Lycamobile Pay as you go SIM card: once, not twice

Publik

On the 4th of january, I bought a Lycamobile SIM with 40GB at Tesco for £10.

I input the voucher number, everything looked fine.

The same day I receive a text reading “You will receive a DATA setting which will follow this message, please save/accept the configuration”. I never received it, but it looked like the data was working so I had nothing to worry about. I’ve mostly stayed at my hotel since then (i.e. on WIFI).

06/01 another text: “You have insufficient main balance GBP 0.02 to purchase the bundle, please top up”, and I realize that I cannot connect to the internet when I go outside.

I try and call Lycamobile support, and the lady on the phone explains: my history reads that I consumed a total of 81MB, although what I bought is a 40GB pay-as-you go SIM card. She tells me that I had the cellular data switched on (isn't it what's required to access the internet outside ?).

My question, to which she never answered: where are the 40GB of data that I was supposed to get with my purchase ? 81MB of data just cost me £10... I feel like I have been robbed, just like any tourist (which I am) who doesn't know anything about the way data providers work here in the UK.

So I give up with Lycamobile, and won't recommend it. I bought a Tesco Mobile plan instead: 30GB for £10, with 5G. Just put the SIM and the internet already worked.

I'm mad at Lycamobile (at least until someone explains that I did something wrong, then it would be my bad and I would remove or update this bad appreciation comment).

flaneurs_lobster

We could hypothesise endlessly reasons for your data use (or more likely lack of data provision) but to be frank even a cursory trawl of the web will show that Lyca's reputation for providing a working mobile service is not the finest and their customer service is worse than most. 

Chalk it up to experience, the Tesco SIM will be fine, hope the rest of your trip is less annoying. 

Publik

About the use of the data plan: I don't think I even watched a YT video; zero video call, just checking the news 2-3 times a day. I'm pretty aware of the amount of data I can use, and the history says 81MB in two days so there's not even room for another hypothesis Thank you for your reply !

flaneurs_lobster

Publik said:

About the use of the data plan: I don't think I even watched a YT video; zero video call, just checking the news 2-3 times a day. I'm pretty aware of the amount of data I can use, and the history says 81MB in two days so there's not even room for another hypothesis Thank you for your reply !

Out of interest, do your phone's data usage stats agree with Lyca's readings?

Publik

Out of interest, do your phone's data usage stats agree with Lyca's readings?

I'm not sure how to check this specifically, but what I am sure of is that I was almost all the time on the hotel's WIFI during those two days, working on my computer...

Publik

And... is it even possible to burn 40GB in 48 jours on a phone ?

flaneurs_lobster

Publik said:

And... is it even possible to burn 40GB in 48 jours on a phone ?

It is, but you have to try really, really hard. 

savergrant

"06/01 another text: “You have insufficient main balance GBP 0.02 to purchase the bundle, please top up”,"

It sounds to me as if the £10 you paid didn't go to buying your bundle until 6/1, by which time you had used 81mb of mobile data at 15p/mb pay as you go, which would cost £12.15. 

What was the wording on the voucher you used?

Info on lyca's website;

5. Check Your Plan:

To verify that your Prepay Plan is active and that you have the services you need, you can either dial a short code *131# or use your Lyca Mobile app or log in to your My Lyca account on our website.

If you encounter any issues during the activation process or require assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer support team