ASDA Mobile Ditches Vodafone for EE

Yorkshire_Pud

First asda increased their payg tariff to 6p from 4p a text and 10p from 8p a call. Why? To railroad existing customers onto their EE network which has charges identical to the OLD asda payg tariff and the same as the cheap payg competitors Tesco and Talkmobile essentials.

Then they offer a sweetener if you take your existing number over to asda EE of a month worth of free calls well 103 minutes, texts etc. they give a date of 15 Oct which they then delay to 28 Oct and now in the last week have put the date back again to 25 November as being the date EE becomes available.

So my credit I have been running down in anticipation of 28 Oct will run out before the EE service is operable at end November and I would need to top up again now at the existing uncompetative tariff to maintain service:(

I have also noticed in the last week that each text I send does not now cost 6p as previously / advertised but multiples of 6p even for a short text. talkmobile asks if you want to send 2 texts for a long text but asda doesn't and I assumed that is because a text of whatever length is 6p but the last one I sent was 12p as I checked straight after and was a short text. Sure this didn't used to be the case with asda even a week ago.

As for existing credit being use it or lose it I believe that's a convenient rip off from mobile companies, Talkmobile tried that trick when they changed network and I contacted Paul Gosling at The Independent Newspaper and then received a call from the CEO of CarPhone Wharehouse giving me my credit refund and £30 for my trouble. The upshot was if the company changes the service they can't MAKE you use your credit for the sake of it they have to refund you if you REQUEST IT.

It's not as if they are ceasing trading they are making a business decision and manipulating tariffs upwards and railroading existing customers to achieve their aims.

Fair enough, and I am set on achieving my aim of getting my credit money back and maybe a bit more for wasting my time:cool: well not really as I only £3.31 left but may be worth it for others. Anyway at the rate asda are charging me for texts at the moment probably be gone by tomorrow! Sure one text cost about 48p!

Earthworm

If your texts are as long as your last post then 48p might be right

In all seriousness though I agree with the upset. For users with poor Vodafone coverage this might be a bonus but for those happy with the signal they get now it's a bit of a letdown if EE coverage is worse in the area.

cashbag

As for existing credit being use it or lose it I believe that's a
convenient rip off from mobile companies, Talkmobile tried that trick when they changed network and I contacted Paul Gosling at The Independent Newspaper and then received a call from the CEO of CarPhone Wharehouse giving me my credit refund and £30 for my trouble. The upshot was if the company changes the service they can't MAKE you use your credit for the sake of it they have to refund you if you REQUEST IT.

That's very useful to know - thanks for posting that info. I will give it a whirl as I have had no response to my second email to ASDA. Before approaching the likes of OFCOM or whoever I know you have to follow "procedure" for complaints, but why should WE have all the faff when it is not US who have moved the goalposts.

As it happens I had to send 3 short texts to people this week (wow! at this rate, unless I have an emergency I might be able to use up my credit by . . . . 2016) & can see they only cost me the standard rate each, so your experience is very curious indeed. I rarely send texts that are more than a short sentence, but have never thought before that longer ones might be charged extra.

d123

Yorkshire_Pud wrote: »

I have also noticed in the last week that each text I send does not now cost 6p as previously / advertised but multiples of 6p even for a short text. talkmobile asks if you want to send 2 texts for a long text but asda doesn't and I assumed that is because a text of whatever length is 6p but the last one I sent was 12p as I checked straight after and was a short text. Sure this didn't used to be the case with asda even a week ago.

A text is 160 characters, your phone should count and show the number of text messages required to send if you go over 160.

As far back as a Nokia 3210 I can remember it showing in the top corner.

Yorkshire_Pud

d123 wrote: »

A text is 160 characters, your phone should count and show the number of text messages required to send if you go over 160.

As far back as a Nokia 3210 I can remember it showing in the top corner.

That explains it then, have a Nokia from 2007 but never seen the character count or been asked if I want to send 2 or more SMS like I do with Talkmobile, however just counted my last text and it was 240 characters so that accounts for 12p charge and the one before was 560 characters so that would be 4 x6p:eek:

I need to introduce brevity into my texts:o

macman

Yorkshire_Pud wrote: »

First asda increased their payg tariff to 6p from 4p a text and 10p from 8p a call. Why? To railroad existing customers onto their EE network which has charges identical to the OLD asda payg tariff and the same as the cheap payg competitors Tesco and Talkmobile essentials.

Then they offer a sweetener if you take your existing number over to asda EE of a month worth of free calls well 103 minutes, texts etc. they give a date of 15 Oct which they then delay to 28 Oct and now in the last week have put the date back again to 25 November as being the date EE becomes available.

So my credit I have been running down in anticipation of 28 Oct will run out before the EE service is operable at end November and I would need to top up again now at the existing uncompetative tariff to maintain service:(

I have also noticed in the last week that each text I send does not now cost 6p as previously / advertised but multiples of 6p even for a short text. talkmobile asks if you want to send 2 texts for a long text but asda doesn't and I assumed that is because a text of whatever length is 6p but the last one I sent was 12p as I checked straight after and was a short text. Sure this didn't used to be the case with asda even a week ago.

As for existing credit being use it or lose it I believe that's a convenient rip off from mobile companies, Talkmobile tried that trick when they changed network and I contacted Paul Gosling at The Independent Newspaper and then received a call from the CEO of CarPhone Wharehouse giving me my credit refund and £30 for my trouble. The upshot was if the company changes the service they can't MAKE you use your credit for the sake of it they have to refund you if you REQUEST IT.

It's not as if they are ceasing trading they are making a business decision and manipulating tariffs upwards and railroading existing customers to achieve their aims.

Fair enough, and I am set on achieving my aim of getting my credit money back and maybe a bit more for wasting my time:cool: well not really as I only £3.31 left but may be worth it for others. Anyway at the rate asda are charging me for texts at the moment probably be gone by tomorrow! Sure one text cost about 48p!

No. That increase was made about a year ago-long before ASDA decided to ditch Voda. ASDA finally decided to make the move in a fit of pique when Voda announced their joint venture with Sainsbury's to create Sainsbury Mobile.

Yorkshire_Pud

macman wrote: »

No. That increase was made about a year ago-long before ASDA decided to ditch Voda. ASDA finally decided to make the move in a fit of pique when Voda announced their joint venture with Sainsbury's to create Sainsbury Mobile.

I will drop asda then and go with sainsbury, tesco or talkmobile who offer 4p a text payg.

Asda will no doubt jack their EE payg price up 50% from 4p to 6p a text after luring in their existing and future customers. They've already done it once so why not again, even though their competitors manage 4p a text asda couldn't?

tyllwyd

I must be the only one actively waiting for the change - I've got an Orange phone which is uneconomic to unlock, but the Orange price plans don't work well for me and the ASDA one looks much better for what I want.

jhp

Yorkshire_Pud wrote: »

I will drop asda then and go with sainsbury, tesco or talkmobile who offer 4p a text payg.

And of course peeps could go to 3 mobile if its any good in there area and have a 3g phone. Only 2p a text.:D

http://www.three.co.uk/Store/Pay_As_You_Go_Price_Plans?id=1396

jhp

tyllwyd wrote: »

I must be the only one actively waiting for the change - I've got an Orange phone which is uneconomic to unlock, but the Orange price plans don't work well for me and the ASDA one looks much better for what I want.

Have you seen this mvno runs on EE.

Good rates for calls and free voicemail.

https://www.whitemobile.com/white-mobile-rates/