This did indeed happen to me once, but this was with the then airtime provider "Singlepoint" which was eventually bought out proper by Vodafone sometime back.

To be fair to them, they made it clear that the PAC request MUST be included as part of the online ordering process.

But in my case THEY were at fault, in that they missed/overlooked/generally dropped a clanger over the request to PAC.

And as a result, in that case, I actually got to keep the shiny new Nokia 6100 entirely for free that they had issued as part of the new contract and account that was cancelled, in order to start a new one so the PAC could correctly be done, with which a new phone was issued anyway.

Nice to see it sounds like nothing has changed in all those many years over at the Big Red.

Oh er.

My one sided, greedy consumer thoughts on this (well the OP did ask):

• As they will be debating this in EU Parliament in Spring NEXT year, it is highly unlikely therefore that any result will actually appear in time for next Summer's holiday period abroad. So by the poor timing of the debate, don't expect this to appear until your Summer 2010 holiday (it might come in a bit before this, but this will be the first SUMMER it will show any benefit).
  
  
• I too believe that the way forward is a PARTNERSHIP arrangement between networks, not a price cap one. That is to say, texts and minutes that can come out of your allowance bundle, and in return, foreign visitors to the UK, can benefit from the same in return. So instead of capping, Network Operators offer an agreement to allow each other to roam free - the problem here of course is that this becomes one sided. Lots more UK visitors will go to Spain in Summer, than Spanish tourists visiting over here etc.
  
  
• I certainly won't be using Data Roaming abroad, no matter how 'low' the cost becomes, unless and until, it actually becomes on a par with the UK, and is part of our inclusive bundle, such as web 'n' walk. No justification in me paying anything at all, no matter how 'low' if I can just sit in a beach side bar terrace, once a day on my holiday, like I did in Magalluf all last week and the week before with my wide screen E90 (sob sob, back home), and sip a cool drink, while making use of their free wi-fi service. This lets me do all my 'work' daily for the cost of a drink, while admiring the view, scenery, and sexy babes in bikinis. *lol*
  
  
• My final aside thought on this too...? I WISH that those that are still in the dark dark ages, and can't receive MMS messages, as they believe they have no need, desire, or want for this, and thus won't set it up, would change their ways. WRONG. It's not true you have no need of this. Because as it stands, while abroad, you can actually send an MMS with T-Mobile in Europe, and this DOES come out of your bundle allowance, so is free. And as you can use MMS to send long textual, worded messages with no picture at all, if you wish, this becomes an EXCELLENT free way, to keep in touch with people back home. BUT, only if they are not still living in the dark ages, kidding themselves they have no need of MMS and can therefore actually even RECEIVE them. If they have absolutely no desire to ever SEND one, fair enough. But it would be nice if they actually allowed you to send THEM one. And that's the bit too many people miss. *lol*

Oh er - well there you go... my one sided two pennorth's worth of thoughts *lol*

Good point Conf. mate

That's the way to play it...

• Look around the T-Mobile site and see what phones are available...
• Then see what the cost, if any, for NEW Customers is, for these handsets or any that take your fancy.
• Then ring Upgrades, and see what they say.
• If Upgrades don't offer something comparable to new customers, go to Retentions and say you are not very happy to be treated second rate, for being loyal and staying. As well as Handset cost or price matching, see if they can do any other benefits or discounts on your Tariff too while you are on.

Then let us know via here how you come on.

BEAR IN MIND THOUGH...

That normally, when you Upgrade, you can keep the existing tariff as it stands, etc etc.

But currently, I am led to believe that if you Upgrade with T-Mo, you MAY have to change to the slightly newer form of their tariffs that include a higher allowance level (good), but now CHARGE for voicemail whereas before it came out of your allowance (so bad).

Check and ask at the time - you may find that you can stay on existing Tariff is this is better for you (i.e. you actually use VoiceMail a bit). If you don't ever really use your own VoiceMail though, then the newer tariff with higher inclusive allowance will likely be better for you maybe.

Let us know how you get on, as our lass has a 3 Contract account she doesn't really need any more, so would be keen to hear.

I'd look into it myself, but this one of my many contracts is actually thanks to my BROTHER, as it was a spare contract he had that he didn't need, that was useful for us at the time.

So I can't ring up myself unless I pretend to be him, which I couldn't condone.

So if you take this further mate, please report back how you come on, or what they say...

Ha *lol* I only block women that shouldn't be ringing me, when partner is around - or at least that's MY excuse.

As it happens though, as I thought when reading about this earlier, I once went to try StopCall once before, and couldn't because it was Unsigned back then.

Now, it appears to be signed, but installation still fails.

Indeed the whole User Experience is a poor one, in that the file to be downloaded, from the supposedly user friendly mobile version of the site (that site, not this forum), is actually a .zip file.

That's all well and good though as Symbian handles these files fine. But this one opens up for four files, two of which being actual installer files themselves, one named "signed" and one named "unsigned".

So this poor and involved process so far, ends in an unwelcome result.

And finally, and worse of all, no matter which one you click, it fails with a "Required Application Access not Granted!" Error message.

This being what is also reported on the download site by many others.

It is also worth mentioning that this application runs under Python, so it is necessary to install the correct python software to the phone first too. So the whole process is a total NIGHTMARE, which ends in failure anyway after all that (I have Python already installed on my phone, so this is not my problem).


So to report back, as I said I would, I can only say that the whole process is a complete nightmare, and I am a Symbian experienced user - Lord help a newbie.

So apologies to be harsh to a piece of FREE software. But no matter how free it is, it still has to work for anyone to see it positively.

Hope this helps all.

I've not used this particular product, but have used a few others.

Invariably I always found that the program took up a fair bit of resources, as it needs to run from start-up. Additionally, as it uses Pattern Matching to (as quickly as it possibly can) check the incoming number against the database of numbers you add, to see if it needs to be rejected, then as a result of my MASSIVE long phone book, it actually took long enough (in real terms, less than a second however maybe) to scan my phonebook, before rejecting the number.

This sounds a very slight time, but WAS still enough for some people (phone geeks) to suspect they had been blocked and rejected, rather than my phone be 'off' from the start, which is what we want them to believe when using these apps.

Perhaps it's time I gave this a test though, to see how speeds of applications like this, have improved nowadays...

If I do, I'll be sure to report back here all!

I'd be interesting in getting my hands on one of these once they are out, purely in the interests of usability testing etc. So I will have to see what contract upgrades I have coming up in amongst my many contracts...

As I have all but give up on WinMo nowadays to concentrate on Symbian - but to be fair, mainly because my focus and use moved from Business, and Syncronisation and Calendar, over to General Consumer, Bluetooth, file sharing, Camera, and texting.

And WinMo wins hands down on the former, but fails every time on the latter.

So would be interesting to see where Android fits in to this...

Business User, or General User, or a nice mix...

Oh yes... but not those nasty WinSlo Devices Paul swears by - we have the latest Nokia handsets up here with A-GPS, Wifi, 5MP camera with Autofocus, Carl Zeiss Optics, and Xenon Flash, Inbuilt Maps Application, with Routing and Voice Nav optional etc etc...

Just like I suppose some are gonna say, WinSlo has.

Except I can send images, files an videos quickly, and easily, via the actual gallery of my device, without any silly naming of phones by their unique number ID, and taking ages to list BT handsets nearby, like WinSlo does *lol*.

Sorry, couldn't resist CFS mate.

By SMS...?

I've missed that one before now - care to share Paul...?

Avoiding individual horror stories with them aplenty, I still maintain T-Mobile is best...

But let me be open and honest - of late I've had a few of those horror tales you mention, suffice to say without elaborating however, each one resulted in a fight with T-Mo, but after a long slog, each one resulted in a favourable outcome on my part, each time, it must be said.

Customer Service with them seems a mixed bag (and please, I'm not biased because I live nearby - anyone in the know will tell you, that Geordies are actually rivals with 'macums').. Nevertheless, if I call CS and get Doxford Park (Sunderland, nearish to me), the CS seems to be great. If I get Greenock, or the other one they have though, its oft not so great - Scotland especially - and that's no reflection on Scots in general - it's my 2nd holiday destination.

All I do though is persist, or hang up and ring again.

Another consideration with T-Mo is that, away from WinMo devices, the range of handsets they have is very poor these last couple of years - by that I mean they are VERY slow to get the latest handsets to them, or some cases not take them up at all (you'll likely now never see an N82, or E90, on T-Mo), compared to O2 or Vodafone, but Orange too seem to have got worse here this last year too.

Coverage wise though, I have no issues.

Call quality, is also good.

And tariff wise, NOTHING can touch the deal I have, but in general all T-Mobile packages have lots going for them. They are also still the best for mobile Internet.

If you are considering Fixed line BB AND Mobile BB together though, O2 currently have a good package deal on - read more in the relevant thread on this site.

Hope this helps as a starter, and feel free to get back to me with any specific questions you might think of.

Notable that they say "The free broadband lasts for 12 months".

What do they mean by that - that this is a 12 month contract... or that the price is offered at this rate for 12 months only, and then even if you agree to stay a Customer thereafter, the cost is not necessarily that cheap in year two...

Worth a clarification first, as otherwise, this is a pretty darn good package for those who can get it (LLU exchange etc).

T-Mo are also now considering a "seven day pass" for around a fiver - likely working name for now is "Walk and Web" (how obvious!).

This is in conjunction with consumer feedback for similar add-ons for Unlimited 7 days text passes, off peak calling to mobiles, unlimited landline calls etc - a 7 day add-on pass for each type is being talked about.


BBBBUUUUTTTT...

Ash, this might suit you - T-Mobiles EXISTING 5 day Web n Walk pass:

* Get 5 days unlimited web browsing on your phone for just 50p a day
* Costs just £2.50
* To buy call 879 or text WEB to 441

More details

* Make sure you have at least £2.50 credit before you buy
* Half price unlimited internet surfing on your phone (usually costs £1 a day)
* We'll text you to confirm your web'n'walk 5 day pass has started
* We'll text you on the fifth day to let you know your pass is about to finish
* However much you surf your credit won't be eaten away

# Costs just £2.50
# To buy call 879 or text WEB to 441

You need to be an EXISTING T-Mo PAYG Customer to sign up though. But I reckon this could be a good consideration for you mate...?

NOTE: I highlighted the line in bold, as it seems notable - not sure what it means in terms of a FUP though, as it sounds pretty explicit that there is NO limit...! Curious...

Sounds like a loads of RUBBISH to me. Because if you visit the T-Mobile site...

• Choose Plans...
• Choose Pay Monthly...
• Choose something like "18 month Flext 35" (note, NOT the tab or option for Flext AND WnW, obviously).
• Then Choose a handset (say for example Nokia E51).
• The next stage is Optional Extras.
• And in the drop down box for "Internet on Your Phone", you can choose ANY flavour of WnW you wish - standard, Plus, or Max.

So clearly, you can NOT have Flext xx + WnW Plus or Max (that is, as a standalone named Tariff, as complete tariffs never really existed as such for Plus and Max as part of Flext - they were always bundle additions).

But you CAN easily now take out a Flext Bundles of the new higher allowance level, BUT now including CHARGEABLE voicemail (I wish Paul would add that to his first post in this thread still!). And then you can add, as a bundle or bolt on, any flavour of WnW you wish.

So absolutely ZERO reason, existing users cannot have the magic button pressed to change them over to the newer higher allowance level Flext plan, AND keeping the same extra flavour of WnW Plus or Max they already have.

Just remember, doing so will affect any loyalty bonuses you have, AND will now mean chargeable voicemail on the newer Flext plans.

Cheers Ash - still nice to see you back in whatever capacity!

Update to my above post about T-Mobile 12 month 10GB £35 a month.

I've today been informed by my brother that he is NOT actually on that package. As when he went on to place the order, he was asked which package from a range of options, that he wanted. And when he mentioned the 12 month deal, he was asked did he not want to save money (per month of course, not over the duration) by going for an 18 or 24 month deal instead.

When he mentioned the T-Mobile site doesn't mention any 18 month deals, the girl said they do offer them. So he had a chat with her, and ended up electing for:

18 Month deal, 3GB Data Allowance, for £15 a month. Also including Wi-Fi Hotspots, on the faster speed USB stick. Forgot to ask him if there was a fee for the faster rated stick, as opposed to the slower modem adaptor, so I will update here once I check with him.

Overall, this sounds a much better deal for him, as Facebook and Email are his primary uses of the net (he's a Boy in Blue, so not likely to be hitting Torrentz any time).

And for large downloads he needs, he can use good old Ronald MacD's or one of the inclusive wi-fi Hotspots it comes with.

So as the link to the page included by the posters above don't mention 18 month deals, though thinking back, I remember reading up on them myself SOMEWHERE, then bear this in mind, if you are after a lower cost option folks.

They also offer the 10GB on the 18 month deal, if you need the higher allowance.

Footnote/Useful Advice: The two modems offered by T-Mobile... ONLY the dark coloured USB STICK will give you the higher speed of 7.2Mbps and HSDPA and HSUPA. The white cheaper adaptor only offers 1.8Mbps max speed and no HSUPA. Bear this in mind folks, as it's a heck of a lot more than a cosmetic decision you make!

My brother has recently taken out that very plan, as his new house is a none TW/Virgin Media area, and as the last occupant had cut the BT lines into the house on the outer wall when fitting new UPVC windows, BT wanted to charge him a silly amount, just to have the existing line re-connected and ran into the house.

So he (read had me do it for him) shopped around looking at the current Mobile Broadband deals, and checked signal strength for web browsing via the rest of our clan, and our T-Mob, Orange, and O2 phones and Internet connection at his home.

He found (ok I found) T-Mobile to be the best mix of coverage and speed for him, as well as a more reasonable 10GB usage limit.

So he went for said package above, and has been plenty happy with it, it can be reported here.


Best advice I can give though, albeit just a snapshot, but I would advise anyone considering mobile broadband, for use also as their home access, to get friends on various networks with 3G to come and actually TRY their internet on their phone, at their home address.

You could even briefly go against the usual Terms and Conditions, and tether the phone to the laptop and see how it runs via the laptop, if you really want to test it. Only problem there is, a lot of people find tethering a phone with 3G/3.5G can provide very different and poorer results to actual real mobile broadband sticks, for some reason. Additionally, even tethering a phone varies, such as whether you use Nokia PC suite, or the new Nokia "Connect via Mobile" tool, which seems slower than standard PC Suite tethering.

But certainly, at least test the SIGNAL strength/reliability, at your home address, by inviting a friend to come with their handset, before choosing ANY form of Mobile Broadband!

OT:

Ash, forgive this if it's old news, as I don't get in here as much now as I used to (been years since I used a WinMo device as a phone itself now), so I use Mobiholics, your sister site more now.

But on a personal level, I've just noticed "you're back" with this thread.

When did that happen, and welcome back.

Does Paul need to watch his Post Count again now?

@ Andrewkeith,

Thanks for the update mate.

But concerning Point 2, just to indicate that even my paper bill this month warns me that I will be moved to e-billing unless I opt IN. To do so a user simply needs to:

Text the word "bill" to 49015 for FREE, and a confirmation will come back.

But the bill makes it clear, unless I do, I move to e-billing only.

So I would recommend all that wish to stay with proper paper bills too, to text in.

Hope this helps, and thanks for the update on the rest!


@ Confucious...

Yes, we must all be blind, as having read Paul's first post again, and re-visit the website, it does indeed state that Voicemail is chargeable on the new allowances, albeit in the usual small print at the bottom method etc. But I question the date, as I can't see it going back as far as that.

And Paul is just a man, but in the sense of "yes, He's the MAN" a la SpyKids 3D - THE Man! *lol*

Duplicating Confucious to a large extent here, but to also offer:

1) You can stay on your 'old' package as long as you like, even when upgrading handsets, on completion of contract dates. As long as any add-ons, bolt ons, and such that you may, over time, add to your account, don't make it impossible for them to keep you on the old package. But if things are much the same when you come to upgrade, and you want to stay as you are, and just take out a new handset, this should be fine. Make sure you enforce this upon them at the time however - that you do not want ANY change to your existing package etc. That gives you scope for complaint and action if they cock anything up.

2) I'm confused too about chargeable Voicemail, but as Confucious says, it might be due to it being a lower value tariff - why not ring them up and check, pointing out your not on the NEWER Flext tariff, your on the OLDER lower allowance value one, but yet Voicemail has always been CHARGEABLE for you, how is that? Then let us know what they say?

3) I too can pretty much use all the options you list, but just like Big C says, that doesn't mean I am ALLOWED/AUTHORISED or MEANT to. So for genuine honesty and clarity, suffice to say I have tethered my phone to a pc ONCE, in order to get drivers needed for a friend's Broadband service downloaded to his PC, and I use 'streaming' once or twice a month at most, for about five minutes, to use my SlingPlayer on my Symbian phone, merely to set anything I have forgot or missed in Sky+ (I don't really watch it at all, is the next obvious response, but if I do, it's via WiFi for free in MacDonalds etc). And as MS now CHARGE for Messenger on a Mobile/Symbian, I don't use this at all now. So I 'can' do all those things too, but it doesn't mean I am authorised too, and thus is why I don't as such, barring the minor exceptions mentioned on very rare and short occasions, which to the spirit of things, I am sure T-Mo are ok with perhaps.

Hope this helps.


And Big C, Paul will be far too busy to update the first page post, now that he's a famous Notorious Hacker, according to today's el reg *lol* :

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/07/16/ma..._osx_onto_wind/

I agree with you xspyda though...

Paul, given the SIGNIFICANT DETRIMENTAL changes these new bundles/allowances ALSO come with, (WnW Plus issues or not possible/Data issues/IM Not permitted/Chargeable Voicemail, plus who knows what else is hidden in it), can you please add these to your first post in this thread, so people are aware, the downside can pretty much equal, or for some such as me, far outweigh, the pluses, of these extra limits...

Would be prudent and helpful.

Cheers.

FURTHER WARNING !

My paper bill has just come in today (as an aside, from this month, UNLESS you elect to OPT IN for continued paper billing, you will be moved onto E-billing only from next month, if you ALREADY have this too via My T-Mobile, so bear that in mind first).

And reading it, I got a shock...

NEITHER of the increased Tariff Bundles I mention earlier in this thread have been applied to my account.

Yet, when I rang up when I first saw the story in here, I was told I don't even NEED to do anything - "You are already on the new higher inclusive allowance, and you will see this on your next bill".

Well, oh no I haven't.

BUT WORSE... After ringing up today, I have been told I can move over to the newer allowance, by way of a tariff change only, but the new tariffs, with the higher allowance, DO NOT include Voicemail as part of the Flext allowance - that is, calls to Voicemail, do not come out of your allowance, but are chargeable at 12p per minute.

WHAT THE...?

So obviously I held off from upgrading to what I was told I am already on anyway last month, as I do not use my allowance level up, but I DO use Voicemail - so changing to the newer form of Allowance, will produce an instant cost to me each month.

Now nowhere in this thread does it mention paying for Voicemail, so I suspect there are going to be a few unhappy people who read this, once they realise they've just moved over to a MORE EXPENSIVE package, without even knowing it.

I'm off to fire a complaint to T-Mobile now.

Great eh...

I recently heard of other networks offering this too, such as T-Mobile themselves, but this is due to it being offered with a certain budget handset, so to offset the "budgetness" of the handset, the tariff comes with hefty reductions including free WnW

As for how many would use this amount - a LOT more than you would think. Quite simply me for one, knowing what I currently use on T-Mobile.

Finally, yes it is great that it is free. But it still misses the point.

If I want to add it as say for example, an existing customer, and am happy to pay for UNLIMITED data with Orange, what will I get...? Yup 500MB only.

Or even if I wanted to pay slightly more for a better allowance, more realistic to my needs, what could I get...? Yup, 500 MB for no possible extra money, as this is all they really offer on the Unlimited data front.

So the SPIRIT of this is excellent.

It's merely the implementation that is lacking, rest assured.

But notwithstanding any of this, if O's new fair use/unlimited data allowance is now 500MB, that is now better than Voda, who were 100 to 200 MB last I recall?

It's still not a REALISTIC practical level for the vast majority however...?