PAC questions leaving T-Mobile joining Orange/Vodafone

James_H

My 12-month contract with T-Mobile reaches its anniversary in just over a week. I don't anticipate them offering a decent upgrade deal so plan to request a PAC and get a new contract with a different network. I have been looking around and not settled on a deal just yet, but could possibly go with Orange this weekend due to the £150 Quidco rebate making their website deals more attractive, or Vodafone this month for their £130. Both save fiddling with cashback. :cool2:

My q's are: (sorry it's a long post):
1. Should I request my PAC asap since I will almost certainly port in the next 30 days? I had to phone T-Mobile a couple of weeks ago and asked about getting a PAC. At the time I was informed there would be a charge. I don't remember the amount but it could well have been a month's line rental, though it would be free after the anniversary. I have found a past MSE thread that states the 'charge' is not actually that but the line rental up to the cancellation period that would be later refunded, but I don't believe that is true:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=766001
When I last ported out of T-Mobile in 2006, I had a charge of under £4 for requesting a PAC in the dying days of the contract but did not actually transfer for another couple of weeks. I was refunded the line rental beyond the actual transfer date but not the early fee. It meant I paid twice for the last week of the contract.

To answer my own question, I should request the PAC as late as possible, but are things different now as suggested by the other thread?

Do they still refund line rental beyond the date of the transfer? Lets say my port takes place a week after the anniversary. Do I only pay line rental up to the transfer date (with rental between the PAC request and anniversary possibly paid twice). Or do I still end up paying for 30 days beyond the PAC request date, making porting equivalent to cancellation.

2. With the big Quidco rebate deals, the cost of the plan is significantly different if the purchase fails to track for any reason. If I buy and it doesn't track, I would be inclined to cancel and send the phone back.

With Orange, I believe you can port in at a later date, so it may be a good idea to delay the port - is this still the case? Their website is not particularly helpful in this regard. :huh:

With Vodafone, I have to supply the PAC on application. If the contract is accepted and wheels set in motion for a number transfer as well, how would a cancellation work in terms of keeping my number/old contract? I believe Vodafone don't give you a temporary number. What is the delay with a Vodafone port between signing up/being accepted and the port taking place, or at least how long you have to cancel? If I cancel within 14 days of getting the new phone but have already ported, would I lose my number?

3. I plan to use mobile internet much more on the new phone, yet seem to find conflicting information as to how much the packages cost and whether included in the line rental.

For Vodafone, I believe the £5 for the remaining contract term / £7.50 on a monthly basis is on top of the line rental.

For Orange, the costs are £5 off-peak/£8 anytime, but the anytime is included on 18-month £35+ pm contracts but not on any others at all. Where I am confused is that the Orange website offers £5 off many 12-month tariffs but makes no mention of included internet. The e2save website offers the 12-month tariffs at full price but with off-peak internet shown as included.

They both work out to the same price if off-peak internet costs £5 per month extra at the Orange Shop. I presume this means e2save effectively offer the discounted deal as per the Orange Shop but automatically include the internet. I presume it is not the case that the Orange Shop includes the internet but fails to mention it and is £5 pm cheaper. Please correct me if I'm wrong above.

jamiex

1. You should request your PAC as soon as possible. It is valid for 30 days and to my knowledge there is no charge to obtain a PAC, though there would be a charge if you use the PAC and your number is ported before the end of your contract. This charge would be an early termination charge for the contract.
If you port your number a week after the contract ends and you're on a £30/month contract, then you should only be paying about £7 (it should be calculated pro-rata) rather than the full £30.

2. Unfortunately I can't help with the Orange question but I'm sure others will be able to.

With Vodafone you have to port at the start, and your contract will start from the date that the number ports over. You will have 14 days from the date that you receive the letter in the post explaining what you have agreed to.
The minute you port your number your old contract will be cancelled. You can not then revert back to it.
I think porting can take up to 5 days from the time you supply your PAC to Vodafone.
If you do cancel, you might have to ask vodafone for a PAC and port to another network (though I'm not sure whether they would count that as early termination or whether they'd count it as your right to cancel within 14 days - you'd have to ask them)
Alternatively you can ask Vodafone to cancel the contract and conver the number to PAYG. Hopefully they'd be able to do this.

3. If you order from Orange online and it says the internet is included then it is. If it doesn't say then it most likely isn't. I know Vodafone have a £1/day cap on internet usage but I'm not sure how much they charge for any addons. I'll do a bit of research and see if I can find out.

agsnu

Note that Orange's £8 a month "unlimited" is limited to a measly 30MB, which is disgraceful and smaller than most operator's "daily unlimited" limit.

pingu

t-mobile charge £15 if you request PAC before the last day of your contract

so ask for it on last day and transfer it to new company and it only takes two days to transfer

James_H

Thanks for the replies.

agsnu wrote: »

Note that Orange's £8 a month "unlimited" is limited to a measly 30MB, which is disgraceful and smaller than most operator's "daily unlimited" limit.

I'm glad you mentioned that as I recalled seeing it somewhere. I have looked into it further, and gone into an Orange shop in town today.

The 18 month 35 (or higher) contracts do have the unlimited net. It's more than 30MB, but not clear whether 250MB, 500MB or some other amount.

The person in the Orange shop said that the £5 or £8 add-ons with a 12 month contract do only give 30MB. Then again, I flicked through the brochure instore and it said the off-peak £5 package was available on 12 month contracts and offered more than 30MB.

The Orange 12 month contracts are made much more attractive by the Quidco £150, but not if the data charges are punitive. The 18 month deals are £100 cheaper than usual through Orange's online shop, but deals such as those by M2YD remain cheaper still (about £70 for a particular deal, though needs 4 cashback claims).

Not an entirely fruitful visit to other phone stores either. The woman in the O2 store wearing an iphone t-shirt didn't seem to know what mobile internet was.

lawbunny

pingu wrote: »

t-mobile charge £15 if you request PAC before the last day of your contract

so ask for it on last day and transfer it to new company and it only takes two days to transfer

No, they don't.

If you are still within your minimum commitment period (ie the 12 months) then you will be charged a pro rata amount based on your line rental up until the end of your commitment. You will be sent a final bill 14 days after the transfer takes place outlining if you owe/are owed any more money. It should all even out so that you do not pay anything extra/twice though...

pingu

i called them at the end of 17 month on a 18 month contract was told i could cancel but if i wanted to keep the number will have to pay £15 for PAC or call on the last day of the contract and get it free and it only takes 2 days to port the number and you get billed for whatever you have used within 14 days.
i have just done that and will be virgin customer within48 hours