the terms and conditions that you consented to when you joined O2. You just cannot rely on big businesses to issue warnings in such circumstances when they are not obliged to do so. 👍

[jonsie]

The problem is that is no one sat there every day restricting connections as it's an automated progrmme

Hence there are no warnings

It does then involve a customer service adviser to sit there removing the reestriction

[deejerydoo]

Their automated systems to identify lapsing services can be set up to notify customers prior to cancellation of the service. I have worked in IT for more than 30 years and I know this for a fact. What is missing in this equation is any care, consideration or respect from all of the mobile phone operators for paying customers who are in credit with them, combined with the small additional revenue stream and driving people towards contracts derived from conducting their business in this way.

It is absolutely typical of the dehumanising attitude of large corporations the world over, that view customers as nothing more than revenue streams with associated cost liability reduction opportunities. The fact that a company is allowed to effectively steal money from a registered individual is a criminal action of the mobile phone operators and negligent of the governments who fail to provide and enforce adequate consumer protections.

My solution will be to look at VoIP alternatives.

[deejerydoo]

As is all too often proved in the world of business these days. Just because a company puts terms into their contracts does not necessarily mean they are adhering to consumer protections. Only today I have had confirmation from a consumer protection authority, here in Australia, that Apple are contravening current consumer protection laws in one of their web store practices. I will be taking this to the ACCC for them to force Apple to do what they are neglecting to do.

If we don't hold these b'stards to account then they will only continue to walk all over us.

[Oxonian]

@deejerydoo 

I agree that It would be good customer service for O2 to issue warnings to customers. However, O2 have their T&Cs - which are standard across the UK mobile industry - to fall back on, so I believe that to try to pursue this further would be futile. 👍  

[Enlli]

The truth is O2 appear not really that interested in PAYG. They have Giffgaff and many of us suspect that will be the offering in the future, leaving O2 for contract type offerings.