Failure to activate new SIM

[PeterSc_2226258]

Just order a SIM and tried to activate yesterday. The dashboard told me that it would happen in 2 hours and my old number will port on Monday. Activation didn't happen and a 4 hour web chat got me nowhere other than being told to wait as they are working in it. Still no progress today. Anyone else in the same situation? Customer Service not very impressive considering I'm a new customer 😔

[Strandloper]

@PeterSc_2226258,

Welcome to the Smarty customers forum.

Smarty Agents are busy people, and they will get things done in time.

What makes you think you're more special/important than anyone else, just because you describe yourself as a "new customer"?  There are plenty of new AND existing customers who are being dealt with, and by being less than complementary about Smarty won't put you ahead of anyone else.

If you "tried" to activate yesterday, the best you get is probably by Monday 5pm.  Be patient.

[PeterSc_2226258]

Thanks for your "helpful" comments. I don't expect special treatment, but I do expect to receive the service I have paid for.

[Strandloper]

@PeterSc_2226258,

Your words suggest otherwise, get used to being in the queue just like everybody else, not as your "especially as I'm a new customer" suggest you want to be treated.

[RobertT_2204019]

I'm in the same situation, just moved back the UK and needed a SIM card. I thought Smarty was a good choice. Not a great first experience. I don't think OP is being unreasonable, how do you know his situation. He could need the phone for all kinds of things. Smarty made a promise to get it done in 2 hours and they aren't delivering. It's their core business, you'd think they could get it right.

[Sid]

You really need to learn how to communicate with people. This response is not helpful. It's simply arrogant and rude.

Nothing about the OPs post suggested he thought he was better than any other customer. But as a customer, he deserves a service that actually works and when it doesn't, expedient explanation and support. All customers deserve this. It doesn't make any of them special. They just deserve the service thry pay for to be provided to them.

[MSF]

@PeterSc_2226258  Did you try to port your number before you had confirmation that the new sim had been activated?

I can't help wondering if that may have thrown the system into disarray as it was trying to get the details of a sim that did not yet appear as cleared on the system.

[PeterSc_2226258]

I entered my PAC when I ordered the SIM. The process seemed to allow that and the dashboard says it will port on Monday. I have a smarty phone number but I can't understand why the most basic process falls over .  I am told by my existing provider that the port cannot happen until the new SIM is active. Stalemate!

[MSF]

@PeterSc_2226258  Firstly, ports only happen on business days and so nothing can happen over the weekend - Monday sounds right.

I still think that, if you had activated the sim first, you would be able to make calls/send texts/ use data, albeit from an unusual number (contacts would not recognise you)

[PeterSc_2226258]

Essentially the SIM has not activated despite me following the steps on the dashboard. CS cannot explain why other than it's a known issue. I would expect a mobile phone provider to understand their own system and be able to overcome such a basic issue 

[Strandloper]

@PeterSc_2226258,

If it's so basic, why are you not doing the job of sorting things out?

[PeterSc_2226258]

I am simply trying to find out if this is a system wide problem other than just my own but I do expect a company to offer the services I have paid for. 

[MSF]

@PeterSc_2226258  When you are next in contact with smarty, I wonder if you could mention my suggestion and see if it holds any water.

While I appreciate that it won't directly help you now, it would shed a bit of light for the future - especially if my thoughts are correct.

[Sid]

Seeing your post makes me fell less alone in this insane spiral of continuous  lack of service. But it sounds like your problem was resolved. How long did it take?

[PeterSc_2226258]

To be fair the activation was 24 late and that caused the port to be 24 hrs late. I think the involvement of the complaints team helped though 

[Sid]

Same for me, I've spent 14 days going round in circles with no one explaining anything, but repeating everything, and I'm paying for this privilege as evidenced by the debit taken from my card a couple of days ago.

[JJP2]

There is the problem - The  Smarty system did not have a live activated SIM onto which to port your number.  

Unfortunately, you “jumped the gun” in the nicest possible way. If you had activated your SIM in the first instance and then gave Smarty your PAC code I doubt you would be in the situation you are now. When I joined Smarty in June of this year, I ordered my SIM, then, when it arrived, I activated the SIM first and then followed up the activation by porting my number across from EE by using my PAC code. 

The good news is that although you have bought your first months plan, your first month won’t actually start until your SIM has been activated, so you are not losing any days usage, whether the SIM is activated next week or at Christmas. 

[PeterSc_2226258]

Problem has now been resolved. The activation eventually completed and the port of my old number had to be manually restarted by the tech complaints team. The port has just completed and all seems to work okay. 

[MSF]

@PeterSc_2226258  Good news indeed! It's a pity you had so much aggro, but that should be the end of it hopefully.

Thanks for letting us know and good luck.

[JJP2]

That’s good news and no doubt a relief. 

[Sid]

I posted the same text twice and can't see how to delete a post so have edited this one out. Please read post below.

[Sid]

I am a Smarty customer who lost my phone whilst abroad. A new SIM card was ordered and sent, although time passed whilst I arrived home and replaced my phone. When the SIM card was placed in the phone it never activated. My account was suspended temporarily. When I got in touch with customer service the account seemed to be unsuspended but the SIM card still hasn't activated... for two weeks! For 14 days I've been going round in circles with several customer service reps, some worse than others, one who seemed to think I wanted a new contract and was trying to sell me a new contract, ignoring the fact I was just waiting to get my current contract back online. It has all been reported on the same chat thread. I've had about 6 customer service reps trying to "help" me and I'm still waiting for my card to activate. I'm constantly told it has been passed on to a team for resolution and next thing I know I've got a new customer service rep trying to talk me through the same problem, usually repeating what has already been said.

I think the person, StevenW, who had to go at you for simply asking if anyone else had experienced problem was a bit out of order. Customer service has been very poor and to think that after two weeks I'm still waiting for my service to come back on, just shows an appalling service. No one of any kind of rank, or technical expertise, has attempted to advise or support me and the worst thing about this problem is that my online banking has been screwed up by all this. My online banking is attached to my phone number and requires verification through phone messages it sends me. It's caused a real problem.

I'm stuck in limbo as I don't even think I can move my number across to another service until this problem is resolved. I have no phone, I have no number, but I'm still paying for the service. A few days ago they debited the bank account, that pays for my service, for a month's usage I haven't had! There's no real support here. I'm really stuck and really fed up.

[JJP2]

This is something that forum moderator @Matthew_SMARTY needs to look into for you. 

When you lose a phone, your SIM is blocked, to prevent unauthorised usage. 

You should have turned off auto renew on your plan, that way you would not have been charged.

[Sid]

I didn't want to lose the contract as I think I'm still getting a good deal from Three's roaming charges, as I've had the account so long. The account seems to be unsuspended but the card still won't activate. They haven't  sent me another new card or suggested doing that. They just keep asking me to check if the card is now active. It isn't.

[JJP2]

That’s why the technical team at Smarty need to investigate this for you, and why I tagged @Matthew_SMARTY 

You basically have two choices :

1, Be proactive, let Matthew help, get the activation process re-started

2, Keep posting that you don’t have an active SIM card and get nowhere 

Oh, and by the way, you can pause Smarty’s plans for up to six months without losing your account. Yes, Smarty offer great deals and I am very happy I made the switch from EE in June, but even I wouldn’t pay for a service I couldn’t use, see point 1 above. 

[MSF]

@Sid  One question......When you received the replacement sim, did you go through the exact activation process that they sent with it?

[Sid]

I tried to, but when the card went in, and I logged on to Smarty, no notification came up to activate the card. My homepage told me, on my account, that it was still suspended. They then unsuspended the account and told me to try and activate the SIM again. I've been trying to do that for the last two weeks through both methods of logging in and putting in the last 12 digits of the card where I'm told to. My phone is still displaying emergency calls only. My phone recognizes I have a SIM but no service. Every time I talk to customer service nobody seems to help or explain. They ask the same questions  tell me to do the same thing, tell me its been passed on to a team and prioritised, and thrn I just get a new customer service rep and I'm kept going round in circles. Wash, rinse, repeat over and over again!

[MSF]

@Sid If you are not getting sufficient help from Support Team, you could raise a complaint to bring it to the attention of more senior staff. https://smarty.co.uk/complaints

[Sid]

I think what may have stuck me was that I received the sim quite quickly but was in Switzerland and had bought no replacement phone. That happened two weeks later. I tried to activate the SIM two weeks after it arrived. I'm wondering if that's what stalled the process. That's the only thing I can think that's a problem. 

[Sid]

I don't know if it's this group or just Smarty getting their act together but the phone just started working! Thank you so much if it was you chaps! I'm totally stoked!

[MSF]

@Sid  Much as I would love for us lot to take the credit 😇, we didn't not do nuffink as we cannot access your account!

The main thing is that you appear to have service. All's well that ends well.

[JJP2]

Nice one !

As you were in Switzerland, even if you could have somehow got hold of a Smarty SIM, it still wouldn’t have activated - SIM cards only activate for the first time when connected to their home network in their home country. 

[LesleyF_1595372]

Yes me... extremely annoyed as the tariff still runs when suspending old sim yet cant use the new one when it arrives. waiting 24 hours now 

[Strandloper]

@LesleyF_1595372,

Can I suggest reading the help articles that have been kindly supplied by Smarty Staff.

I believe that they will inform you that your assumption is not that the Tarrif runs from the moment you buy it while still waiting for replacement SIM.  If it does it explains a compensation system.

I'll leave you to do some reading