A while ago, I posted a thread about the iPhone, asking if anyone had been tempted by its shiny charms. Well, I have now inherited a first generation one from my geeky boyfriend, so after about ten years with Orange, I'm about to move to O2. This meant that I had to call to request my PAC code from Orange, as I want to keep my number.
I had heard many horror stories about the difficulties of getting your PAC code, ranging from customer service staff pretending their computers are down or that they have the wrong contact details for you to simply ignoring your request. So I was prepared for a battle: I checked my password and security code, read Ofcom's guide to switching your number, prepared a list of my addresses over the last few years in case they had the wrong details - and made the call.
In the end, getting the PAC code was the least difficult thing about making the call. The most difficult was finding the Orange customer service number in the first place, and then negotiating the various phone menus, none of which referred to PAC codes or acknowledged the possibility that you might want to leave Orange.
When I eventually got to speak to a human, she was courteous and quickly transferred me to the retentions department. At this point I steeled myself for all sorts of temptations to be dangled in front of me to persuade me to stay, or nefarious tales to be told about why they couldn't give me my code. But she simply checked why I was leaving and told me my code would be in the post within 3 working days. In fact I felt a bit unloved. "I've been with you ten years!" I wanted to say. "Don't you want to beg me to stay?"
Maybe it's because I said I was moving to get an iPhone, and they know they can't compete with it. Or maybe my PAC code won't turn up at all and I'll be cursing them. Anyway, is this typical or does everyone else have trouble when they want to change networks?
I had heard many horror stories about the difficulties of getting your PAC code, ranging from customer service staff pretending their computers are down or that they have the wrong contact details for you to simply ignoring your request. So I was prepared for a battle: I checked my password and security code, read Ofcom's guide to switching your number, prepared a list of my addresses over the last few years in case they had the wrong details - and made the call.
In the end, getting the PAC code was the least difficult thing about making the call. The most difficult was finding the Orange customer service number in the first place, and then negotiating the various phone menus, none of which referred to PAC codes or acknowledged the possibility that you might want to leave Orange.
When I eventually got to speak to a human, she was courteous and quickly transferred me to the retentions department. At this point I steeled myself for all sorts of temptations to be dangled in front of me to persuade me to stay, or nefarious tales to be told about why they couldn't give me my code. But she simply checked why I was leaving and told me my code would be in the post within 3 working days. In fact I felt a bit unloved. "I've been with you ten years!" I wanted to say. "Don't you want to beg me to stay?"
Maybe it's because I said I was moving to get an iPhone, and they know they can't compete with it. Or maybe my PAC code won't turn up at all and I'll be cursing them. Anyway, is this typical or does everyone else have trouble when they want to change networks?
But don't feel that you *have* to go to O2 just because you have an iPhone in your mitts. Visual voicemail ain't all that, and that's just about the only innovation the iPhone brings. Any other network will make the iPhone work quite happily. 