Need to Know
8 10 - 23 July 2019
What happened?
Switching mobile providers is
notoriously difficult, especially if you
wanttokeepyourphone numberrather
thanbegiven a newone.Ofcomhas
introduced a newsystemthatlets
mobile users switchvia a textmessage.
Beforenowthere weretwo waysto
switch. First,you simplycancelled your
existingservice andsignedupfor a new
contract, but thatmeant losingyour
phone number. Toaddressthat, Ofcom
cameupwith the Porting Authorisation
Code(PAC) system. If you wantedto
switch, you neededtoget the PAC from
yourcurrent providerandgiveit toyour
newone.Between them, theywould
coordinate shiftingyourphone number.
While the PAC systemwas an
improvement onlosingyourphone
numberjusttoget a newcontract,
Ofcomnoted thatit could leadto
delays,andsomepeopleended up
payingfor two contracts atthe same
timefor a month. Mobileoperators
didn’t make it easy,either. Under the
PAC system, you neededtocall your
existingprovidertotell themyou were
leaving,which somecompanies usedas
anopportunitytohard-sell you a better
dealtopersuadeyou tostay. Thatmade
the processonerous andconfusing.
Under the newswitching process,
mobile users can request their PAC
simplybytexting a designated number
set upbyOfcom.The communications
regulator’s own researchsuggests thata
third ofpeoplefindit difficult tocancel
their existingmobile service; 45 %of
those who wanttoswitchbut haven’t
saidthatthe processtakes too long,
while 39%saidthatcontactingmultiple
phone providers istoo muchhassle.How will it affect you?
The Text-to-Switchsystemisnowlive
for customers ofVodafone,O2, Three
andEE. Smaller mobile providers are
not yet requiredtotakepartinthe
system, but may well dosointhe future.
Touse the system, textthe wordPAC
to 6507 5.Yourproviderwill reply with
the PAC codeandany contract
information,suchasearly termination
charges,oryourpay-as-you-go balance.
The PAC isvalid for 30days.
Onceyou haveyourPAC,you can
pass it ontoyournewprovider. The
switchwill happenwithin one working
day socustomers won’t havetopay for
two contracts atthe sametime.If you
havea family package with more than
one numberlinkedtoa contract, you’ll
havetorequest yourPAC through your
online account with yourprovider– you
shouldstillreceive it withina minute. If
you’reunhappy with yourexisting
service andlooking for a newprovider,
you can request yourPAC beforeyou
start shopping around, soyou haveit to
handandcan switchimmediately, even
ina high-streetphone store.Using the PAC text-to-switchservice
means you get tokeepyourexisting
phone number. If you’d ratherhavea
newphone numberinstead,you needa
service termination authorisation code
(STAC), which you can requestby
texting STACto 7507 5.
Ofcomhas alsoset upaninformation
service,soyou can findout contract
detailsandpotential costs ofleaving
yourproviderwithout havingtocall
themandsubjectyourself toa sales
pitch.For that, textINFOto 8507 5.What dowethink?
Well done, Ofcom.Thisclever,
consumer-friendly systemwill saveusa
lot offrustration, costandtime.Calling
a mobile network toget a PAC codeor
cancela contractisall but guaranteed
toleadtoanirritating attempt tokeep
yourcustombyofferinga betterdeal.
Providers shouldtry offeringthose
beforeyou’refed up, ratherthanwhen
you’vealready put inthe efforttofinda
bettercontract.
It’s often worth switching,too.New
contracts almostalwaysoffer the best
deals,soshopping aroundwhenyour
contractcomes upisa smart move. This
service will make thateasier, somore of
uscan takeadvantage ofswitching for a
betterservice orcheaper offer. Mobile
operatorswill havetokeepcustomers
bydelivering a goodservice ata fair
price,ratherthanplacing hurdlesin
their pathtostopthemleaving.You can now switch mobile
provider by text message
Cr
ed
it: Of
co
m