My debit card is always declined when I try and top up

[rjdg2k]

I've had my current pay as you go SIM card (bought on Amazon) since 2018, but have never been able to top it up because every time I enter my correct NatWest Visa debit details online, I get the message "Sorry, it’s not been possible to take your payment. Your phone has not been topped up. Please try again or use another card. If the problem continues you’ll need to contact your bank". I've also been unable to top my SIM card up using the automated 4444 service. I haven't had any issue using my card anywhere else, so why is this happening with O2?

Some stuff I've read suggests that I may have to do something additional if I'm topping it up with a card for the first time, so is this the case?

[Cleoriff · Accepted solution]

Hi @rjdg2k 

Your first top up has to be by voucher. Details here

Guide How to Top Up (PAYG) 

[rjdg2k]

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@Cleoriff wrote:

Hi @rjdg2k 

Your first top up has to be by voucher. Details here

Guide How to Top Up (PAYG) 

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Do you know why this is? It would make just as much sense to allow your first top up to be by card.

[Cleoriff]

@rjdg2k 

No idea why, just know it is. Once your number is registered on the O2 system via voucher, you will then be able the register your card. I was PAYG for years and had 3 cards registered to my account, once I had topped up via voucher.

[jonsie]

How have you topped up before?

Have you ever used it on the network?

Sim cards have to be topped up within a certain time before they expire

[Cleoriff]

@rjdg2k 

If your card has expired then you need a new one.

However, your first top up will still need to be by voucher.

Order here https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/sim-cards/pay-as-you-go 

or by calling O2. Guide: Coronavirus Community Help and Support 

[rjdg2k]

I haven't been able to top up, though my SIM originally came preloaded with £10 of credit.

Yes - I've used it on O2's mobile network before, and it can still connect fine to all of the free O2 services and can receive calls, though it can't call paid numbers or access paid data at the moment as it has £0 in credit.

I don't believe it's "expired" in any way as O2 recognises it without any issue, and I constantly have the O2 network displayed on my phone's top info bar. How do I get a voucher to top up, though? I assume that the "voucher" has to be bought in addition to the preloaded credit, once the initial preloaded credit has run out. At the same time I typed up "O2 voucher" on Amazon and all I could find were preloaded SIM cards - no standalone credit voucher codes.

Is it possible to get these first-time top up vouchers over the internet, as most stores are currently closed? The thread the first replier linked to states that "These are available from any O2 shop" but I wasn't able to find such items on the O2 website or Amazon.

[MI5]

@rjdg2k 

From your local corner shop, newsagents, supermarket etc or anywhere that displays the mobile top up symbol.

[rjdg2k]

I believe I've seen this on the ATM at my local Tesco Express. I might go down there in the next few days and see if I can sort it.

I honestly don't see how this is really any different, though, to topping up online (which can't be done for a first time top up on either O2 or most other networks), as you're giving more or less exactly the same details by entering your phone number into an ATM as what you would give by paying online (which can be done for subsequent top ups).

While my SIM card was purchased in late 2019 (I said 2018 earlier, that was an error), it can still connect to O2's network and receive calls fine, so should I hopefully still be able to activate it via a voucher?

[MI5]

Yes I agree.
It's a weird phenomenon of O2..