Absolutely appalling experience with Lycamobile. I have never encountered such consistently dishonest and incompetent service from a telecom provider.
I paid £4 for a monthly bundle three times — on 30 May, 8 June, and 11 June 2023. Despite this, Lycamobile cancelled two of these bundles without my consent or any explanation — and I was never properly refunded.
Here’s exactly what happened:
• On 28 April, I called to cancel my March bundle, which I had purchased on 30 March 2023.
• Instead of cancelling that old bundle, they wrongly cancelled the bundle I had just paid for on 30 May, which was meant to cover the entire month of June. I received no notification, and found out only when I had no service.
• On 7 June, I contacted Lycamobile. I was told to buy the bundle again, and that I would receive a refund for the cancelled one. I followed their advice and paid another £4 on 8 June.
• This second bundle was also cancelled without informing me. They didn’t refund it to my bank. Instead, they quietly added it to a Lycamobile wallet, which I had never heard of. Assuming my bundle was active, I turned on data. The wallet balance was immediately used up, and again I had no service.
• When I called again, they told me to pay again and they’d refund me. So I paid £4 a third time on 11 June — all for the same 30-day bundle.
So within 10 days, I had paid £12 for the same £4 service, and received nothing.
After being ignored, misled, and passed around for weeks, I filed a chargeback through my bank for the first two payments. Only then did Lycamobile respond — by blocking my SIM completely, even though I had paid again on 11 June and was still entitled to use their service.
Customer service has been not only useless, but actively obstructive. I was told the issue would be resolved within 72 hours, but nothing has happened. I still have no access to my number or data.
Let me be clear:
• I only filed a chargeback after dozens of ignored emails and failed calls.
• I will not reverse it, because Lycamobile has proven that it cannot be trusted to issue fair refunds or take responsibility for its own mistakes.
• If I don’t receive a working SIM or my PAC number within the promised timeframe, I will be filing a final chargeback for the 11 June payment as well.
This company is a textbook example of shady practices. They charge for services they don’t provide, cancel bundles without consent, hide refunds in internal wallets, and punish customers who stand up for themselves.
I will be moving to a new provider. Lycamobile is just a scam.
