Do you have to pay for your PAC code?

vero1971

Hi everyone,

Hope you can help me here.
I have just rang TMobile to request a pad code as my contract ends next month and they told me that I need to pay £32 if I want a pac code before the end of the contract. I've never come accross that before, is that right?

Quentin

Phone companies are allowed to charge for issuing them.

Maybe this charge includes line rental due up to the end of your minimum period?

No harm in ringing back and asking what the charge covers.

vero1971

Hi,

I usually pay over £35 for the line rental so it's on top. He said that as the contract has not ended yet, I would have to pay £32 just for the code. How they can justify this amount, I don't know. Thanks for your help anyway

nellytheelephant

I'd just wait a month until the contract was up

vero1971

I will do as I refuse to pay this amount of money. It's just for a few days, it won't be possible to contact me on my number and I need my phone on all the time. Never mind, I'm definitely doing the right thing by leaving TMobile:mad:

espresso

vero1971 wrote: »

I will do as I refuse to pay this amount of money. It's just for a few days, it won't be possible to contact me on my number and I need my phone on all the time. Never mind, I'm definitely doing the right thing by leaving TMobile:mad:

You don't seem to understand that you have agreed to a contract with a minimum term. If you were given a PAC now, why should they not charge you until the minimum term expires?

agsnu

You'll get it credited back in the end.

Gooding

vero1971 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Hope you can help me here.
I have just rang TMobile to request a pad code as my contract ends next month and they told me that I need to pay £32 if I want a pac code before the end of the contract. I've never come accross that before, is that right?

I'm in the exact same position as you, I want my PAC so I can leave T-Mobile. I also tried giving 30 days notice, so that when my contract ended, I could just get the PAC off them and shop around. I was told categorically that this could not happen, that they would not give me a PAC.

So what I was told to do is call for my PAC the day my contract ends. If I transfer the same day, to a new network, it will only take around 2 days. I would therefore be charged a nominal pro rata rate by TM, so I was told.

I am annoyed by having to pay anything at all for this whole thing, but it seems as if the operators are allowed to do this.

My advice is do what I plan to do; get your new order lined up and place that order timed to have the new phone in your hand on the day your contract ends. Then all you need do is ring the new network on that day.

I think that T-M have a point in respect of my contractual obligations. Obviously I am happy to pay for my agreed term, however this method necessarily means I will be overcharged, even it's a few pounds. This kind of method is designed to impede competition, by letting your current network try and convince you to stay, as opposed to making it an open process where you can just move from network to network.

lawbunny

You're not being charged for the PAC. Because with a PAC code you can go and give it to another network, it is effectively a cancellation request, so you get charged your early termination fee upfront if you are still within your minimum term.

If you want to avoid paying an extra two days' worth of line rental, call up 2 days before the end of your minimum term to request the PAC - they will charge you the 2 days' line rental upfront but it means you won't pay any extra.

And the reason you cannot give 30 days notice and request a PAC at the same time is because your PAC is only valid for 30 days (during which the port must have taken place) so you would have to either use the PAC earlier (and so cancel sooner than the 30 days) or it would expire and you would have to call up for another one anyway....

Gooding

lawbunny wrote: »

You're not being charged for the PAC. Because with a PAC code you can go and give it to another network, it is effectively a cancellation request, so you get charged your early termination fee upfront if you are still within your minimum term.

If you want to avoid paying an extra two days' worth of line rental, call up 2 days before the end of your minimum term to request the PAC - they will charge you the 2 days' line rental upfront but it means you won't pay any extra.

And the reason you cannot give 30 days notice and request a PAC at the same time is because your PAC is only valid for 30 days (during which the port must have taken place) so you would have to either use the PAC earlier (and so cancel sooner than the 30 days) or it would expire and you would have to call up for another one anyway....

In point of fact T-Mobile certainly appears to be charging for a PAC, as is their right:

Some mobile phone companies can charge a fee to move your number. This is usually no more than £25.*

They appear to charge £32 whilst you are in your contract, or to follow the above mention procedure when you are out of your contract. Calling prior to a contract ending would seem to result in a £32 charge, making it better - though not ideal - to get a PAC after the contract term. I have been given no indication that the £32 charge will waive my last month's contract fee.

My point regarding the PAC not being given is that I would want it after the 30-day period, so I could ring up and get it the day my contract ends, I would owe no more money to them, and shop around at my leisure - within reason, as I must be tied to a network of some sorts, I presume.

Effectively what I think should happen in these cases is that your PAC is given to you on request and, once you have fulfilled your contractual obligations, for no charge.

The consumer should not pay for choice, it should be free.

lawbunny

Trust me when I say T-Mobile do not charge you for a PAC. I know. I work for T-Mobile.

It is not a standard £32 charge - you are being asked to pay this much because that is how much your early termination fee for your particular contract is. You have to pay this amount up front to get the PAC over the phone and then you go and use it whenever you want within the 30 days validity period. If you have actually already paid for your last month (ie you have recieved the bill for the month before your commitment ends) then 14 days after your contract actually cancels (ie you use the PAC) you will get a final bill which will refund you any overpayments, although usually this is not the case as usually you do not end up paying any extra if you are doing it so early.

Your point about ringing up on the 30th day and getting your PAC following your cancellation that day cannot physically work. When you use a PAC code to port your number to another network, the T-Mobile contract will not cancel until the other network has actually taken your number. You cannot have a PAC code for a number which is already cancelled - the number must be active at the time of the port. Therefore, it is not physically possible for you to give your 30 days notice then call up and get your PAC on the final day to avoid a charge as the account will be cancelled so you cannot use your PAC .

Your only options are to either get the PAC 2 days before your commitment ends, pay the early term fee upfront then get it credited back on a final bill (assuming you give the PAC to another network that same day), or wait til your final day and avoid having to pay the early term fee, but have to pay an additional 2 days of line rental.

T-Mobile do not charge for PAC codes. But you will have to pay an early termination fee if you request it before your commitment ends.