If you’re me and your wireless service provider is T-Mobile, the answer is eight.
Back in the fall we had some financial trouble, which was caused by and compounded by a few issues that were, unfortunately, entirely out of our control. Anyway, we quickly cut back to the necessities. Our cell phones were not considered a necessity, and so we let the bill go.Come January, I called T-Mobile to find out about paying our bill and reactivating our service. I was told that the bill was sent to collections. Pay the collections group, and things will be taken care of. Oh, and the collections group will take care of sending you SIM cards.
So I pay the entire bill with the collections group. I’m told we’ll need to get new SIM cards in order to use our phones again. “Okay, so how do I get new SIM cards?”, I ask. I’m told that I will need to contact T-Mobile for new SIM cards.
So I contact T-Mobile, and tell them I need three new SIM cards. For reasons unknown, I am told the limit is two. Oh, and I’ll have to pay $11 per SIM card. And if I’d like overnight shipping – which I would, please – that’ll be $11 as well. The total should be $33 or so, but the dumb bint rings up three SIM cards (what I requested, not what I was allowed to get). She cancels that transaction, which puts a hold on $45 in my account until it’s released, and then re-does it for the two SIM cards and overnight shipping – about $34.
Next day, Saturday, the SIM cards don’t arrive. Pissed, I call T-Mobile AGAIN. “Oh, we don’t do overnight shipping on Saturdays if you order past 4pm PST the day before.” Funny, I was never TOLD that by the girl who took my order. And wouldn’t you know, my order was placed at 4:11pm PST. I suppose “close” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
Tuesday morning, the two SIM cards arrive. I follow instructions and activate the first. The second wouldn’t activate over the phone, so I call T-Mobile. After the second one is successfully activated and my account is set up, I’m informed that the first SIM card was activated under the prepay method, and it can’t be converted to be used for a monthly plan. In other words, there goes a wasted $11 SIM card and tied up phone number. Now I’m starting to get annoyed. Fine. I tell the woman to keep the family plan as is, and I’ll sto by the T-Mobile store later in the week to buy another SIM card, as well as the third SIM card that I needed in order to activate my dad’s phone on our plan.
Wednesday morning, a package arrives from the collection agency we paid our T-Mobile bill with. Lo and behold, there are two SIM cards in the packaging! Well, that’s perfect for my needs. I use the one to activate Dan’s cell phone. I put the other aside to use for my dad’s phone.
Sunday, I head down to Philly to see my dad, brand new, sealed SIM card in tow. I call T-Mobile from my cell phone as I’m opening up my dad’s to insert the new SIM card (now removed from its sealed packaging and popped out of the detach card). I’m told that the SIM card can’t be used for activation, because it’s already in use? What??? How can the SIM card already be in use when it’s right there in the palm of my hand? We confirm the numbers a second time, then a third. Nope, it’s coming up as being in use.
Now I’m REALLY aggravated. So I go to a T-Mobile store. There the salesgirl tells me that I shouldn’t have had to pay for the SIM cards to begin with; they’re supposed to be free. At that point I don’t feel like going through a whole song and dance on the phone with yet another idiotic T-Mobile phone monkey, so I cut my $33 loss and activate my dad’s cell phone there in the store.
Fast forward to today. Doorbell rings, UPS guy gives up waiting for us to get to the door and leaves the three “signature required” packages in between our screen door and front door. I open up the packages, and guess what? THREE MORE SIM CARDS.
So that’s, let’s see here…
- the two SIM cards I paid for (but apparently didn’t have to pay for) and waited four days to get because the T-Mobile rep was an idiot and didn’t check to see if I was placing the order in time to have it by the next morning
- two more SIM cards that showed up the next week (one of which was already “in use” though how that could possibly be I STILL DON’T KNOW)
- another SIM card that I picked up in a T-Mobile store and was able to successfully activate my dad’s cell phone with
- three more SIM cards now sitting on my desk
That’s EIGHT SIM cards to activate three phones. Un-freaking-believable.
Wow! Thats crazy!
better call them up and make sure none of them are in use and save them for next time you need a SIM
Wow. Just wow. I’d have given up after the first lady told me that I had to pay and screamed at someone. You’re patience level amazes me.
You have so much more patience than I do. I’d have lost my cool in the store.