O2 - immediate start of contract before SIM arrived

Ianstone1

I am in the process of moving 4 accounts from iD to O2. I wanted to obtain the SIM cards and activate the switch when I could do so without incurring extra costs. O2 have now started a tick box which says your account will start and without ticking you can’t get a new sim. Surely this is dodgy - paying for a service you haven’t yet received.

Has anyone else encountered this, and if yes, did you manage to get any refunded time to cover thiis?

I wanted to move the kids mobiles immediately and ours after about 10 days as this worked best for the account.

Not very moneysaving if I end up splurging £20 in costs before I am able to fully use my new provider.

PHK

In my experience, this isn't unusual at all. Personally, I've never had a SIM you could activate at a later data.

d123

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a contract that allows sign now - activate later.

tempus_fugit

Hmmm. The way I have always done it is to order a PAYG SIM card, then after I have used up the credit sign up for a contract, which I have always been able to do. It's been some years since I have done this though so maybe things have changed since then.

mobilejunkie

Not the way contracts work. May be different if converting an existing PAYG sim to contract. I've had hundreds of contracts over the last dozen years and never yet had one which wasn't already connected when the package arrived, as I recall. You're only talking about a day or two and since contracts have bundles the actual day you use them is less important than PAYG - as long as you don't exceed the pro-rata allowance at the start and end of the contract. Maybe you need to understand how contract work better too; for example, contracts don't end after a set period unless you end them. A common problem with some people on here - plus a few other traps they endlessly fall into (though it seems you have had contracts before).

Frozen_up_north

It’s no different to a warranty that runs from the date your invoice shows, not the date you receive the goods. It’s one area where visiting a shop has an advantage over mail order.

Exemplar

Apple business - only activates the warranty from the date the device (handset) is registered on line (i.e. activated).