Lebara Mobile (FR)
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Port in to Lebara
My account with Vodaphone was coming to an end and Lebara was the cheapest alternative and also used the Vodaphone network. I received confirmation of my order on 13 Aug. On 15 Aug I received confirmation by email that my Lebara SIM was now active. On 16 Aug I received an email saying my number had been successfully ported in to Lebara. It had not been. I called Lebara and explained that my number had not been ported in. They took the details and said it would take 48 to 72 hrs. It did not happen. I called again and was told that the previous call had not been acted on but that this call would be. 72 hrs later the number had still not been changed. When I called the third time, I was told that the previous handler had got the number wrong but this time it would work. On 23 Aug I had received an email with the number I wanted ported-in in the header and asking me for feedback. My old number had still not been ported in so my feedback was quite scathing. Today, 30 Aug, I called again and was told that this had been escalated (implying it had not been escalated before?) It has been over two weeks since I changed to Lebara and people who call my number are being told that the number is not in use. I will have to call all my contacts and tell them to try both numbers until the port in is solved. They are cheap so I suppose you get what you pay for. It is just as well this is my social phone and not my work phone. Update on 2 September. Over the weekend the temporary number that came with the sim stopped working so I now have a mobile phone that has no number and can only be used over wi-fi on my home network or work network. Called Lebara again and was told I would receive a call back from the engineer to fix it. 5 hours later, I am still waiting for a call. Update 3 September. Did not get a call back so called Lebara again and was told that the issue would be resolved in the next 48 - 72 hours. 3 weeks without my mobile phone now. I am staying with this out of curiosity now to see how long it will take. I feel sorry for the people answering my calls as they all have the same script but must know that after 6 calls there is nothing they can say that will inspire confidence. Update 5 Sep: I still cannot use my mobile phone. I called Lebara again today and was told, again, that my issue has been escalated and they are still trying to get my number associated with my SIM. This has become truly amusing for me listening to each handler trotting out the same mantra, "This will be fixed in the next 48 - 72 hours." For fun, I asked to speak with a supervisor but none were available. Due credit to the handlers for sticking to the script even although both they and I know that 3 weeks to have a number ported in is just unacceptable. I have to believe that my situation is unique because no business could survive if it was this incompetent with a lot of customers. I wonder if it will ever get fixed? Update 06 Sep: Still no number on the SIM. Update: 9 Sep: Contacted Lebara again and was told by SHASHI that she would call me back before close of play today. This sounds promising but I am still going to keep this going as I think I am in with a chance of getting into the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest time to get a number ported in. Update 11 Sep: Yesterday (10 Sep) the lady at Lebara told me that my SIM was faulty and I should buy a Lebara Pay as You Go SIM. She would call me back when I had the SIM installed. TESCO did not have the SIM but Morrison's did. I put the new SIM in my phone so that I had both Lebara SIMs. I received the callback and told the lady the new SIM was in and gave her the details. I was put on hold while they ported in my number to the new SIM. It did not work. They said they would call me back when they had resolved the problem. During the night the old Lebara number that had been on one SIM suddenly returned so I now have a Lebara number that is Pay as You Go with no credit on it and another Lebara number that has not been associated with my account. I cannot make calls on either. Today, I contacted Lebara again and told them I wanted to port in my old number. The handler took my details and said it would take 48 to 72 hours! I informed him that OFCOM says it should happen within 24 hours and, so far, you have had 27 days and still not been successful. He noted my previous calls and said that someone would call me back today. Ho hum.