EE took my credit and left me stranded

babyj3

I have an old mobile that I keep in the car for emergency use only.
I was told that I need to use it to make sure it is not deactivated and that is within a 6 month time scale
I used it on 19 Dec 2016 and had £5.76 credit left after that call at 16p per minute.
I then went on holiday on 17 March 2017 and used it to call a friend. I was on the line for 1 minute to tell her I was going to be late. She called me back straight away.
I tried to ring to tell her I would be arriving soon and all of my credit had gone. My car had a light on and was showing that I had a problem and I had no means of communicating. Luckily it got me to my destination.
I didn't want to put more money on my mobile as I didn't know if it would take all that as well. I didn't know how to contact EE
I was worried about having no means of communication all week as I am disabled and there is a chance I would need to go to hospital quickly but I need to ring ahead and alert them
My friends daughter had an old mobile and the next day they travelled
to Tesco and set it up for me. Costing 10.99. I also gave her money for the phone and chocolates as a thank you
I have tried to get my credit back from EE as a refund and have spoken to 7 people over 2.30 hours and been given conflicting information
Two of their agents tell me that they deactivated mobiles if they are not used within 3 months, one said 6 months then changed her mind and said 3 months, the others either thought it is 6 months or were sure it's 6 months
The best offer they have made is £20 but only as credit to my phone but I explained that I already have this other phone on Tesco mobile so any form of credit is of no use to me.
I have to keep explaining everything each time I speak to a new person but they will not escalate my complaint until I do. I keep being told that credit is my only option but that is worth nothing to me as I won't even use the credit on the Tesco phone
I feel as if they are trying to fob me off and wear me down but it is not just the money it is the situation they left me in and I still don't know who is telling the truth re 3/6 months before deactivating a mobile
Their Disability Care line is useless as they just pass you on to a call centre in India who can't help
Anyone else had similar problems, any advice will be appreciated

Buzby

It is 180 days (not 90) that you have to make a chargeable event. There rules were put in place by OFCOM years ago to stop networks fiddling connection numbers for phones would never be used again.

The Customer Service number was 150, and they let you top up by text too - but you seem to be confusing two things, just because you didn't make a call for 3 months doesn't mean you lose your credit - it can leech away without you noticing, but the way to find out is to see what caused the remaining credit to disappear - not start again on a different network.

The only resolution possible (assuming EE at fault) is a credit to your account - nothing else, so if you've left them that avenue has closed. But if I were you I'd want to find out why, so look at your online bill and find out why.

babyj3

Thanks for the info' and the advice you gave is OK if I had an online account . I don't and even if I did the holiday home had no broadband , the last time I topped the credit was over a year ago. I keep the phone turned off and never text or check voicemail etc. Just the odd call. I dont understand about leeching but it has never happened in the past and it is not the case this time
EE admit they deactivated and said that it is because I had not used it for 3 months.
They are at fault not me and they are fobbing me off
I did not have my handbook so did not know what number to ring except 453 and 450 - and could not get through as that number charged 25p per minute and I had no credit. I am trying to resolve this issue now I am home
I am not techie. My mobile is an old Siemens 55. I don't use any online services. Only use my iPad for email, browsing and on here.
The holiday home had no broadband and was quite isolated,my friend did her best as the little girls old phone was on Tesco and was locked. It took her 2 hours round trip as a favour to me. I can't thank them enough as we only called in to see them in passing
I was worrying and needed the security and peace of mind to be able to make calls. If EE had not deactivated my mobile there would have been no problem and I would not have incurred extra expenses
As for no refunds, well I shall see what the ombudsman decides as EE took my money. I paid cash and I want it back not some credit that is useless to me. We all have rights as consumers and companies cannot get away with treating people the way they are treating me when they are in the wrong not me

DCFC79

Your EE phone wasnt deactivated, the credit was.

Could have done things simpler, could have called EE from your friends and topped up your phone, would have saved the 2 hour round trip to Tesco.

babyj3

DCFC79 wrote: »

Your EE phone wasnt deactivated, the credit was.

Could have done things simpler, could have called EE from your friends and topped up your phone, would have saved the 2 hour round trip to Tesco.

Yes with hindsight it would have been better to ring them to ask why they had taken my credit but I never thought to ask if my friend would look up how to contact them and then let me ring as I felt ill and tired after a long journey and wanted to get to my final destination to rest and recuperate and the next day they turned up with the phone all topped up and ready to use as a surprise to give me peace of mind for the rest of the holiday. They did not want to let me recompense them but I couldn't let a little girl miss out on the amount she would have got if she had sold her phone. She bought it from birthday and Christmas money and it would have been very mean not to recompense her
I said EE deactivated my phone because EE described it as deactivated my phone when I spoke to them so I am using the terminology they used with me. I'm not techie so copy the terms they used with me.
Either way it's their fault that I was put in that situation not mine and it doesn't help when they give me wrong and conflicting information now.

d123

babyj3 wrote: »

I have an old mobile that I keep in the car for emergency use only.
I was told that I need to use it to make sure it is not deactivated and that is within a 6 month time scale
I used it on 19 Dec 2016 and had £5.76 credit left after that call at 16p per minute.

Just one observation, but EE have charged 30p per minute on PAYG since the start of PAYG on EE.

http://ee.co.uk/help/add-ons-benefits-and-plans/price-plans-and-costs/ee-pay-as-you-go-price-plans

cookie365

EE, like all mobile providers, deactivate phones and/or credit if not used for a certain period of time.

For EE that is 180 days.

So possibly the phone wasn't deactivated and somehow your credit was used up - I know your phone is an old candybar one, but I think it has internet access - could it have been set up incorrectly to be connecting up to the internet to download emails? A few months of that could eat up a few £ credit.

Otherwise, are you sure about the call in December? Could you have received the call instead of making it? Perhaps the last chargeable action really was more than 180 days ago.

Whatever network you go to, you must make sure you're aware of its rules on PAYG credit expiry.

Ken Lo has a brilliant guide here
http://kenstechtips.com/index.php/payg-inactivity-account-termination-and-credit-expiry

In any case, you should be regularly testing your emergency mobile with a short call or text.

babyj3

cookie365 wrote: »

EE, like all mobile providers, deactivate phones and/or credit if not used for a certain period of time.

For EE that is 180 days.

So possibly the phone wasn't deactivated and somehow your credit was used up - I know your phone is an old candybar one, but I think it has internet access - could it have been set up incorrectly to be connecting up to the internet to download emails? A few months of that could eat up a few £ credit.

Otherwise, are you sure about the call in December? Could you have received the call instead of making it? Perhaps the last chargeable action really was more than 180 days ago.

Whatever network you go to, you must make sure you're aware of its rules on PAYG credit expiry.

Ken Lo has a brilliant guide here
http://kenstechtips.com/index.php/payg-inactivity-account-termination-and-credit-expiry

In any case, you should be regularly testing your emergency mobile with a short call or text.

No it has no internet access. I made the call myself to my own landline to ensure the phone was used, answered the call and had a short conversation with myself then made a note of the last date used,remaining credit and put on calendar when to use it again. I've done that for years now after I checked with them about their rules
I was aware of the 6 month rule that is why I did that
It's EE who initially claimed that they have changed to 3 months now and then they take your credit after non use after 3 months but after speaking to 8 people the last 2 agreed it is 6 months.
Their own staff should know whether it is 3 months or 6 months
You obviously know more than some of their own staff
They are definitely in the wrong and have admitted that finally
what they are doing is stalling on escalating my complaint in order to resolve it to my satisfaction or if not provide me with a deadlock letter to go to the ombudsman
They keep telling me they are putting me through to a team leader but then just put me through to an agent in India again and again so I am talking to someone who has not got the authority to sort it out to my satisfaction
I feel badly let down by them at every stage of my dealings with them which makes me even more determined to resolve to my satisfaction not theirs

babyj3

d123 wrote: »

Just one observation, but EE have charged 30p per minute on PAYG since the start of PAYG on EE.

http://ee.co.uk/help/add-ons-benefits-and-plans/price-plans-and-costs/ee-pay-as-you-go-price-plans

I am on an old orange plan - raccoon but even if they moved me over without telling me £5.76 less 30p still leaves £5.46 and I would have been able to make calls
Didn't see the point of getting into plan details
EE agrees that I should still have well over £5 credit on my mobile and that they took it in error

d123

babyj3 wrote: »

I am on an old orange plan - raccoon but even if they moved me over without telling me £5.76 less 30p still leaves £5.46 and I would have been able to make calls
Didn't see the point of getting into plan details
EE agrees that I should still have well over £5 credit on my mobile and that they took it in error

In future you should actually say you're on Orange EE and not simply EE, EE is the name used for the new 4G network and it gets quite confusing if someone on an Orange EE plan gets it wrong.

It's not only different prices, but can mean people waste their time reading up on EE T&C's when it should be the Orange ones.

babyj3

d123 wrote: »

In future you should actually say you're on Orange EE and not simply EE, EE is the name used for the new 4G network and it gets quite confusing if someone on an Orange EE plan gets it wrong.

It's not only different prices, but can mean people waste their time reading up on EE T&C's when it should be the Orange ones.

The last thing I would want is for anyone to waste their time
I knew ee had taken over Orange and thought that it was all the same now re t&c. and that it was just a name difference
I went to an EE shop and the person I dealt with was wearing an EE uniform but they put me on Orange raccoon as it was the best plan for me
I am grateful for your advice and will remember to be more specific in future
Happy Easter to everyone out there :)