Converting to 4U Zero from prepaid

[CathJ]

I'm looking at converting from prepaid to a 4U Zero contract, to take advantage of the smaller data bundles (since it doesn't look like those will ever come to prepaid).

I thought I'd seen v3g say that you can convert and avoid paying the connection fee of R199, but the guy I spoke to at CelluCity says you only avoid the sim fee, not the connection fee. That doesn't really make it cost effective - the per mb saving on a small bundle compared to oob rates isn't that great, and it would take a while to save enough to cancel out the R199!

Has anyone done this? Where did you do it, and how much did you pay? (I would search the forum and check, but the search engine refuses to search for the words 4U and Zero, on the basis that they're too short and too common).

 

[ic]

I'm looking at converting from prepaid to a 4U Zero contract, to take advantage of the smaller data bundles (since it doesn't look like those will ever come to prepaid).

I thought I'd seen v3g say that you can convert and avoid paying the connection fee of R199, but the guy I spoke to at CelluCity says you only avoid the sim fee, not the connection fee. That doesn't really make it cost effective - the per mb saving on a small bundle compared to oob rates isn't that great, and it would take a while to save enough to cancel out the R199!

Has anyone done this? Where did you do it, and how much did you pay? (I would search the forum and check, but the search engine refuses to search for the words 4U and Zero, on the basis that they're too short and too common).

I went the route of converting a pre-paid SIM card to a [searchforum]4U [Zero] contract[/searchforum], and I don't remember now what I was charged - I vaguely remember that the bill from VSP didn't charge me for the conversion & SIM card, but I could easily have paid in-store and just don't remember doing so.

Q: Any particular reason why you want a Data Bundle size <500MB ? - is it for use on a cellery phone for browsing the net & MXit etc?

 

[SecretCode]

Q: Any particular reason why you want a Data Bundle size <500MB ?

fwiw, I'd go for smaller bundles because I use mobile data only for exceptional work things. I have ADSL at home and normally I have an internet connection at client sites, but obviously they block some things - most annoyingly access to external pop3 servers and even web access to webmail sites.

I didn't even use 100MB this month.

 

[Johnit]

I bought prepaid and converted to 4U contract at Tygerberg Valley Vodashop - cannot recall significant cost (i.e. cost me R10 or so). This Vodashop was one of the few that knew about the 4U contract and they were very friendly and efficient.

 

[CathJ]

Q: Any particular reason why you want a Data Bundle size <500MB ? - is it for use on a cellery phone for browsing the net & MXit etc?

Mostly, yeah. I'm not using the net much at home lately, but when things get a bit more settled I plan to use an old phone as a modem to connect my laptop, until I can get ADSL installed. At that point I'd like to get a bundle, but be able to use it on my cell as well as my 'modem' - but that means another connection fee and a R9 monthly charge for DataSIM. So I'd probably want a smaller bundle in addition to a bigger one then, too.

 

[ajax]

Mostly, yeah. I'm not using the net much at home lately, but when things get a bit more settled I plan to use an old phone as a modem to connect my laptop, until I can get ADSL installed. At that point I'd like to get a bundle, but be able to use it on my cell as well as my 'modem' - but that means another connection fee and a R9 monthly charge for DataSIM. So I'd probably want a smaller bundle in addition to a bigger one then, too.

You do not need a second bundle. The datasim is like a clone of your primary simcard. Everything you do on the datasim goes off the same account as your primary sim. So you buy one single bundle and both simcards use the same bundle. The only difference between the two simcards is that the datasim does not allow any voice traffic. Only sms and data connections are allowed.

I am sharing a 500 MB bundle with a good friend of mine. I am using his datasim. We each get to use 250 MB a month, but at the much lower per MB price of the 500 MB bundle.

 

[CathJ]

You do not need a second bundle. The datasim is like a clone of your primary simcard. Everything you do on the datasim goes off the same account as your primary sim.

Sure. My point was that while DataSIM would let me share a bundle, I don't really feel like paying another connection fee and a totally gratuitous R9 per month just for that privilege - hence, I'll probably not go for datasim, and would prefer a large bundle on my secondary (used for data only) sim, and a smaller bundle on my primary (used for voice and data) sim.

Of course, if we had rollover I wouldn't mind getting a larger bundle on my voice sim, but that's another thread altogether...

[Edit] Actually, it's not a 2nd connection fee I'd have to pay, it would be the R105 sim fee for the datasim. So the total costs for me would be: R199 activation for converting my prepaid sim to 4U contract + R105 for a data sim + R9 per month.

 

[ajax]

[Edit] Actually, it's not a 2nd connection fee I'd have to pay, it would be the R105 sim fee for the datasim. So the total costs for me would be: R199 activation for converting my prepaid sim to 4U contract + R105 for a data sim + R9 per month.

I didn't pay a connection or a sim fee when I converted a prepaid sim to contract. They said I would, but I didn't. Same with 2 friends of mine. That was at Cellucity.

But you can't escape the fee for the datasim. It is strange that I payed R59 for a prepaid simswop last week, yet the datasim fee is R100

The R9 per month is negligible compared to the saving in "sharing" a bundle.

 

[CathJ]

I'm looking at converting from prepaid to a 4U Zero contract, to take advantage of the smaller data bundles (since it doesn't look like those will ever come to prepaid).

I thought I'd seen v3g say that you can convert and avoid paying the connection fee of R199, but the guy I spoke to at CelluCity says you only avoid the sim fee, not the connection fee.

Any vodacom reps here to comment on the official line? I tried emailing customer care, but two days later got a reply, under my subject line, dealing with another guy's enquiry. Shockingly bad customer service, really.

 

[CathJ]

Any vodacom reps here to comment on the official line? I tried emailing customer care, but two days later got a reply, under my subject line, dealing with another guy's enquiry. Shockingly bad customer service, really.

Now I really need help from v3g, if he's around...

The reply from from Customer Care says "Kindly be advised that a 4U contract in only offered to existing contract subscribers once their contract term expires."

This clearly isn't true; even the Cellucity guy was willing it to convert it if I paid the R199 connection fee.

 

[vodacom3g]

Now I really need help from v3g, if he's around...

The reply from from Customer Care says "Kindly be advised that a 4U contract in only offered to existing contract subscribers once their contract term expires."

This clearly isn't true; even the Cellucity guy was willing it to convert it if I paid the R199 connection fee.

Always lurking....

PM me as complete a story as you can, what you want to do, etc. Include all your contact details as well as a mail account. Write it in such a way that I can just copy it onto mail and get you in the loop.

 

[CathJ]

Always lurking....

PM me as complete a story as you can, what you want to do, etc. Include all your contact details as well as a mail account. Write it in such a way that I can just copy it onto mail and get you in the loop.

Done, thanks. Appreciate your help

 

[cjm]

My wife's contract has expired a few months ago, and we've just been using it as-is since then. I would actually like to convert this to a 4U Contract but was told by a Vodashop these contracts are only offered by special ?4U shops?, and Vodashop could not offer me the contract. They could only put me on a reduced business package on a new contract to take me down from +- R350 per month to +-R75 per month.

Has anyone had experience with this? I would think all Vodashops would sell all Vodacom packages?

Sounds like it might be time to switch Vodashop's ?

 

[ajax]

It's more a matter of they don't WANT to offer the 4U contract. The 4U shop in Stellenbosch told me only the Vodashops offer this. Thing is, the shops don't get any commission on the 4U contract (AFAIK).

Try a Vodacare shop.

 

[CathJ]

My wife's contract has expired a few months ago, and we've just been using it as-is since then. I would actually like to convert this to a 4U Contract but was told by a Vodashop these contracts are only offered by special ?4U shops?, and Vodashop could not offer me the contract. They could only put me on a reduced business package on a new contract to take me down from +- R350 per month to +-R75 per month.

Has anyone had experience with this? I would think all Vodashops would sell all Vodacom packages?

Sounds like it might be time to switch Vodashop's ?

The third reply I got from VC when asking said "all applications for a 4U contract needs to be done at a 4U store". There's also a standard connection fee of R97.00.

 

[cjm]

Thanks for the info, I'll try to track down a 4U store