All-rounder contract, with EU roaming, suddenly stopped working in Cyprus

[Stubsy]

I have been in Cyprus for a few weeks, using my EE phone to call UK numbers. I visit Cyprus regularly and never had a roaming problem since joining EE 3 years ago. I have an All-Rounder contract, with unlimited everything, including EU roaming. Roaming suddenly stopped working a few days ago. I've made 8 (eight) support calls to EE, and I've tried everything suggested (roaming on/off; phone on/off; local provider auto/manual; spend-cap none/zero/30). Finally, on the 8th help call, EE said they have an internal memo reporting some local network problems in Cyprus, and just to keep trying. It's now been 5 days, but no solution. Is anyone else having the same problem? To make matters worse, EE sent me a text yesterday saying my request has been resolved, but it's still not working !!! Maybe I should just switch from EE? 

[Peter_W]

Good afternoon @Stubsy.

Thanks for reaching out to us here on the Community!

I've not heard anything in particular about issues in Cyprus.

What did the message you receive most recently say exactly, and did this come via text or email?
Peter

[Stubsy]

When I dial, there is a long silence, then 3 or 4 beeps, then the EE operator voice says "we're sorry, this number is barred from your phone". I've tried calling many different UK landlines and mobile numbers, but always the same. It's been 5 days now. I've even tried switching the SIM socket in the phone (S21 Ultra), but no difference. Could the SIM be fried? 

[Stubsy]

I cannot call any local numbers in Cyprus either. Roaming is ON on my phone, and the app says it's ON too. Your technical support people said we've now tried all the usual fixes, so it must be the Cyprus network. They then told me that they've received an internal email saying that there are problems being reported in Cyprus (BTW, I'm on the Greek side, ie: in the EU).   

[Peter_W]

Thanks for explaining all of that for me, @Stubsy.

Is it just calls that seem to be affected here, or are you unable to text and use mobile data too?

Peter

[bristolian]

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@Stubsy wrote:

Could the SIM be fried? 

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The symptoms you've described are not those of a "fried" SIM, I doubt you'd even have a network connection if that were so.

CS should have raised a fault ticket into (non-customer-facing) Tech Support/Networks if they believe there's a pattern to complaints or network issues.

[Stubsy]

Thanks for replying. I'm using my EE data, and I'm receiving support desk codes and messages by SMS, so it seems that only the calls are barred. The only exception is that I CAN call 150 to EE, but no other numbers, so I guess that means the SIM is NOT fried 🙂  I've also checking my phone's call barring options, and none are active.  This is now Day 6 of this, and I'm getting desperate to make calls.    

[Stubsy]

CS did raise a "complaint", but they texted me 2 days ago saying that they have closed it !!! I don't know why they would do that? I've also received a rather annoying series of "standard" messages suggesing that I buy a roaming pack, which tells me that they're not diligently reading my complaint .... I am on an ALL-ROUNDER contract INCLUSIVE OF EU ROAMING, and I've been using it without a glitch before this recent barring incident. Something has gone bad in the past week. ONE QUESTION: Is there a limit on the number of consecutive or aggregated roaming days in the EU? I can't see anything about that in the small print, so I am assuming NOT.    

[Peter_W]

I'm glad to hear that you can still use some of your services here @Stubsy .

With EU roaming we offer two settings - one that just enables the ability to connect locally, and another that also allows you to call between borders. 

You need the latter in order to be able to make calls, but from the amount of time you've spent on the phone with our team I'd expect they would have checked this. 

As @bristolian mentioned as well, we'd expect this issue to be logged against a fault ticket if unresolved.

How long have you been outside of the UK for?
Peter

[Stubsy]

Yeah, we've been all through the helpdesk checklist, several times. This morning I've sent and received SMS test messages to 2 of my UK contacts, and I've been using data without any problem. I also received ONE call from one of my UK mobile contacts last night, but when I tried to call them back (as a test) I got same voice message, "we're sorry, calls to this number are barred from your phone". I'm at the end of my tether with this issue. I regularly commute between the UK and Cyprus, but I've been in Cyprus for a bit longer this time, around 6 weeks. I don't think there is a limit because I've done the same many times before without difficulty, and I've been using this number with EU roaming for the past 3 years. In fact, CS said I've been an excellent customer, and that I have a relatively low data/calls/text history (which is true). I really don't know what to try next? Just keep waiting for the problem to "go away", or spend another day on calls with CS? I really don't want to do the latter because every time it's like starting from scratch, with all the silly basic checks all over again !!! Any suggestions how I can get this escalated to a senior techician?