Vodafone to Tesco Mobile

 

I finally caved and am switching mobile sim only providers.  Easier to say than do.  

Not for the first time this year Vodafone informed me, in this case 2/3rds through the month, that I was running out of data and if I wanted more I could purchase an extra 2GB for a further £13.50.  I am already paying £25.11 a month and it turns out I only  have 2GB with Vodafone.  There’s no wonder I keep running out though bizarrely, for which read naively, I thought I was pretty much unlimited.  I can get 60GB from Tesco (plus the unlimited calls and texts I have with Vodafone) and no EU roaming fees for £13 a month.  So quite why they think I will pay a further £13.50 a month on top of £25.11 a month for just about enough data to see me through a, for me, busy use month is a mystery.  

On previous occasions I have just sat out the rest of the month, I have never been a big data user on my phone, generally preferring my iPad, but this is not going to work this time as I am going to need access to various apps out and about while I am away and I don’t want to be paying a further £13.50 for the privilege.

Texting PAC yesterday evening to the number I was directed to just yielded a “Sorry we did not understand your last message.”  The call centre was closed by this time so I rang this morning.  I was informed Vodafone over charging me (I think even the call centre guy was a little surprised) is my fault.  I had gone quiet on them.  They hadn’t heard from me since 2016 so, of course, they increased my charges on a regular basis.  

Hmmm, yes, I get that I might have been a bit lazy here but it never really occurred to me that I needed to contact them regularly, pat them on the head and beg them not to over charge me and for enough data that someone as low use as me could scape through a full month with.

I finally got my PAC code after a number of attempts to persuade me to stay with Vodafone.  Why????  You would have thought they might have registered that my ringing in after 10 years might be an indicator that I am a trifle irritated with them.  

I actually nipped into Tesco to get a SIM card/package as the timing isn’t ideal and I wanted it sorted asap.  I also wanted some Euros.  No go on the Euros, they have to be ordered online and collected.  Post Office tomorrow morning it is then!  I’m not doing Tesco two days in a row.  The last time I went there someone stole my rear windscreen wiper.  Obviously, I accept that is not down to Tesco but still I am trying to reduce risks here.  

As previously mentioned on this blog ‘nipping’ is not that quick round here so there was some time pressure in my lunch hour.

To be entirely fair it turned out overall to be a positive when I eventually got served.  He (Martyn) sorted the PAC code thing out for me so that at some point on Monday everything should be done.  I like that level of service, that and having something removed, with no fuss whatsoever, from my ‘to do’ list by someone else.  Before getting to this point, however, there was a high quotient of older people who seemed to have gone for an outing.  I am guessing their next stop was the tea shop.  Having waited so long that three people who came after me, gave up and left, another older couple, of the sharp elbows variety and seemingly noting a bad aroma under their noses (I suspect that was me but I had a bath last night honest!) wandered in and pushed in front of me readily acknowledging they were doing so.  Breathtaking sense of entitlement and flipping irritating as I needed to be back at my desk.

It is now done or will be on Monday.  It is only going to cost me £13.00 a month and I should have enough data to start downloading even from Netflix should I wish on lengthy journeys. There’s other stuff I can do with the balance though seemingly I fall short of a takeaway portion of fish and chips in these inflation ridden times but that is a whole other rant.