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Delete My Account - How to delete a Pay as you go account

Anonymous
Not applicable

I am a pay as you go customer. I bought a phone back in 2015 but I left Vodafone by not using my old SIM, did not make chargable calls, did not top up, in other words, I stopped using number and SIM. I also registered an account 2 years ago that worked properly but I have not been able to log into my online account since my number disconnected. I wasted hours and days via online chat support with no avail. I was transferred to many different agents but they seemed a bit incompetent to understand the nature of my issue and I was ignored by them. No one was able to either reactivate or permanently delete my Vodafone account. I may have threwn the old SIM out or lost it and I was advised on chat to go to my nearest store as getting a blank SIM card and I will not face any issues as they claimed that I failed verification because I could not recall all details of the SIM correctly. I went to the local store nearby my area but I was said that I will not be given a replacament card because I have never made any chargable calls or the old card has never been activated and they were also unable to locate my phone number in their system. Alternately, I was encouraged to buy a new free card with a new phone number however I refused this option because online chat agents insisted that they will not be able to verify account ownership with a new card, as only the old one could do it. Now, I need to accept the fact that I lost everything. I do not care if I may not be able to reuse the old card and they will not be able to reinstate my account but I am not sure about this registration. To be honest, I have no clue as to what happens to Pay as you go accounts once the number disconnected but has not been recycled to another customer. I asked customer service to permanently delete my account instead of hanging all my personal data in the system as a deactivated or an inactive one, however I was told,  as I am not a pay monthly customer, they will not do it for me. But in my opinion, deleting an account should not be that difficult and painful process. What happens with such accounts? How is that possible to get this registration deleted? What error message should I see if my credentials were deleted from the system and no longer exist? If I try to log in, even if my password, PIN and memorable word are all correct, I am not allowed to log in. It says,

We didn’t recognise your username or password

Please check and try again. Remember, your password is case sensitive.

If you continue to have difficulties please check our Help and Support information, or contact an adviser over Live Chat who will be happy to help reset your details.

 

If I attempt to reset my password,  where I can type in my phone number, PIN and memorable word, it indicates that there is only one last step ahead and I will regain access that is a huge scam.

Verify your account

Almost done. You just need to tell us either your account PIN or your memorable word.
Please note: your memorable word is case sensitive. If you can’t remember your PIN or memorable word you can reset your details with an adviser over Live Chat. Once logged in, you can update your login details under Account settings.

 

Once I gave those details, I get this error,

Sorry, there seems to be a problem

We didn't recognise that number. Please check and try again. - [Error ref 1c1]

 

It does not recognise my PIN. Can you please let me know why does it happen and what can be done? It is quite frustrating to know that it is likely that my online account with all my information exists in the system even if it became deactivated and disable for login. I have some security concerns because of it. Help me.

59 REPLIES 59

Anonymous
Not applicable

ToniCa I am going to post here once Dane has resolved my issue. I will let you know about the final outcome and his response regarding PayG accounts.

Anonymous
Not applicable

ToniCa I received a PM from Dane but unfortunately I am not happy with that as it does not say that he will take a look at my issue. He redirected me to support team who did not understand my request regarding account deletion. I do not know why I am being ignored again. I gave him a chance even if I felt disappointed with the frontline customer service but now it seems he also let me down and PayG customers here who face the same issue. I do not know why does Vodafone do it with customers. Is it their business practice? It does not really make sense for me. I would like him to take a look at my issue. I understand his explanations that there is a high volume of forum posts and another queries from another customers at the same time, however it cannot be the reason why my issue will not be reviewed. It is a clear and simple issue by the way. I submitted the form properly yeaterday with my personal details. What else am I required to do to resolve this case then? I was given a reference number and promised that he will come back to me within 48 hours once after he found out what is going on with my account or another PayG accounts. It is a painless process to investigate my account. I honestly hope that Dane also read this post and see his recent post as he really wanted my issue to be sorted. I do not know why he changed his mind. I have no idea as to what is going on with my account and he does not really want to check this for me even if it could be simple for him to see what is in the system.

Anonymous
Not applicable

I honestly do not know how it is still possible to get help from Vodafone. Dane should realize that I filled in and submitted the form with my private details. It cannot be refused as I was also given a reference number. They do not really want other PayG customers to find out what happens with our personal details in such case. I just feel disappointed but it would not take a while to check the state of my account. No one else could do it on the forum, just Dane or some moderators.

Anonymous
Not applicable

How am I supposed to resolve my issue then? Dane ignored to take a look at my account. I feel like being deceived.

I need to bring it to the attention of all PayG customers on this forum that Vodafone does not delete any PayG accounts once after we stop using phone numbers. They may not delete anything and keep all personal information for their marketing purposes. They will not admit that this is the reason why account are likely to be deactivated only.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Update,  - Now I received an email but not from Dane.

They responded but it does not give any hints regarding what happens with PayG accounts once after a customer stops using the number.

They replied briefly but not to my original question and it does not seem that they really checked my account and personal data in the system. This information must be quite general, nothing personal, It does not contain any new information. They let us down.

 

Their reply can be read here,

 

"Thank you for contacting Vodafone social media team.

 I understand your concern with regard to the pay as you go number to be deleted. I apologise for the inconvenience caused to you.

 

I would like to inform you that if you do not use your number for more than 180 days then your number will automatically be disconnected from the system. As you mentioned that you are not using your number for a while, it will be automatically disconnected.

 

Many thanks"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

May I get some help via the forum? Is there a moderator who will not tell me lies but really check and delete my account? I do not think that it is impossible. I am waiting for replies. I would like to resolve my issue.

Gemma
Community Manager
Community Manager

@Anonymous - We’ve replied to your last email today.

Please reply back to it and we can then help to get this resolved.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi Gemma,

 

Thank you for getting back to me.

I received and replied to your last E-mail today. I submitted my details and answered the security questions.

I should not fail as I can clearly remember the last time when I contacted support (Not via E-mail)

and my local store also verified with me that my SIM has never been activated or topped up and I have never made any chargable phone calls. Your team should see the same details in the database. I ask to have my account cancelled with all my personal information.

Anonymous
Not applicable

I submitted my details in response to your email. I should receive a confirmation that they have cancelled my account as I provided the correct information.

Anonymous
Not applicable

I contacted chat support today in order to get my account cancelled.

I spoke to 2 different agents. They confirmed that I passed verification now and the information I provided, matched their records.

One of them checked my account and I was advised that my number got disconnected back on 07/09/2016

The reason why I am not able to log in.

As my SIM card had never been activated, I was said that my personal details are not registered.

In order to register my personal data, my old SIM should be activated at first. It will not be any more as I dropped the old SIM out. He insisted that even those customers who have registered their details with Vodafone, those accounts are also being purged shortly after disconnection.

Old and inactive numbers can be re-issued to a new customer after 9 months however in other cases it can take a while, for years etc. They are unable to predict how long this process takes. It may be quite unique as all issues are a bit different.  Once someone else could buy a new phone along with my number, it will be assigned to that person. It has not happened yet. I dialled my phone number but I heard that it said, "The number you have dialled is not available at the moment." It also indicates that my number is still in quarantine. Because otherwise and as soon as Vodafone recycles it, if I call my number, a new customer should be on the line.

Deactivated PayG accounts are like a blank white paper with nothing on them. The reason why my login fails and other disconnected users will not be able to log in as there are no email address or phone number on the account in question any more. They are likely to be cancelled from accounts after disconnection and as a result of this process.

The chat agent told that they do not save any details of customers who left Vodafone. The blank account may only have information like the SIM activation time, last top-up date and amount, method of top-up,  the last time we had an interaction with them but not personal account details. They are kept for verification purposes only.

I hope that this information will also be helpful to other PayG users who would prefer to know a bit more about this process.