Port into existing Vodacom contract?

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seven7seven

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Hi,

My Dad passed away three weeks ago and he had (through our company) a Vodacom contract that still has 10 months left.

Instead of canceling the contract (or just let it run its term unused - both options costly) I'd like to 'take over' the contract by porting in my MTN (Nashua Mobile) number - effectively 'replacing' the contract's number.

The contract does not need to be transferred/ceded, only the cell number needs to be changed.

I spoke to someone at a Vodacom store today and they said that this is not possible.
However, I can't see why not - isn't that the whole point of mobile number portability?

I found this thread which deals with the same issue, but the OP never posted if they eventually succeeded or not :/

Can anyone please tell me A) Can (has) this be (been) done B) How to go about it

In the other thread someone suggested I first port my MTN number to Vodacom Prepaid and then try port into the Vodacom contract to make the request 'easier' for Vodacom to understand.

All help is appreciated - if I can successfully pull this off it'll save us over R2k.


Thanks! :D
 
Sorry about your loss, but AFAIK its not possible to port a number to "override" an existing one. The Only port I know off is when your contract with one Service provider is over you can move it to another, while still keeping your number. IE: you have to take out a new contract, However it can still be done on the same "Primary account" Company account. Best option for you would be to cancel the old contract (your dads) or convert yours to prepaid and use his...
 
A few years ago, I did exactly the same thing, for the same reasons, on MTN. Thanks to the help of a friendly person in the MTN legal department, it was done without a problem.

We were all on MTN though, didn't have Vodacom involved in any way, so it was just the swapping numbers part, and the contract switch etc.
 
Also my condolences. Zakdoc is right you can't swap a number on any existing contract (not even on the same network, I tried with MTN). The number is attached to the contract for the full duration and neither can be separated. You'll have to use both or cancel your own.
 
oronte said:
Also my condolences. Zakdoc is right you can't swap a number on any existing contract (not even on the same network, I tried with MTN). The number is attached to the contract for the full duration and neither can be separated. You'll have to use both or cancel your own.
Click to expand...

I did it. Trust me.

In case of death like this, you just have to run everything through MTNSP legal dept rather than the untrained voice on the other end of 808.
 
Physically and legally it is possible, but will be difficult. I think Dean has the best idea of working through their legal department, as the 808 voices are generally either unwilling or untrained to help. The easiest way to do things (from VC's side) is to simply cancel the contract and open a new one with the same terms and conditions for the remainder of the duration of the contract. You'll need to write an formal letter stating exactly what you want to do, and confirming that you're not going to expect VC to give you another new handset on this contract.

I've done something similar after a porting mixup with VC, though my "new" contract was still unused (though activated) and the time frame was still the original 24 months. The Vodacom4U store where I signed the contract (and who caused the porting mixup) initially asked me a cancellation fee, as well as payment for the full contract duration. I'd then had to sign a new contract, effectively paying for two contracts while using only one. I went to hellopeter, after which a VC rep contacted me. She took a while (the process is a workaround, not an official VC process), but was eventually able to assist me. She informed me that VC does not have the cancellation fee, and organized that the faulty contract be nulled and voided, on condition that I sign a new, identical contract. Once that was done everything worked out well.
 
Thanks guys.

I'm going to try find a helpful person in Vodacom's legal department and hopefully will get sorted.

I'll post back my results!
 
Round 1 was unsuccessful. I spoke to someone in the Legal Department, who then handed me to someone in Cancellations, who then handed me to someone in Customer Acquisitions - who then told me it just couldn't be done.


Round 2: I'm gonna post on HelloPeter and see if that works.

Perhaps them refusing to do so violates ICASA's MNP rules?
 
The contract was as it says, a contract meaning that your dad signed up for 24 months. Sincing he unfortunately passed away, that contract is not valid, therefore you can win step 1. Had it been your contract on your name that your father had been using then the scenario would be different. I suggest you tell them that you have the death certificate in your posession and can fax it through as proof and then see what it may lead to.

Why don't you just use the contract until it expires or maybe just downgrade it to suit your budget.
 
Richard, speak to a manager in the legal department. Find out if they'd prefer you cancel the contract, or transfer the number.
I have a feeling I know which one they'll pick.
 
A few weeks ago I started up a new contract and received a new number which I didn't want. You can see my thread here which I've just updated.

So it is possible to do, they're just reluctant to offer it as a common service.
 
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