Afrihost Voice - Porting FAIL

[Tiger800]

So reading all the FAQ's on how to port etc, i decided to take up an Afrihost voice option. My current contract at Vodacom is on month to month and I'm tired of paying the high fees for data on this network so the Afrihost option looked good.

To cut a long story short, despite Afrihost actually asking you on their porting FAQ if you are in a contract, i was finally told yesterday after MUCH to and fro with Afrihost via email (as their online chat is never online!! and i refuse to spend money and time on a telephone call) that i CANNOT port a contract number to Afrihost voice.

This really ticked me, especially as Afrihost have already taken a pro rata debit from my account for the service that i dont even have access to.

Why, Afrihost, can you not:

1. Actually mention you cannot move a contract number across unless its changed to PAYG first.
2. Why do you immediately debit me for the service when i cannot even use it? How about charging me the pro rata amount once the port has been successful?
3. Get your online support system back online?

 

[KinsZA]

So Vodacom told you that your number was ready for porting and it was not ?

CONTACT YOUR CURRENT SERVICE PROVIDER
Contact your current Service Provider and inform them that you wish to port your number. Once you have completed all the requirements communicated by your current Service Provider you will be able to move forward with the porting process.

 

[Tiger800]

No, Vodacom said Afrihost need to send the request from their side that its a contract, and not a PAYG request. It appears that Vodacom were ready to accept the port once it was received correctly from the Afrihost side. Even though my contract would only become PAYG at the end of the contract end period, Vodacom said they can still allow the port as they assign a temporary number to the existing contract. I double and triple checked with them about this - there was some confusion depending on who you talk to at the Vodacom side (eg. Kyle on Vodacom's online chat support said a port could only take place 6 MONTHS after the contract was moved to PAYG - LOL.)

Honestly, could write a book on the pain of just trying to cancel a contract and port it. So i have actually now cancelled my cancellation with Vodacom and will just stay with them.

If Afrihost were clearer up front about not moving a contract in the first place i wouldnt have even bothered to go for their voice service, but its easier to leave out important detail and have people commit already to a sale i guess.

 

[whatwhat]

Some contracts you can port out, it involves swopping out the contract number to a prepaid and swopping a new number (from prepaid) onto the contract.

That way you still keep paying the contract (if you cannot cancel it) but under a new number.

As with almost everything in life, you have to do your home work. Most people have no clue about the products they are selling or supporting.

 

[Ockie]

No, Vodacom said Afrihost need to send the request from their side that its a contract, and not a PAYG request. It appears that Vodacom were ready to accept the port once it was received correctly from the Afrihost side. Even though my contract would only become PAYG at the end of the contract end period, Vodacom said they can still allow the port as they assign a temporary number to the existing contract. I double and triple checked with them about this - there was some confusion depending on who you talk to at the Vodacom side (eg. Kyle on Vodacom's online chat support said a port could only take place 6 MONTHS after the contract was moved to PAYG - LOL.)

Honestly, could write a book on the pain of just trying to cancel a contract and port it. So i have actually now cancelled my cancellation with Vodacom and will just stay with them.

If Afrihost were clearer up front about not moving a contract in the first place i wouldnt have even bothered to go for their voice service, but its easier to leave out important detail and have people commit already to a sale i guess.

This is correct. If you are currently on a contract, you may port out, but the new SP needs to do it correctly on their side. They have to submit it as a contract port and enter your ID number and Vodacom account number 100%, else our system will reject it.

 

[ahoudet]

This is correct. If you are currently on a contract, you may port out, but the new SP needs to do it correctly on their side. They have to submit it as a contract port and enter your ID number and Vodacom account number 100%, else our system will reject it.

Once it's moved to prepaid, how long must I wait before porting networks?

 

[AfriGenie]

So reading all the FAQ's on how to port etc, i decided to take up an Afrihost voice option. My current contract at Vodacom is on month to month and I'm tired of paying the high fees for data on this network so the Afrihost option looked good.

To cut a long story short, despite Afrihost actually asking you on their porting FAQ if you are in a contract, i was finally told yesterday after MUCH to and fro with Afrihost via email (as their online chat is never online!! and i refuse to spend money and time on a telephone call) that i CANNOT port a contract number to Afrihost voice.

This really ticked me, especially as Afrihost have already taken a pro rata debit from my account for the service that i dont even have access to.

Why, Afrihost, can you not:

1. Actually mention you cannot move a contract number across unless its changed to PAYG first.
2. Why do you immediately debit me for the service when i cannot even use it? How about charging me the pro rata amount once the port has been successful?
3. Get your online support system back online?

Hi!

It looks like you are having a bit of trouble with the sign-up, I am sure we'll be able to get to the bottom of this!

We can indeed Port a PrePaid MTN sim card to Afrihost, but it must be a MTN PrePaid sim card. If you are on a Vodacom PrePaid package, you will need to move to MTN first.

Once you have signed up, there is an immediate pro-rata charge, this to verify your payment details, if there are any issues with the sign-up, you will be credited back the funds in full.

 

[SCHUMI-4-EVA]

Hi!

It looks like you are having a bit of trouble with the sign-up, I am sure we'll be able to get to the bottom of this!

We can indeed Port a PrePaid MTN sim card to Afrihost, but it must be a MTN PrePaid sim card. If you are on a Vodacom PrePaid package, you will need to move to MTN first.

Once you have signed up, there is an immediate pro-rata charge, this to verify your payment details, if there are any issues with the sign-up, you will be credited back the funds in full.

So you're saying he has to downgrade from Vodacom contract to Vodacom prepaid then port to MTN prepaid then get MTN to port to you?

Wow, if ever there was something deserving of the word 'rigmarole'

 

[AfriGenie]

So you're saying he has to downgrade from Vodacom contract to Vodacom prepaid then port to MTN prepaid then get MTN to port to you?

Wow, if ever there was something deserving of the word 'rigmarole'

In theory the OP should have been able to go straight to MTN PrePaid. But most Service Providers don't make that fact very clear.

 

[SCHUMI-4-EVA]

Still a rigmarole to have to change service providers before changing service providers

 

[Tiger800]

We can indeed Port a PrePaid MTN sim card to Afrihost, but it must be a MTN PrePaid sim card. If you are on a Vodacom PrePaid package, you will need to move to MTN first.

So everything you mention here is NOT mentioned in the Afrihost FAQ section. Why is it not mentioned I ask you? Because you know nobody would actually be interested then, as it's a damn schlepp to do as you say.

 

[Tiger800]

In theory the OP should have been able to go straight to MTN PrePaid. But most Service Providers don't make that fact very clear.

So let's just be clear here. Vodacom were quite happy to port my contract number. The problem lies with Afrihost who can't send the contract port request through. And again to be very clear, it's Afrihost that wasn't clear at all that it's required that only prepaid sims can be ported.

Anyway, sadly disappointed by the level of follow up I got from Afrihost to just try get to the bottom of this, so I'm actually glad I didn't end up with you.

I have requested a refund, should be interesting to see how well this is handled.

 

[AfriGenie]

So let's just be clear here. Vodacom were quite happy to port my contract number. The problem lies with Afrihost who can't send the contract port request through. And again to be very clear, it's Afrihost that wasn't clear at all that it's required that only prepaid sims can be ported.

Anyway, sadly disappointed by the level of follow up I got from Afrihost to just try get to the bottom of this, so I'm actually glad I didn't end up with you.

I have requested a refund, should be interesting to see how well this is handled.

If you check our Mobile with Voice landing page HERE you will see that we do specifically mention that we can only port MTN PrePaid sim cards to Afrihost.

If you want me to follow-up on the refund request you are more than welcome to PM me your account details.

 

[Ockie]

Once it's moved to prepaid, how long must I wait before porting networks?

immediately. You are only allowed to port every 3 months if my memory serves correctly.

 

[ahoudet]

immediately. You are only allowed to port every 3 months if my memory serves correctly.

Thank you

 

[Icemanbrfc]

So you're saying he has to downgrade from Vodacom contract to Vodacom prepaid then port to MTN prepaid then get MTN to port to you?

Wow, if ever there was something deserving of the word 'rigmarole'

um what you you on about? Afrihost only deals with MTN, as that is the relationship they hold. If a user wants to switch networks, they need to migrate from exsiting network to the other network via a port.

so if the user wants to make use of Afrihost(MTN), and he is with Vodacom on a contract, then he will have to switch it to MTN, or take out a seperate MTN sim card with Afrihost and then do the setup (think AH will do the delivery of a new sim card to the user)

he wouldnt have to port his number to Afrihost once he is on MTN, think its just a matter of getting the APN from them, and getting them to activate the users sim number and link it to Afrihost. There is nothing then stopping the user from switching between their normal MTN Apn and that of Afrihost.

 

[Icemanbrfc]

CONTACT YOUR CURRENT SERVICE PROVIDER
Contact your current Service Provider and inform them that you wish to port your number. Once you have completed all the requirements communicated by your current Service Provider you will be able to move forward with the porting process.



CANCELLATION AND HANDSET FEES
If you're currently in a contract, MTN might charge you a settlement amount for your contract and/or device. They will furnish you with the relevant details when you contact MTN on 083 1 808.

 

[Tiger800]

If you check our Mobile with Voice landing page HERE you will see that we do specifically mention that we can only port MTN PrePaid sim cards to Afrihost.

If you want me to follow-up on the refund request you are more than welcome to PM me your account details.

Specifically where does it state this? This is what's on the website relating to "Keep My Number". I don't see anything that states i must cancel my contract, move it to prepaid, then request a port from Vodacom prepaid to MTN prepaid and then only can i use Afrihost. It's really misleading, bottomline!

I have had the refund sorted thanks.



02
Keep
your
number

PORT YOUR SIM
TO AFRIHOST
IMPORTANT
Do not insert the new SIM Card in your device until you've completed all the porting steps. A new phone number will be allocated to your Afrihost SIM if you insert the card before completing the porting process. The allocation of the new number is irreversible and you will have to get a new SIM card in order to port your number to Afrihost.

Ensure both SIM Cards are RICA'ed. The SIM Card that you are porting from AND the SIM Card that you are porting to need to be RICA'ed for the porting process to work.
CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE AND SIGN UP
Sign up for one of our amazing Afrihost Mobile Packages to get things started. You can do this before or after you've ported to MTN – whichever you prefer.

View packages
CONTACT YOUR CURRENT SERVICE PROVIDER
Contact your current Service Provider and inform them that you wish to port your number. Once you have completed all the requirements communicated by your current Service Provider you will be able to move forward with the porting process.
CANCELLATION AND HANDSET FEES
If you're currently in a contract, your current Service Provider might charge you a settlement amount for your contract and/or device. They will furnish you with the relevant details with regards to porting your number.
SEND A PORT SMS FROM YOUR CURRENT SIM CARD
SMS "PortMe#NEW-SIM-NUMBER" to 083 767 8287 from your current SIM Card. Your new SIM number is located on the back of your Afrihost or MTN SIM Pack. * Standard SMS rates apply.
YOU WILL RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION SMS
You will receive an SMS, confirming whether your request was authorised or declined to port to the MTN Network. If the port is authorised, you can switch to your new SIM Card first thing the next day.
DIAL 555 TO ACTIVATE YOUR NEW SIM CARD
And finally, dial 555 to activate your new SIM Card. Once your new SIM Card has been activated, you can enjoy all the benefits of our awesome mobile offering.