O2 have totally confused me with this SIM only deal.

Reallynoidea_2

So through sheer inertia I have been paying O2 more than £75 a month for a SIM only deal for 3 phones - myself and 2 teenagers. Embarassingly, I've been out of contract for almost a year.
Finally, since this is really expensive, I check out what's around with a view to change and find Vodafone with a £8 deal for 20GB. That's all I need since most of the time we're on WiFi.

I have discovered trying to get 3 PAC codes out of O2 is like trying to get blood out of a stone.
When I do get through to the call centre, it is so noisy I probably hear only about 80% of what the man said. I asked for 3 PAC codes and said I was leaving for the £8 deal with Vodafone. I think, I really can't be sure, he replied with a variety of discounts and said he could give me 3 SIMS for £26 a month. To which I agreed, since I knew I would have a 14 day cooling off period to check out the contracts he promised to send via email.

So I see the email with 6 attachments. I have received the same contract with the same details (mine) 3 times over and absolutely no information about the discounts he promised. Infact, the contract says a monthly contract of £11 and 10GB of data. Nothing else.

I feel my life is too short to contact O2 again and lose another hour of my life on the phone to them. I only asked for 3 PAC codes and I feel like an idiot for being derailed.

Should I just try again to get the 3 PAC codes and leave anyway? I really don't understand what O2 is trying to do here.

JGB1955

You don't need to phone customer services, or speak to anyone - just text PAC to 65075 and the code should be with you in minutes.  You can then chose to move to any provider you wish.

beckstar1975

That doesn't always work if you're in a Family group. If you are you can log in and then under Manage My Details for each phone number you should be able to request a PAC. It's a pain trying to do it but easier than speaking to them(!)

It might be that they're expecting you to apply for a family discount and then you get 20% off each extra line , and if you're with Virgin get double the data. 

I have 3 family SIMs for £18 and for them we get between 40 and 60 gb of data each a month - so if you stack it right it's worth it

Reallynoidea_2

Thank you both. JGB1955 Absolutely that was true for my code, but I couldn't get the kids codes.
I need to make a renewed effort to get the kids codes. I'm not happy with what I have in writing from O2.
beckstar1975 - is your family account with O2?

What are people doing to get these deals. I was an hour on the phone to O2 and I feel like it was time completely wasted. 

Detail_Merchant

If you go via Uswitch, they are currently offering an O2 deal with 32GB for £8/month
https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/o2/
After clicking 'Buy now' and then (on the next screen) clicking 'Continue ->' you end up on O2's web-site, with it asking which of 3 cases you are: (1) Not with O2, (2) With O2 and want an additional number or (3) With O2 and want to upgrade your plan.

If you choose the third option (which sound like your case) then you have to next log in to your O2 account.
Hopefully this would give you what you want without having to speak for ages to a person in a noisy call centre.

Reallynoidea_2

Following this advice I go to upgrade and all offers are just as expensive - which is why im still paying a daft amount each month. I cant see how I can avoid calling them 

Detail_Merchant

Sorry that approach didn't help  - it sounds like maybe getting your PACs by logging in as 

beckstar1975 suggested might be the best way to go.

Kim_13

Having agreed to their offer, you'll need to speak to them again to ensure that the upgrade is cancelled. If you cannot get the codes quickly by another means (doubtful, from what you describe) and port out before the end of the cancellation period, you'll end up having to buy out the contract. Even if you did manage to port out in time, I wouldn't put it past their system to still treat it as an early termination rather than a cooling off period cancellation and to charge you regardless - which you'd then have to spend hours sorting anyway (with your credit file at risk if they raised an incorrect bill that you didn't pay.)

Be firm, state that your upgrade wasn't what you agreed to and at this point you simply wish to revert to your previous deal and receive the PAC codes for all three numbers. Keep screenshots of your account showing that you are not inside a minimum term (which you won't be once the upgrade is unwound.)

Techy_girl

My main phone is with Lebara rolling contract (same info as LYCA but with 6GBper month) @£4.50per month

(works off on the Vodaphone network) MMS PICTURE MESSEGING IS PERFECT

My sim only deal is unlimited minutes UK, Unlimited text 100minutes EU and International and 10GB per month.

https://prepay.lycamobile.co.uk/ucustomer/msm-10gb/  £1.50 for 3 months then it rises to £5.90 per month, cancel anytime, esim capable for compatible phones upon purchase but if you change your mind you must buy a card sim and then you can port your number, (works off on the EE network) PICTURE MESSAGES NOT POSSIBLE THOUGH

and my car (tracker) is on https://www.spusu.co.uk/spusu1special £2.50 per month no price increase until 2026 guarenteed. esim is possible same conditions as LYCA (works off on the EE network) again PICTURE MESSAGES NOT POSSIBLE.

I bought a couple of 02 standard PAYG sims on ebay just in case I want to switch the car to it because the tracker definately doesn't use alot of data, and O2 doesn't allow you to switch back once you start using bundles instead the have a 10GB rolling 'Big Bundle' which is o.k... but I'd never have a contract wit them ever again because if you need to resolve anything you have to open a complaint with a CCT reference so that you can threnten them with escalating to OFCOM.

HaroldWhistler

Reallynoidea_2 said:

So through sheer inertia I have been paying O2 more than £75 a month for a SIM only deal for 3 phones - myself and 2 teenagers. Embarassingly, I've been out of contract for almost a year.
Finally, since this is really expensive, I check out what's around with a view to change and find Vodafone with a £8 deal for 20GB. That's all I need since most of the time we're on WiFi.

I have discovered trying to get 3 PAC codes out of O2 is like trying to get blood out of a stone.
When I do get through to the call centre, it is so noisy I probably hear only about 80% of what the man said. I asked for 3 PAC codes and said I was leaving for the £8 deal with Vodafone. I think, I really can't be sure, he replied with a variety of discounts and said he could give me 3 SIMS for £26 a month. To which I agreed, since I knew I would have a 14 day cooling off period to check out the contracts he promised to send via email.

So I see the email with 6 attachments. I have received the same contract with the same details (mine) 3 times over and absolutely no information about the discounts he promised. Infact, the contract says a monthly contract of £11 and 10GB of data. Nothing else.

I feel my life is too short to contact O2 again and lose another hour of my life on the phone to them. I only asked for 3 PAC codes and I feel like an idiot for being derailed.

Should I just try again to get the 3 PAC codes and leave anyway? I really don't understand what O2 is trying to do here.

@Reallynoidea_2  You are not alone when it comes to calling O2. It is something many customers dread given how appalling their customer service can be and the amount of time you end up having to spend to get something done, or have O2 correct their own service agent's incompetence. 

From what I can understand, the Vodafone deal you found sounded better than what O2 was offering as it was £24 a month in total versus £26. I would say though, perhaps you could check out someone like Lebara (who use the Vodafone network) or Tesco Mobile (who use the O2 network). Lebara also has rolling 30 day deals giving you more flexibility and often has sales/deals on that might be cheaper than the Vodafone price. 

I would personally have recommended getting the PAC codes and sticking with your original plan rather than signing up to any renewal deal. O2 billing is often somewhat incomprehensible at times when looking at the various breakdowns and working out the specific price for each element. Discounts may also not show until a bill has been generated in order for you to check that any "deal" has actually been created properly by the O2 call agent. It is possible that the £11 a month is the un-discounted price and that the discount is not showing yet, or that the renewal deal has not been created properly. 

It is a big nuisance having to ring O2 to get a PAC code which they insist upon when there is more than 1 line on the Account. Sadly one cannot use the Text method (which takes 60 seconds at most usually) and so you end up having to spend inordinate amounts of time with characters on the phone. The issue now is that if you want to leave, it isn't just about getting a PAC code, but also cancelling the "new" contract and quickly before the 14 day window expires.

At this point, another call will have to be made either way.

1. If you want to stick with O2, then ring and make sure the renewal deal was indeed done right.
2. If you want to leave, then quickly ring and cancel the new contracts and make sure you get them to clearly state what each number is going to be on (back to a rolling and by when). You will probably have to wait to make sure their "system" has updated to reflect this to ensure you don't get any charges when trying to exit. I.e. the system needs to revert back to a rolling contract which might take a few days BEFORE you get a PAC code. 
3. AFTER the system has corrected itself to reflect the cancellation, then and only then should you ring O2 to get the (new) PAC codes for each of the numbers. 

P.S. At time of writing, after a Google search of typing "Lebara 20GB", I can see Lebara doing an Unlimited Mins, Unlimited Texts and 20GB Data SIM for £7.99 a month on a rolling 30 day contract with the first 3 months at £1.99. They use the Vodafone network. 

JGB1955 said:

You don't need to phone customer services, or speak to anyone - just text PAC to 65075 and the code should be with you in minutes.  You can then chose to move to any provider you wish.

Sadly O2 irritatingly prevent those with more than 1 number with them from doing this. So if you have 2 or more numbers with O2 on the Account, you have to ring their Customer Service department to get the PAC code. 

dazzaofdagenham

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