topic Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER in Pay as you go

RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

EKENEODUM — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 14:43:30 GMT

I have a pay as you go number i have used for over 5 years. I travelled out of the UK for a year and when i tried to access my account through the app, it stated that the account is closed. I want the account reopened and my phone number retained. How do i go about this? Thanks

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

XRaySpeX — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 15:12:29 GMT

You can't! You chose to not use it for a year. After 6 months it went into hibernation & then as you never contacted EE in the next 3 months grace period to get it reactivated, it was deactivated completely & lost to you.

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

SaraHassan123 — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 11:09:33 GMT

Hello,

I am having a similar issue here with a closed account after only 3 months of being inactive (i wasnt aware that inactivity meant no outgoing calls and actions like top ups) I did make a top up and continued to recieve text messages from EE during the last 3 months.

Is it not unethical to just close an account without notifying the customer, they do know how to send text messages and emails when they need to chase for payments so why not notify the customer that their account is potentially going to be closed? I am now facing this huge issue with all suppliers, accounts unable to contact me and i need critical medical attention. How can i reinstate my account or even use the number and move to another supplier? what options are available to me?

[Mod edit: Please do not share personal details as your posts are visible to the public. Thanks!]

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

Peter_W — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 12:53:55 GMT

Good afternoon @SaraHassan123.

I can absolutely appreciate your concern with this one, and I just want to clear up a few details with you so we can be sure we've got the best possible understanding of what's happening.

With all UK mobile networks, there is only a finite supply of numbers available, so we need to make sure there's always a pool ready for new connections.

To help ensure this, a pay as you go account will be deemed inactive if there is no chargeable activity detected within a 180 day period.

At this point the line will be suspended and any credit removed, but this is not a full cancellation; the user will also receive multiple reminder texts from us in advance of this.

The number would only be cancelled permanently if we received no contact about the suspension within the next 3 months.

Have you tried reaching out to anyone yet to check if the number can be resumed?
Peter

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

tmmk21 — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 05:49:09 GMT

Hi,

I have been travelling and encountered a similar issue, my account has been closed. I thought I had been keeping the account active by making regular outgoing calls to 150 & hanging up once i got to a dial tone, but apparently this wasn't working. I have noticed in good time though - i only set it up as pay as you go just before i set off, approximately 160 days ago. How do i retrieve my account? Thanks

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

Katie_B — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 07:54:59 GMT

Hello @tmmk21.

Thanks for coming here.

If your account has gone into hibernation you will need to give us a call from another phone to get this activated again.

After 269 days of inactivity your number will be lost.

Katie 🙂

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

XRaySpeX — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 08:15:10 GMT

@tmmk21 wrote:

making regular outgoing calls to 150 & hanging up once i got to a dial tone

That doesn't constitute a call in any sense of the word. You made no connection with the recipient.

Sounds like your PAYG SIM may have gone into hibernation due to non-use.

EE PAYG SIMs are deactivated after 6 months of non-chargeable use. You then have a further 3 months period of grace to call EE to reactivate it before it is lost completely.

You needed to make a chargeable action like making a chargeable call or text, topping up or buying a Pack or Add-on, not just using your mins, texts or data from your pack.

As it was switched to PAYG while you were abroad you can't now use it until you return to UK. EE PAYG SIMs need 1st activating on EE's home UK network before they can be used abroad.

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

tmmk21 — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:32:55 GMT

Great, thank you!

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

tmmk21 — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:38:38 GMT

Thanks for the extra info. I return to the UK within a month so sounds like i should be able to restore it then.

I was given the advice to call 150 to keep the sim active from in-store in the UK, when i switched to PAYG before I travelled. I'm no expert and never questioned it 🤷‍♂️. In any case, seems I should be able to rescue the situation.

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

XRaySpeX — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 16:35:38 GMT

Thanks! You're welcome 🙂 ! Glad I could be of assistance & hope it soon gets sorted.

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

Micky19 — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 12:30:57 GMT

My account has been closed and I didn’t receive any text or emails warning for the closure of the account

now I need the number back but seems impossible at this point

Re: RECOVERY OF CLOSED ACCOUNT AND PHONE NUMBER

XRaySpeX — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 13:37:01 GMT

@Micky19 : When did you last use that no.? When did you previously make a chargeable action?