Value Telecom

...offered by their subsidiary company, Value Telecom.

The background info is that, like Virgin, Value are not a network, but get airspace rented to them, currently by T-Mobile's network. Carephone Warehouse (and the internet) is the only place to buy into their product.

Should you still be as silly...

We were happy to get my new phone in a package with the Fresh sim card, and a new card for my partner, who ...
...freephone number isn't free on Value Telecom, as it doesn't recognise such.

A more positive point is that you are advised by SMS when your account is low, and you can also text them to ask the sum banked with them. (There was talk of them debiting my account after an over-spend, as they don't like to switch calls off when the user has gone into the red. For us this only happened once.)

This has been a whole hassle in ... more

This is a right saga, so bear with me. I have tainted my bargepole so that you don't have to, after all.

Last summer, 2001, I had to concede my second-hand mobile phone was finally broken. And so I had to buy another, which turned out to be a nice, handy Nokia. But I would need to switch networks as well, and so when my partner and I went to Carphone Warehouse, we settled on the decent-sounding Fresh network, offered by their subsidiary company, Value Telecom.

The background info is that, like Virgin, Value are not a network, but get airspace rented to them, currently by T-Mobile's network. Carephone Warehouse (and the internet) is the only place to buy into their product.

Should you still be as silly...

We were happy to get my new phone in a package with the Fresh sim card, and a new card for my partner, who was paying for the total as an early birthday present. But from the start I would be handling all the financial transactions, including the top-ups, as it was my Switch card we were using.

The top-ups are done by ringing a freephone number and tapping in the details of the purchasing card, or having a swipe in CpW. And here's the first hint things might be awry... the freephone number isn't free on Value Telecom, as it doesn't recognise such.

A more positive point is that you are advised by SMS when your account is low, and you can also text them to ask the sum banked with them. (There was talk of them debiting my account after an over-spend, as they don't like to switch calls off when the user has gone into the red. For us this only happened once.)

This has been a whole hassle in itself, the limited way of topping up the phones we were using between the 2 of us. Every fortnight I would have to go to a callbox and do it. Every couple of months they changed the voice of the electronic prompter, as if progress was being made back at HQ.

(Progress of a kind was being made - they'd invented a Reducer tarriff, inferior to Virgin's, whereby the cost for each call - as opposed to day's use - went down the longer is lasted. Funny they never got round to tell me, though.)

However, what happens when you stop using the issuing card? With my bank cards, the signature strip never lasts more than a few months, and duly I had to get a new card issued, with a new security number on the back, which counts as the PIN for over-the-phone top-ups.

And so, of course, you are soon left with a phone with no credit on, with a perfectly decent card, that they won't let you top up with. And with no credit, you have no ability to ring their "customer care" up, and get them to accept the changes.

I was perhaps naive to think that by using the card in CpW would register the changed card, but no. And so I had to go to the shop again to get them to ring up Value and get them to change it. And for this... they expected a £5 admin charge...! Luckily they didn't seriously expect this, and the change was made.

Until, of course, came the day when my partner's phone needed topping up. And, as you might expect, they had NOT changed the PIN for both the numbers registered to my card.

I have got so used to the view from my local CpW's shop due to Value Telecom. I do not thank them for this...
The latest saga is so long, I can bearly bring myself to live through it.

When you top up over the phone you are supposed to receive a SMS confirming the credit, which any right thinking person would expect. But presumably because I had the nerve to go where a freephone number is free (i.e. a BT box) I presume I waived that right. But in June 2002 I tried to top my phone up, as usual, and got no feedback at all.

When credit is completely wiped for each SIM card, you get an angry beep for cancelled SMSs you try to make, and a droned voiced saying "Calls to this number are barred from your phone" when you try to dial out.

Imagine my surprise when, presuming my phone was in the black, both these things started happening some time.

As I refuse to use a paid customer care number when CpW's staff come free (and as my phone was "dead" it was unattainable anyway) I went to the shop again, put more money on, and thought that was it. The response was that the payment over the phone was refused, and belatedly I found out from the bank no money had transferred. But that day's money did go out, and all should be well as I was in the black.

24 hours later, nothing. A further contact through the shop floor staff to Value Telecom meant the store man was taking my SIM out and wiping it on his shirt sleeve - yes, THAT must be the reason why my phone wasn't registering any credit I had just put on it.

48 hours later, still no access. Calls to all numbers were still barred. No-one could offer no sensible, working advice. Messages were left with my account details on CpW's system, detailing the ineffectiveness of the Value response, and saying things would get better or else...

Things got no better, until I had been without out-going phone capability for over a week (as much as I liked the CpW view, I couldn't go and see it every day, as it is a 2 mile walk away). I stormed into CpW and made them so afraid they were more than happy to get rid of me, with a new SIM for a new network.

Which meant, as I need to be on the same network as my partner, as they are the only person I ring with any frequency, they needed a new SIM as well. Of course, their number had gone into the red as well by now, and with all the hassle I refused to put anything on her phone.

I have since been engaged with Value Telecom over e-mail. Their advise has been, and I paraphrase...

"Your phone is fine. The number that you find barred must not exist."
"Your phone is fine. Or if it isn't, turn it off for an hour's rest, and it will be fine."
"We don't know why there is a problem."
"PS you are on Value Telecom, not T-Mobile" (yes, but... both CpW and their "customer care" staff both admit they share satellites with T-Mobile.

The crowning glory of how Value Telecom will treat you is when you belatedly get to breaking point, and require to move networks. You will get a PAC code from them, via the CpW staff who sell you your new SIM. You will carefully tell your new network's staff on your "new" phone when registering this PAC code, and have it read back to confirm.

You will wait 5 days for the number change to come about, only to get a letter from your new friends that the PAC codes are complete nonsense, and unrecognisable.

Anyway, to update everyone still caring about my own phone use, I am now on a better network... better in everything but price. Therein lies the crux of the Fresh tariffs from Value Telecom. They look nice and cheap - the best of both worlds, for light users used to pay-as-you-go tariffs. But beware, the experience is really NOT worth it.

This is just what I can think of typing this off from memory, I might even think of some more examples of their blatant disregard for customer care later.

I mean, ask yourself this. If a service provider suddenly retracted that service, although you had paid for it, and then claimed ignorance of any problem at every level, wouldn't you be miffed? And isn't taking payment and not providing the service in return, a bit, well, ILLEGAL?

I want nothing from Value Telecom now, except my money back, and, still, the right PAC code so I can go without telling the world my number has changed. You should want even less.

 

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