Help with Transition from Contract to Pay As You Go

[Alby2]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been with EE for about 7-8 years and recently switched from contract to Pay As You Go as I’ve moved to Spain for a year. I want to keep my number and maintain its tenure for when I return to the UK.

My contract was closed on 8th November, but I didn’t receive any confirmation via email or message. My account just says "Your account is closed" and shows "See your final bill," but I can’t make calls, send texts, or even contact 150 for support. I should now be on Pay As You Go, but I’m not sure what's happening, and I can’t reach EE to confirm the switch.

Can anyone help me understand what’s going on? Thanks so much!

[XRaySpeX]

When was your SIM moved to PAYG? It takes 30 days notice to cancel a contract & before it is moved to PAYG. Had that change taken place while abroad you can't now use it at all while abroad. To be used abroad EE PAYG SIMs need 1st activating on EE's home UK network. If it wasn't you can't now use it until you return to UK.

[Ali_A]

Hi @Alby2 

Welcome to the EE Community, Great to hear you have been a long time user of EE. 

Do you have signal on your phone at all? 

If you still have signal it means the switch most likely has completed to Pay as you go. 

When you are new to Pay as you go, you'll need to complete security activation by making your first call while in the UK connected to the EE network. 

It sounds like you've not had the opportunity to do that yet, which is why you're unable to make calls or SMS. 

One way to resolve this would be to send the SIM card back to the UK for a trusted family member to make the first Pay as you go call, and send back to you. 

You'll need to top it up first, which you can do without having to log in, at Top Up your Pay As you Go | EE

In the mean time I'd recommend topping it up the minimum £5 every 5 months to keep the line active until you get back to the UK when you can also use the credit you have topped up. You can find out more at Why has my account gone into hibernation. 

If you have no signal on your SIM card, it may be that it has terminated. 

You can contact EE from abroad on any other phone using the number at on our Contact Us From Abroad | EE page. 

Hope this helps! 

Ali

[Alby2]

Hi Ali,

Thanks for your quick response.

The SIM does have signal, but I left the UK a couple of weeks ago and won't be back for a year. When I spoke with an EE representative before leaving, they didn’t explain that I wouldn’t be able to activate my phone from abroad. In fact, I explained that I would be abroad by the 1st November.

The link you shared for topping up just redirects me to contact EE from abroad. Sending the SIM card to the UK and back from Spain would cost at least £30-£40, which doesn’t make sense, and calling the UK is about £1 per minute.

After 8 years with EE, I’m simply asking for help to resolve this without unnecessary costs so I can keep my line active. I’m confident that the right assistance could sort this out and be mutually beneficial as I would plan to rejoin EE once I’m back in the UK if this gets resolved.

Thank you for your time.

Albano

[XRaySpeX · Accepted solution]

You were given the wrong link for topping-up. Try using Fast Top-up online to pay by UK bank card. You don't need to login or register anything. All you need is your mobile no. & it doesn't remember your card details. 

Try calling CS on the Freephone no. in my sig. on Skype over WiFi. It should be free.

[Alby2]

Hi Xray,

I really appreciate all your help.

I managed to contact EE via Skype and found a workaround to keep my UK number active until I return.

Thanks again for your support.

Best regards,
Albano

[XRaySpeX]

Thanks! You're welcome 🙂 ! Glad I could be of assistance & trust it is now sorted.

To save the SIM going into hibernation due to lack of use, just remember within every 179 days (~ 6 months) 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 any Pack or Add-on you might have.