Pay as you go customer abroad – how can I contact EE for free?

[attuning]

Hello,

I'm an EE pay as you go customer, currently in the United States. I recently topped up £10 intending it to stay as credit, but it was used to buy a 30-day plan instead.

Getting help with this has been very difficult. Live chat isn't available to pay as you go customers, and calling from the US costs money.

Could an EE moderator please send me a private message to explain:

1. How I can contact EE for free from outside the UK, without having to use this forum.

2. Whether I can get a monthly plan without a UK address.

Thank you.

[Chris_B · Accepted solution]

@attuning   You need a UK billing address for a contract.  You also have to pass a credit check so you’ll need to of had a credit history in the UK.   Even if you do manage to get a contract you’ll need to be in the UK for the sim to activate first before it’ll work abroad as roaming can only be activated after the sim is activated.    Your current sim can be switched to a contract sim but it needs to be activated as a contract sim in the UK first. 

if you want your PAYG sim to only use the credit for calls/text you need to text STOP PACK to 150.   Then it’s credit against calls/texts and you’ll have no data allowance for this you’ll have to purchase a data add on. 

[XRaySpeX]

1. You can't, even using this forum, All you are doing here is talking to other EE users like yourself.

[attuning]

Then why does anyone use them for cellular service?

[attuning]

So unhoused people can’t get a cell phone contract in the UK? They have to pay more and go through numerous hoops to just get a pay as you go account. Which, I have setup and activated in the UK. But because I don’t have an address yet I can’t get a cellphone plan? Oh, and by the way, I just used the EE app to add credit to my account. it signed me up for a 30 day plan instead and I can’t rectify that unless I pay for a call to the uk using my US provider #. Because there are no chat or email possibilities for customer service for pay as you go customers.

[ee_user14]

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@attuning wrote:
So unhoused people can’t get a cell phone contract in the UK? They have to pay more and go through numerous hoops to just get a pay as you go account. 

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People who can't pass a credit check, can't have a mobile contract in the UK. It's a credit agreement, just like any other form of lending.

No hoops involved in getting a PAYG account - just buy a SIM from any supermarket and off you go.

[attuning]

Thanks you’ve been so generous and helpful.

[Ali_A]

Hi @attuning 

If you're not able to call from your EE mobile, you'll need to use an alternative phone to contact us using the number on our Contact EE from abroad page, where a guide will be able to help you with the top-up you made. In the mean time I'd recommend following the advice to text STOP PACK to 150 while abroad. 

When taking a pay monthly plan, we will check eligibility by conducting a credit check. Part of the credit check requires residence information for the past 3 years.

One thing to note- If you change from Pay as you Go to a Pay monthly contract, or vice versa, you'll need to make a call while in the UK to complete the security activation. If  you're in the USA at the time of the change, you're SIM will no longer have access to calls/SMS until you return to the UK. It's best not to change to a monthly plan while you're abroad. 

You can check the costs or roaming in the USA while on Pay as you go at Roaming in USA | EE. 

Ali