Lebara > Asda > Lebara porting question

tronator

Hi all,

I got my PAC from Lebara on Tuesday, number got ported to Asda yesterday. So far no problem. Incoming calls and SMS work, outgoing I could only test the free service numbers from Asda as I don't have any money on this account. But these work too.

Today I tried to request the PAC from Asda, but I only get the following reply

Sorry, your PAC request is being processed by your new network provider and cannot be cancelled. You current mobile number will become inactive on <chosen port date>.

How long do I need to wait before I can request the PAC from Asda? I thought all transfers will be finished by midnight of the day of the transfer. Or do I need to top-up my SIM first?

savergrant

Have you ported the number previously?
There was a discussion in the autumn where other posters highlighted issues getting pac from asda on accounts with zero credit. I suspect it is with numbers which asda recognise and they are cracking down on being used to rejoin lebara. 
You may need to add credit and use the service for a few days before 'changing your mind'

tronator

savergrant said:

Have you ported the number previously?

 The last time 4 months ago from Three to Lebara. I don't think this would be the problem since the port to Asda went without problems.

There was a discussion in the autumn where other posters highlighted issues getting pac from asda on accounts with zero credit. I suspect it is with numbers which asda recognise and they are cracking down on being used to rejoin lebara. 
You may need to add credit and use the service for a few days before 'changing your mind'

I'll try again tomorrow. If it still doesn't work I could put £1 on it and use it over the weekend.

savergrant

This was the discussion in january;
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6416764/double-porting-current-options/p3#Comment_79774902

At the time I got a junk sim from asda and requested a pac, but it wasn't a number which had been ported to asda 

flaneurs_lobster

tronator said:

savergrant said:

Have you ported the number previously?

 The last time 4 months ago from Three to Lebara. I don't think this would be the problem since the port to Asda went without problems.

There was a discussion in the autumn where other posters highlighted issues getting pac from asda on accounts with zero credit. I suspect it is with numbers which asda recognise and they are cracking down on being used to rejoin lebara. 
You may need to add credit and use the service for a few days before 'changing your mind'

I'll try again tomorrow. If it still doesn't work I could put £1 on it and use it over the weekend.

Unfortunately the minimum top-up for Asda is £5.

tronator

I ended up calling them. I expected a sales pitch, but only got asked a few security questions. Got my PAC now.

MiserlyMartin

Is this porting being done for people who wish to keep their numbers? Or is this being done as a quick way of leaving Lebara without having to give 30 days notice? Also I read that you can only have one lebara sim registered to your name/address/lebara account so again, if you port it out elsewhere, then you can just activate a new lebara sim once its ported away....

Which one of these is the reason to port, or maybe all of them?

tronator

It's for keeping the number. Lebara only has monthly plans and you pay at the beginning. Do there is no 30 days notice, you just cancel your auto-renewal.

I think you can have multiple sim cards in one account, but I never tried this. You can certainly have multiple sim cards at the same address, even with the same payment method. Just use a different email address for each sim.

savergrant

True, once you have paid for a bundle it doesn't matter how far into the month you leave lebara. You have simply committed to paying for a month at a time. And if you don't renew your deal you remain their customer on payg terms.  Your sim only stops working when you deactivate it. Even if it isn't your main number the added advantage of porting your number out is it closes your sim account so no further payments can be taken by mistake.
Whilst you can manage multiple sims (with different numbers) on one lebara account you can only get the mse duscount offer on one. So you will need to create a new account to rejoin on the mse deal.

TehJumpingJawa

tronator said:

I ended up calling them. I expected a sales pitch, but only got asked a few security questions. Got my PAC now.

Looks like ASDA mobile are still doing this.

Either through incompetence, or malice, they're giving a spurious error message that blocks some users from requesting a PAC either via 65075, or via the ASDA mobile website profile management.

The only way to get your PAC is to call them, and go through the security checks; name, email address, last time you contacted their CS, and password confirmation.

Blocking the request when made through the website is especially egregious, as the only permissible reason to refuse a PAC code is if the customer's identity is in doubt; something that is assured by the website's login process.

I wonder if OFCOM are aware of this shady practice...

PHK

TehJumpingJawa said:

tronator said:

I ended up calling them. I expected a sales pitch, but only got asked a few security questions. Got my PAC now.

Looks like ASDA mobile are still doing this.

Either through incompetence, or malice, they're giving a spurious error message that blocks some users from requesting a PAC either via 65075, or via the ASDA mobile website profile management.

The only way to get your PAC is to call them, and go through the security checks; name, email address, last time you contacted their CS, and password confirmation.

Blocking the request when made through the website is especially egregious, as the only permissible reason to refuse a PAC code is if the customer's identity is in doubt; something that is assured by the website's login process.

I wonder if OFCOM are aware of this shady practice...

That isn’t completely correct. The donor network is entitled to check that the consumer is an active customer (although most don’t seem to do that). Additionally once the port has taken place there is a delay while billing  systems (which are needed for PAC generation) catch up(usually overnight but can be 4pm the next day) while paperwork follows up ( see mnposg.org.uk for details) this allows for people to stop forced or fraudulent number swapping of their number within 24hours. 

Ofcom designed the specification for the system never imagining that it would be used to hop out and back in to take advantage of an offer.