[sahraphine]

Dear Crackberry Forum,

The back story:
I have been a staunch Blackberry supporter for years. My first was a trackball Curve. My plan was set up with Bell Mobility in Canada in 2008. At that time, the features of my mobility plan were pretty standard. Over the years, instead of upgrading my phone, I just used hand-me-downs or picked up a used model cheap. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I realised that my plan was golden—true unlimited data. Since then, I have continued to use older models, even trimming down my SIM card to fit a Q10. Unfortunately, someone entered my office this past week and stole my phone off my desk. Humerously, I could care less about the physical phone as it only cost me $200 and I have no problem replacing it. It’s the loss of my SIM card I’m having the hardest time with because based on what I’ve been told by Bell, there is absolutely no way to keep my mobile plan. I even had location services on but my SIM card was pulled and I lost connection with it when it was stolen.

Here is my question: (please bear with me as I’m not super tech-savvy and might not describe everything correctly ... this is what I need to happen, and I’d like to know if it’s possible)

Is there any way to somehow transfer my mobile plan to another SIM card equal to the one that was stolen? My husband had the exact model of Blackberry I started with—trackball Curve--and may still have it with the original SIM card. Bell has not been much help, as it is not in their best interests to be, given that the value of data has increased dramatically since my mobile plan was set up. Bell Mobility cannot transfer it as the features of my contract no longer exist.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[zocster]

That's odd, Vodafone allowed me to keep my 14 year old plan, even though it is no longer exist ... You need to speak to the managers there I guess?

[Couver81]

What zocster said.

That sounds really fishy on Bell's part. Have you only talked to general customer service reps? I would give Bell's customer retention department a call. I've always had much better success with retention than general customer service. Tell them they keep you as a customer if you can retain your plan which you are happy with. But if they can't well then it is their loss.

Can they give you an exact reason why a new SIM cannot be paired with your plan? I've never heard of that being the case. You can normally just walk into a carrier store grab a SIM and activate it for your plan.

[Technarch]

You're talking to a stupid person at Bell.

Purchase a new sim card in the size you need from the store.

Go to a computer and log into your manage your account webpage and go to the change to a new sim section. Type in the new sim numbers wait 15 minutes or whatever.

I've done this lots of times with Koodo. Have changed sim cards and always did it this way. Never had to call or have someone do it for me.


Posted via CB10

[Technarch]

If Bell systems are hardcoded to have a plan to a sim then this is very pathetic. So everyone who wanted a NFC sim for example they had to give up their plan?

I don't think so.

Posted via CB10

[sahraphine]

Thank-you to everyone for posting replies. Your feedback definitely gives me hope. I will try to complete the transfer of my plan to a new NFC SIM. If I encounter troubles, I will be contacting either Bell's management or their retention department. It's funny how naive a person is when they just don't have the background. I'm glad I didn't take what the Bell rep said seriously and change my plan or leave to another carrier-- which is what I was feeling was the inevitable required next step. I'm sure it seems so ridiculous not to know this was possible, but no one in my world was informed enough in their own right to tell me this was possible.

[bobshine]

Thank-you to everyone for posting replies. Your feedback definitely gives me hope. I will try to complete the transfer of my plan to a new NFC SIM. If I encounter troubles, I will be contacting either Bell's management or their retention department. It's funny how naive a person is when they just don't have the background. I'm glad I didn't take what the Bell rep said seriously and change my plan or leave to another carrier-- which is what I was feeling was the inevitable required next step. I'm sure it seems so ridiculous not to know this was possible, but no one in my world was informed enough in their own right to tell me this was possible.

I am with Bell and had transferred my old plan many times to a new sim card, even if the plan hasn't existed for years.

Just tell them that you need a new sim card to replace the old one that was lost. That's it.

Posted via CB10

[Troy Tiscareno]

You're talking to a stupid person at Bell.

Purchase a new sim card in the size you need from the store.

Go to a computer and log into your manage your account webpage and go to the change to a new sim section. Type in the new sim numbers wait 15 minutes or whatever.

I've done this lots of times with Koodo. Have changed sim cards and always did it this way. Never had to call or have someone do it for me.

This kind of thing typically works fine as long as you already have a "current" plan - but these "do it yourself" tools are often (usually?) coded so that if you have a legacy plan, they will not allow you to do the transfer yourself. Instead, you have to call Customer Service, where they'll do everything they can to get you off of your old plan and onto a new one.

[Technarch]

Nah. My plan is long gone from the system. The webpage doesn't care. Maybe Koodo customers are lucky but it really is that simple. All you do is type in the sim number and wait 15 minutes. It's in the same spot as change phone. And there might be some soaking going on because when my ex needed a temporary sim they charged her $25 to "activate" it. This was interaction with a person.

Now if you were to "suspend" your plan for vacation then you really would be out of luck. Don't do that. You will lose it.


Posted via CB10