The most vile network in the whole of UK. They’ve not activated my number and I’ve been without signal and network for 12 days! I’m an Uber driver, so my income solely depends on my number and network; I’ve lost thousands of pounds already. I wish I read the forums before joining to avoid this burden.
I started a contract with Fonehouse for the Vodafone network, and I put in my PAC code during the order.
My phone arrived on Wednesday, 22 May. On Thursday, 23 May, at 11 a.m., Vodafone emailed me that my phone number had successfully moved over, and I was ready to use calls, texts, and data. However, there was no signal, so I called in the afternoon. The agent told me that it takes a while for the PAC code to transfer, so she said I should wait until midnight.
Midnight passes, and I turn my phone on and off, but it’s still not working. I called again the next day, Friday, 24 May. The advisor went through some steps that required me to reset my network and troubleshoot. The signal is still unavailable. Eventually, she told me it was a “port in” issue, and Vodafone hadn’t ported my number. She told me this process takes 24-48 hours. I told her that I had already lost a day's income (on Thursday) and that the upcoming bank holiday was crucial for me as that is the busiest period of the year - I make a lot of income during that time. I asked her if the “port in” team works during the bank holiday weekend, and she confirmed that they do and that I shouldn’t be worried as my issue will be resolved within 24-48 hours.
Friday and Saturday pass. I still have no network, so I call again on Sunday, 26 May. The advisor told me that the port in the team doesn’t work on Bank Holiday weekends and that the earliest they could look at my case is Tuesday, 28 May, the end of the bank holiday weekend. It turns out that the advisor lied to me on Friday.
On Tuesday, 28 May, I called again in the morning, and the advisor raised this issue with the port in the team. He told me that it would take 24-48 hours for the port-in team to fix the issue.
After 48 hours, I called on Thursday, 30 May, and the advisor told me that the number port-in was partially successful. The number was ported in, but they could not activate my number. Therefore, he filled out a form and raised it with the back-end team. He said that this form would escalate the issue ASAP and that my phone would be ready to use within 24 hours. When I asked him what time I should call the next day, he told me I didn’t have to call again as the issue would be resolved within 24 hours.
That time has passed, so I call again on Friday, 31 May. The advisor tells me that I have to wait another 24 hours. He will escalate my issue to the back-end team. I am beyond frustrated at this point. At this point, it has been 9 days!! I told him that my issue had escalated yesterday, and the advisor told me the same thing: to wait 24 hours. And now he wants me to do the same. I’m so desperate for my number (my phone number is attached to my Uber account, so I need my original number to work); therefore, I asked the advisor for my PAC code. I’m told they can’t generate a PAC code because my number hasn’t been activated?! I was beyond despair, so I headed to the Vodafone store in the late afternoon. The Vodafone lady in Camden High Street told me she couldn’t help because my number hadn’t been activated. I cannot get a sim replacement as my order number is still open.
I feel so helpless. I’ve been calling almost every single day, speaking to different advisors on hours-long phone calls, who tell me that they’ve escalated the issue and that all I must do is wait. They lie and tell me I have nothing to worry about since they’ll fix it soon. No apologies or understanding either, simply blaming it on the “system”. I have called Fonehouse, and they are of no help either because they have liaised with Vodafone, who have informed them that my network and sim have been active and working since 22 May! It’s just lies on top of lies.
I have lost thousands of pounds due to no network. This has to be the worst experience of my life. I can’t believe a network has jeopardised my only source of income and, potentially, the roof over my head. It’s almost two weeks, and I’m behind on my bills. I’ve missed my rent this week and expect an eviction warning from the landlord. I called Fonehouse, and they’re not helping either, as it’s a network issue. I will have to escalate this as a legal issue now.
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