Lebara 2GB Monthly SIM Only Plan £5

Rosa_Damascena

Highland76 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

More learning about this cruddy deal - it's 30 days ONLY and not a rolling 30-day contract as I expected.

Unbeknownst to me, you have to go back into your account and renew the plan every 30 days - I only realised when I chewed through £15 of credit. At least I can comfort myself that I did not leave auto top-up on, as I'd be chatting away merrily and racking up a huge bill. Still no getting through to Lebara - neither chat nor 5588 is open. 

BE WARNED - if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Eta: to avoid the same fate, make sure auto-renew is activated. Or just avoid Lebara completely.

That probably explains why Lebara take your card/paypal details for this plan instead of Direct Debit details.

I didn't think twice about it at the time - didn't much care as long as they had a means of payment (my previous provider billed my credit card, so I saw nothing wrong with this).

ETA: Lebara CS is an utter disgrace. Just pay a bit more, save your precious time and keep peace of mind!

Chino

Rosa_Damascena said:

Eta: to avoid the same fate, make sure auto-renew is activated. Or just avoid Lebara completely.

Rosa_Damascena said:

ETA: Lebara CS is an utter disgrace. Just pay a bit more, save your precious time and keep peace of mind!

What does "Eta" / "ETA" mean?

MikeWhite

Chino said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Eta: to avoid the same fate, make sure auto-renew is activated. Or just avoid Lebara completely.

Rosa_Damascena said:

ETA: Lebara CS is an utter disgrace. Just pay a bit more, save your precious time and keep peace of mind!

What does "Eta" / "ETA" mean?

Edited to add.

[Deleted User]

Rosa_Damascena said:

Highland76 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

More learning about this cruddy deal - it's 30 days ONLY and not a rolling 30-day contract as I expected.

Unbeknownst to me, you have to go back into your account and renew the plan every 30 days - I only realised when I chewed through £15 of credit. At least I can comfort myself that I did not leave auto top-up on, as I'd be chatting away merrily and racking up a huge bill. Still no getting through to Lebara - neither chat nor 5588 is open. 

BE WARNED - if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Eta: to avoid the same fate, make sure auto-renew is activated. Or just avoid Lebara completely.

That probably explains why Lebara take your card/paypal details for this plan instead of Direct Debit details.

I didn't think twice about it at the time - didn't much care as long as they had a means of payment (my previous provider billed my credit card, so I saw nothing wrong with this).

ETA: Lebara CS is an utter disgrace. Just pay a bit more, save your precious time and keep peace of mind!

Direct Debit isn't a guaranteed form of payment, they aren't going to support it on a non-credit checked product.
They are in essence giving you a deal for setting up auto-renew and cutting out their costs for pre-pay vouchers. 

Highland76

dahj said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Highland76 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

More learning about this cruddy deal - it's 30 days ONLY and not a rolling 30-day contract as I expected.

Unbeknownst to me, you have to go back into your account and renew the plan every 30 days - I only realised when I chewed through £15 of credit. At least I can comfort myself that I did not leave auto top-up on, as I'd be chatting away merrily and racking up a huge bill. Still no getting through to Lebara - neither chat nor 5588 is open. 

BE WARNED - if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Eta: to avoid the same fate, make sure auto-renew is activated. Or just avoid Lebara completely.

That probably explains why Lebara take your card/paypal details for this plan instead of Direct Debit details.

I didn't think twice about it at the time - didn't much care as long as they had a means of payment (my previous provider billed my credit card, so I saw nothing wrong with this).

ETA: Lebara CS is an utter disgrace. Just pay a bit more, save your precious time and keep peace of mind!

Direct Debit isn't a guaranteed form of payment, they aren't going to support it on a non-credit checked product.
They are in essence giving you a deal for setting up auto-renew and cutting out their costs for pre-pay vouchers. 

Yet Talkmobile - who also don't do a credit check - asked for my DD details and successfully managed to set up a DD when i signed up for their 2gb sim only plan for £6/m the other day. So if other MVNOs such as Talkmobile can offer DDs on credit checked plans then I'm sure Lebara could as well, if they wanted to.

Rosa_Damascena

^^^^The point is Lebara doesn't wish to.

The busines model deconstructed is to offer an apparently good deal, encourage adding top-up credit as a buffer and setting the auto-default NOT to renew so the money goes straight into them. You learn once only, and the hard way.

There is no way on this planet that I would recommend Lebara - the customer service is deliberate obtuse and I have no intention of dealing with them again. I'm looking for a new deal as I don't mind paying a little more every month for a reputable provider that does not seek to rip me off from the outset. 

oldagetraveller1

I don't see what the problem is, maybe I'm being thick - don't answer that!

I have a Lebara SIM only plan at £4.95/month for 2Gb, 1000 min and unlimited texts.

They have a debit card on file from which payment is taken each month on a rolling contract. There's no obligation to top up the account although I was credited £10 for transferring a number to them.That remains in my account, or has done so far.

No problems here. I don't feel ripped off at all.

They do state "No long contracts only 30 day rolling plans. Change or cancel your plan anytime". Can't be much simpler than that!

Chriscichocki

er telling them to cancel Having been with 3 for some years and having had to threaten leaving several times to get a better, low use cheap deal I was happily tootling along on £5 a month with 600 Min/Txts and 1Gb.. then i got a message saying because they could they were putting up the cost by the RPI.. really?  and i found Lebaras offer on MSE.. Now some of the comments were scary, claims that you have to log on monthly to auto-renew, No longer true it seems.. BUT.. when i asked what they charged for voice mail Imagine my 'surprise' to be told it was fist 19p then 25p.. This to the man that dumped 3 for an RPI increase.. after telling Lebara to cancel your Indian Call agent comes back with Its free from your allowance now sir.. SO if you have switched, or are going to, call 5588 and sort that out right away.. 25p a voicemail soon adds up... otherwise Vodafone network seems pretty good compared to 3 and ee both of whom don't provide my home with a good signal.

[Deleted User]

Highland76 said:

dahj said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Highland76 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

More learning about this cruddy deal - it's 30 days ONLY and not a rolling 30-day contract as I expected.

Unbeknownst to me, you have to go back into your account and renew the plan every 30 days - I only realised when I chewed through £15 of credit. At least I can comfort myself that I did not leave auto top-up on, as I'd be chatting away merrily and racking up a huge bill. Still no getting through to Lebara - neither chat nor 5588 is open. 

BE WARNED - if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Eta: to avoid the same fate, make sure auto-renew is activated. Or just avoid Lebara completely.

That probably explains why Lebara take your card/paypal details for this plan instead of Direct Debit details.

I didn't think twice about it at the time - didn't much care as long as they had a means of payment (my previous provider billed my credit card, so I saw nothing wrong with this).

ETA: Lebara CS is an utter disgrace. Just pay a bit more, save your precious time and keep peace of mind!

Direct Debit isn't a guaranteed form of payment, they aren't going to support it on a non-credit checked product.
They are in essence giving you a deal for setting up auto-renew and cutting out their costs for pre-pay vouchers. 

Yet Talkmobile - who also don't do a credit check - asked for my DD details and successfully managed to set up a DD when i signed up for their 2gb sim only plan for £6/m the other day. So if other MVNOs such as Talkmobile can offer DDs on credit checked plans then I'm sure Lebara could as well, if they wanted to.

Talkmobile do credit check - so accept Direct Debits.
Their sister brand Voxi doesn't credit check and they don't accept Direct Debits much like Lebara.

bras0778

I signed up to this deal via the link from MSE's Best Sim only deals page. On the payment page, it says "SIM £0.00". Does that mean that Lebara will send me a SIM, or do I need to order a SIM separately?