Can Vodafone port my old number after I've taken out a contract with them?

Merrion_Square

Hi, I've searched the forums as best I can but haven't found an answer.

I've just signed up for a contract with Vodafone (wish I hadn't now) and, after getting my PAC code from my previous provider I rang Vodafone customer services to ask them to port my phone no. from my previous provider.

After leaving me hanging on for a while they eventually told to ring an 0870 no. I rang the 0870 no. and they told me they can't port nos. after I've been supplied with a Vodafone no. (According to Wikipedia, this does seem to be the case - Vodafone don't accept PAC codes in these circumstances.)

However, the chap on Vodafone's 0870 no. did say that I had to go to the shop where I got my phone from. Can I really get the shop to port my no.? I don't want to trek back to the shop if I'm only going to be fobbed off again. If a shop can do it, surely there must be a way I can do it online or by phone? Can anyone advise?

(PS: in reading people's problems with PACs and porting, this all seems to amount to fraud - wasn't there a UK or EU law requiring providers to allow easy porting of numbers?)

jammin_2

Yes they can.

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative

Vodafone ports can only be arranged pre-connection, due to their systems.

The only thing the shop could do is 14-day cancel your contract (if they're allowed) and then setup a new contract with the PAC code in place.

Regards,

Merrion_Square

jammin wrote: »

Yes they can.

Do you mean "Yes, only the shop can port the number", or do you mean that in general Vodafone can port the number?

fsrandom

You can only port in a number at the point of sale, you cannot organise a port afterwards.

However, if you were to call there porting line on 08700 720 265 and state you were promised the port would go through at the point of sale.. they might believe you.

Merrion_Square

An update, if anyone's interested: evil Vodafone are now, in my mind, wonderful Vodafone - they have managed to port my number!

It was quite a struggle, but I think the key thing is that they probably didn't follow their own internal procedures when issuing me with the phone. I suspect they're meant to ask if you want to keep your number when taking out a new contract. I wasn't asked, and when I said that to her colleagues when I went back to the shop, they seemed shocked. (Also, when I was asked to pick a new number from a list, I even said I didn't mind which one as I was keeping my number, but perhaps she didn't hear as I do mumble a bit.) So I reckon the original sales person slipped up, and her colleagues felt they had to find out some way of sorting out the mess they'd been landed in.

Anyway, one of her colleagues back in the shop spent forever on the phone getting shunted from one Vodafone department to another trying to find out how to resolve this. The shop, by the way, was a VODAFONE shop, with Vodafone staff. If they themselves have difficulty getting such a problem fixed, it speaks volumes about their systems. I am not going to buy shares in them.

Eventually, they got through, and the solution was to give me a new SIM and ask me to wait till today. And today my old phone stopped connecting to its network, and I put the new SIM into my new phone, and it all works beautifully! With my old phone number!

Vodafone

Hi Merrion Square,

After reading your thread I'm really pleased to see that everything has been sorted out for you.

All the best.

Lee

Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK

digp

Yes, they can. I am surprised they did it for you. Their usual mantra is "oh, that can't be done....". Morons. That's what they are.