Mobile number porting - Network have made a mess!

the_mandarin

I had submitted a request to port my mobile number to my network on Friday. They have made a total mess of it. Here is the sequence of events.

1230 on Friday: Request submitted to port my mobile number ABC to my new number XXX. I was told this would be done within a few hours, or latest within 24 hours. Both numbers active at this point.

0930 on Saturday: My SIM card with my number ABC stops working, but my number is still not transferred to XXX. 

I wait for 3 hours and call the network at 1230 to check what is happening. They tell me its in progress and the number is being ported. I wait till Sunday and still no progress.

My main problem here is: My number ABC, on which I get my OTP codes for Internet Banking, accessing my other financial accounts, etc is not accessible, thereby preventing me from being able to login to make payments.

I call up the network again and explain the problem. They hear me out, are apologetic and offer me a compensation - of £10.00!!! I said that this is a ridiculous offer and I registered a complaint.

My number has still not been ported and they have said they will call me again tomorrow, and have asked me to come up with a reasonable compensation figure which I would agree to.

I am not trying to rip off the network but at the same time, I am not willing to let go of the fact that it was irresponsible of them to ask for my number to be shut down, without actually porting it to my new SIM. Has anyone been in this position before, and what do you think is a reasonable compensation amount in this situation?

Alderbank

Mobile phone contracts are a highly regulated industry. The regulator is Ofcom.

I think your issue comes under Ofcom's General Conditions of Entitlement Part C: Consumer protection conditions: Part C7: Switching and Number Porting: Conditions C7.47-49 – switching and porting compensation requirements relating to residential customers

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/accessibility/general-conditions-of-entitlement/

This stuff is quite technical but seems to say that: 

1. Since they told you the porting would be done on Saturday it should be completed by 23:59 on Saturday
2. Since this did not happen, they should pay compensation of an initial £5 if the service does not start on the date agreed with the customer and an additional £5 for each calendar day of delay.

So, £5 for not starting on Saturday and £5 for not starting on Sunday, which is in line with what they are offering.

If you have also incurred quantifiable losses (such as additional legal fees because you could not complete a house purchase on the agreed date for instance) you could ask for those to be included as well.

Because this is a technical issue and not really connected with consumer rights you might be better to ask on the dedicated mobile phone part of the forum where there are experts in these matters.

Number porting is much simpler and more reliable than it was before Ofcom introduced these regulations but the advice is always to port early in the working week and never on a Friday because if anything does go wrong it will take longer to fix over the weekend, something you have unfortunately found out.

Aylesbury_Duck

Why is £10 ridiculous (what has this cost you) and how much are you after?  £20? £200?

400ixl

Unfortunately sometimes things do go wrong and can take time to resolve, especially if being done over a weekend. Hopefully they will get it fixed for you today.

Their compensation offer seems more than reasonable if made on Saturday, but if the standard is £5 per day then I would go with that as you are up to £20 and counting.

As for the OTP issue. Maybe use the time to find a bank which does not rely on this now antiquated 2FA methods which is neither that reliable or secure in the modern world. 

PHK

Mobile number porting doesn't happen the same day and doesn't happen at a weekend?

If you made a request on Friday before 5pm the port would happen on Monday?

EssexHebridean

Presumably not in this case, as the OP is very clear that they were told it was happening on Friday. 

born_again

Op not mentioned which networks.

But most seem to say The following working day if you submit the PAC before 5.30pm on a working day.

Now to me Saturday is not a working day. So would expect Monday for it to happen?

littleboo

From my (limited) experience, porting only happens the next working day after the request, and not at the weekend. Even when it goes to plan, you have to expect disrupted or complete loss of service on the day of the transfer