Lebara won't transfer mobile number form one MSE offered plan to another MSE offered plan

grahamorrison1

I have a MSE sim only deal for 5GB via the MSE best sim only deals. I want to move to the 15GB plan offer in MSE sim only deals from Lebara but Lebara say they can't port the number over as you get a new number with the new plan, is this really true, the only way I can see and the support person agreed is to move to a different supplier for a month and then come back but this seems a look of effort for something so technically simple to do!

Are you at MSE aware of this restriction, do you agree with this practice, is this how you get a cheaper deal?

Thanks

dc_scotland

Hi grahamorrison1  If you want to take advantage of the new customer 15gb deal at £1 per month for 7 months, thereafter £7.99 per month, then yes you would need to port out to another company and then back again to Lebara.  But if you are only looking for the MSE15gb £7.99 deal then you can move to that as an existing customer.  In fact you could get it for £6.95 via Uswitch:
https://www.lebara.co.uk/en/uswitch/p/441122.html

DonnySaver

I've asked Lebara before about this and I got told the same. They'd rather you leave and come back than swap you to another plan.

dc_scotland

It's easy to switch plan as an existing customer, but you won't get the short term new customer introductory rate.

dc_scotland

All of these plans are available to existing customers.  Other plans may be available via MSE or Uswitch:

3gb   £4.40       https://www.lebara.co.uk/en/msm/p/441223

 5gb  £4.90       https://www.lebara.co.uk/en/msm/p/441174

15gb  £6.95      https://www.lebara.co.uk/en/uswitch/p/441122

21gb  £7.95      https://www.lebara.co.uk/en/uswitch/p/441210  

30gb  £8.95      https://www.lebara.co.uk/en/uswitch/p/441129

To switch to any of those plans, click on the link and select Buy Now.  The next page to open will ask for your personal details.  Don't fill that in, it's for new customers.  Instead go to the following link and select the Existing Sim option:
https://www.lebara.co.uk/en/cart/lebara-sim-choice.html

PHK

Just to point out that this isn’t a restriction of Lebara but the way the Porting system is designed. You cannot port a number between accounts on the same provider. 

There is an alternative called Migration, but providers are not required to allow that. 

See mnposg.org.uk for details of both systems. 

savergrant

If you have taken advantage of a new customer offer it would seem a bit strange that they would let you use your existing number. The question is whether the initial discount offer is worth the hassle/risk of porting away and back.

HaroldWhistler

grahamorrison1 said:

I have a MSE sim only deal for 5GB via the MSE best sim only deals. I want to move to the 15GB plan offer in MSE sim only deals from Lebara but Lebara say they can't port the number over as you get a new number with the new plan, is this really true, the only way I can see and the support person agreed is to move to a different supplier for a month and then come back but this seems a look of effort for something so technically simple to do!

Are you at MSE aware of this restriction, do you agree with this practice, is this how you get a cheaper deal?

Thanks

Sadly most of these companies' policies are not based on common sense.

However, you do not need to port away for a full month. It only needs to be for the minimum period to transfer a number out and back again. If you get a temporary SIM card at the cheapest possible price from any other network that is NOT Lebara on a rolling basis, you can get a PAC code from Lebara on the old SIM to port your old number from your old Lebara SIM to that "temporary SIM" on the other network. That can take 2 days.

Then once your old number is with the new network, get a new PAC code. And enter that into the "Transfer/Keep your number" form on the Lebara account for the NEW Lebara SIM. That way you port in and port out relatively quickly. That way your old Lebara number becomes your new Lebara number.

You'd only need to pay one month's prepay on a monthly rolling plan, or whatever minimum Pay as you Go amount for the new SIM once. Not necessarily stay with the temporary network for a whole month. It could be done within a week if you can time each Porting on business/working days. 

propertyrental

This might (finally) explain the problems I had with O2.

 Was on classic PAYG for years and decided to get a monthly contract. Chose a great deal (now gone?) for 10GB at £5.99 then as advised rang Customer Services to (port? migrate? transfer?) my number.

CS tried twice, sending the relevant forms to 'Back Office', but 2ce this failed. Not once did they suggest that migrating within O2 to a new product was not possible. In fact they offered to try again.

I declined and asked to cancel the new monthly contract (within 14 days) and re-instate my PAYG sim. 'No problem' they said and duly cancelled the monthly sim and reactivated the PAYG sim.

But.... they put me on PAYG 'Talkalot' (calls cost 55p pm) not Classic PAYG (3p pm). Apparently Classic is no longer available to 'new customers' which their computer now considers me.......

(Talkalot? - should be named PAYG Costalot!)

Currently awaiting outcome of official complaint, but considering a move to rwg, lebara or id mobile.

PHK

O2 does offer migration between accounts, so it might have been worthwhile persevering. 

Ibits4321

Thanks for asking this question. I found it because I was Googling the same thing! Oh well, I'll just have to get the cheapest non-Lebara SIM then switch my number to them then switch to my new 15GB Lebara SIM.

I did think 5GB of data would be more than enough but it's not. It always has been before. Strange you're in the same situation....Lebara's data doesn't disappear faster than other providers, does it? 🤔