Roaming NZ & Australia - how to activate the Roam Abroad Pass on arrival?

[Lupin1]

My Roam Abroad Pass is set up to commence on 15 Nov, but will I need to send a text message to activate the Pass on arrival abroad?

Since the beginning of October I have been unable to send texts although my monthly plan gives me unlimited texts and calls.  It's a problem with Spend Cap.  I have had many phone calls with EE's Tech Support, including their Level 2 Tech Team.  They acknowledge it is a 'known problem' but have been unable so far to find a solution.  I am concerned that if the problem is still unresolved by the time I leave for New Zealand, I may not be able to activate and use the Roam Abroad Pass on arrival.  Any help with this query very gratefully received!  

[Lupin1]

I have the same problem with Spend Cap.  Since the beginning of October I have been unable to send texts although my monthly plan gives me unlimited texts and calls.  I have had many phone calls with EE's Tech Support, including their Level 2 Tech Team.  They acknowledge it is a 'known problem' but have been unable so far to find a solution.  My question is this: in November I'll be travelling to New Zealand and Australia and will buy a Roam Abroad Pass before I go.  I haven't bought one before.  Does anyone know if you need to use text messaging to activate the Pass on arrival abroad?

[XRaySpeX]

Altho' your texts are not working, are you able to send texts to 150, e.g. BAL? Those are not restricted by a Spend Cap.

[Leanne_T]

Hi @Lupin1 

Thanks for coming to the community. 

Could you let us know if the texts to 150 work for you as @XRaySpeX has suggested? 

If you log into your EE app and select add-ons, Roaming you should have the option to add the Roam Abroad Pass. You can also give us a call on 150 and the team will add this and make sure the account is set up for using the phone abroad. 

Thanks 🙂

Leanne. 

[bristolian]

---

@Lupin1 wrote:

Since the beginning of October I have been unable to send texts..I have had many phone calls with EE...They acknowledge it is a 'known problem' but have been unable so far to find a solution.

---

Have CS explained the exact combination of circumstances that causes an issue with sending text messages?

Given the number of users who have spend caps and unlimited text bundles, it's quite a surprise that a "known issue" hasn't been mentioned previously.

Did the CS agents advise of a fault-reference? If there's genuinely a known issue, there will be one.

[Linzi_H]

Hi @Lupin1 

Welcome to the community.

I'm so sorry that you're still having issues with sending texts, and I know you'll want to get this sorted as a priority.

What was the last advice our technical support team gave you? 

That sounds like an amazing trip you have planned! Before you jet off, please call us so we can help. Our team will make sure roaming is activated and the Roam Abroad Pass is added ready for you.

Linzi 

[Lupin1]

Hi XRaySpex.  Thank you very much for your speedy reply. 

YES, I am able to send texts to 150, but only to 150,  not to any normal phone number.

[Lupin1]

Hi @Leanne_T 

Thanks for getting back to me.  YES, I am able to send texts to 150, but only to 150,  not to any normal phone number.  I've just replied to @XRaySpeX to confirm this.

When I switched from a PAYG Subscription Pack to a monthly plan on 1 October, I asked for the Roam Abroad Pass to be set up on my account, starting from 15 Nov.  I can't see it yet on my account but I suppose it will appear on 15 Nov?

[Lupin1]

Hi @bristolian 

Thanks very much for your reply.  On 8 Oct I was given the Incident/ticket ref. no. 1961333 in a phone call with a Level 2 Tech Team member.  Is that the same as a fault-reference?

I have not been told the exact combination of circumstances that causes an issue with sending text messages, but I have been told that a number of people have reported the same problem that I have.  For me, it happened only when I switched (on 1 Oct) from a PAYG Subscription Pack to a monthly plan, but I was told that others who have suddenly encountered the same problem have had a monthly pack for years.  So it's not linked to the fact that I switched from PAYG to a plan.

Incidentally, my Spend Cap is set to zero as my data usage is extremely low and my plan gives me unlimited texts and calls.  So there's no risk of my spending more than I pay for monthly.

[Lupin1]

Hi @Linzi_H 

Thanks for getting back to me.  My last call from Tech Support (on Fri 18/10) was to say that there's still no fix for the Spend Cap problem but they're working on it!  I asked how long it might take to fix but they couldn't say.

They said they would ring me once a week (on a Friday) with an update unless they manage to fix the problem, in which case they would ring me straightaway.

They did say that once the problem is resolved, I would be offered compensation for not being able to send texts despite the unlimited text allowance.