Virgin sim let down!

Galactica

Galactica

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Been using my Sony Ericsson V600i Vodafone-branded phone for GPRS internet surfing on the Vodacom network.

Decided to get a Virgin Mobile sim for the cheaper data rates. Went to Edgars to buy the sim. Since my phone is Vodafone branded I was concerned that it might be network-locked even though I know of late that's no longer allowed. Just to be safe, before purchasing the sim I took the Virgin sales rep's VM sim and put it in my phone and it worked....it found the Virgin network.

Now that my "network-locked" fears were allayed I bought the sim (128k) and left after getting the data and mms setup instructions from the rep.

I got home and put in the sim on my phone, only to get a "Insert sim" message displayed, I tried time and again with the same result. :mad:

I don't know what to do now, please help!
 
Maybe the contacts on the sim are not making proper contact to your phone. Try to reposition the sim slightly and reboot the phone. The phone is not network locked, my wife has one. If it is network locked, the phone will say "simcard rejected".
 
Are you sure the phone supports 128k SIMs? Some don't. If that's not the problem, maybe the SIM is just defective. Have you tried it in another phone?
 
This morning I decided to call VM customer care about my problem and was told that my sim has not been activated, this despite having filled "Sign me up" forms at the Edgars store and the sales rep writing "activated in store!" on the forms.

The customer care agent told me that my sim was now activated. I inserted the sim and got the same "insert sim" problem. Now I was really fuming, called customer care again, found a certain Vivian, she told me my sim was activated and that my V600i just doesn't support 128k sims!:mad:

Why doesn't VM inform us of supported and unsupported phones before selling us these sims!? Do they only want our money regardless of whether we get the desired service or not!? The sales rep in store saw my phone, he knew it was a 128k sim but gave me no warning.

What angered me most was Vivian the customer care agent telling me "you should have asked whether the sim was compatible with your phone!". So they have information but won't give that information for fear of losing a few fraudulently gained bucks!? :mad: I'm really livid, now she tells me I have to go back all the way to Edgars to get another sim.

I was treated with disdain and it's appalling! :mad:
 
...and that's a bullsh|t story from VM, I just tried my 128k VM sim in my V600i Vodafone branded phone and it works fine. Something might not be right on the sim or the phone in your case.
 
Virgin really hasn't lived up to their usual international standard here, hopefully the new CEO'll make a difference.
 
I think it's a local thing (except, of course, for the terrible service of the Sort Me Out Centre), because the VM people at Musica in Canal Walk went to the trouble to check compatibility with my phone before selling me the SIM without any prompting. I got a 64k SIM, however.
 
Went back to Edgars and it seems my phone doesn't support 128k sims (strange considering adsl3g's experience) because the same sim worked on the sales rep's phone (a nokia...can't remember model) and again his 64k works on my phone.

He says he is not aware of the compatibility issue, he called VM and they gave me a number I should call so that I could be given a 64k sim....to be delivered all the way from head-office because apparently they only have 128ks' at Edgars (I wonder why when they don't seem sure themselves whether 128k sims are supported by all phones).

So I will give the lady a call and from then on it will be a waiting game for the delivery.
 
I think you ought to understand that there is a Virgin knowledge hierarchy. The data helpdesk (when they bother to call back) are at the top of the tree. Virgin operators will transfer you to them. Then comes the Musica store people. Last in the chain are the Edcon staff. Despite the lady in CNA wearing a Virgin t-shirt and standing behind a Virgin logo, she is NOT trained to do anything more complex than sell you a sim and airtime. Virgin have not made this clear to their customers IMHO.
 
Apparently there's a newer 128k sim that should work on my phone, I was promised delivery of that and the 64k sim just in case. The promise was that it would be delivered today but that didn't happen. :(
 
128k sim -long wait

I am still waiting for my replacement 128k sim to be activated four weeks after receipt. Several calls to Support desk, promises of activation in a "couple of days", old sim still active. Want to put it in my HTC Tytn so using MTN in the meantime.
Now you say there is another 128k sim in the pipeline. Oh boy!
 
i went to the sandton VM store, got approved -> got phone -> got activated within 40 mins.... (thought i would at least post one positive story :p)
 
sky.akash said:
VM's internationally renowned service is experiencing a South African contamination issue :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


Only problem with support at mobisms is that they couldn't care less if you have a problem or not. I purchased airtime and couldn't send any sms to my fiancee in Indonesia. I wrote two e-mails and i know that the first one was deleted without been read so second one is gone too. Will have to use the credits for local sms, but will not leave it as it is as i've been ripped off:mad:
 
What I fail to understand with Virgin Mobile is their total lack of interest in marketing their SIM packs through the cellular trade? There are plenty of independant cellular outlets.

Who would you rather purchase your SIM card from a: A girl who usually sells frilly knickers on another counter or b: Someone who actually knows the cellular trade? OK a: but she'd have to be good looking :)

At nearly R90 a pack, I can't honestly accept that VM feel that they might get their SIM packs sold on street corners by "casual traders" it all seems very odd for a new company trying to make a business work?

Any e-mail to VM on this subject goes unanswered as do e-mails to their UK offices... :confused:
 
JimM said:
What I fail to understand with Virgin Mobile is their total lack of interest in marketing their SIM packs through the cellular trade? There are plenty of independant cellular outlets.

Who would you rather purchase your SIM card from a: A girl who usually sells frilly knickers on another counter or b: Someone who actually knows the cellular trade? OK a: but she'd have to be good looking :)

At nearly R90 a pack, I can't honestly accept that VM feel that they might get their SIM packs sold on street corners by "casual traders" it all seems very odd for a new company trying to make a business work?

Any e-mail to VM on this subject goes unanswered as do e-mails to their UK offices... :confused:
Click to expand...

I believe that the sim cards now cost R 55.00 and ur right they never do answer their e-mails. I have a gripe with them over V rewards as i have spent in excess of R 3000.00 and never received one V reward, also in their sim pack they have a booklet which offers you R 100 free airtime if you have a Virgin credit card well that i didn't get either. Sounds to me that they're just a bunch of rip off artists. Last but least for 6 months they have been working on one problem and that is for my fiancee in Indonesia to send sms to my Virgin simcard and still nothing happening.

"Talk is cheap, money buys the whisky"

So think twice before buying a Virgin sim card you're bound to get ripped off somewhere
 
hellopeter works better than an e-mail to Virgin. Did you send it to the right people?

The VRewards are being done in small batches so they may not have received yours yet.

Re. the Indonesian saga. That problem seems rediculous in this day and age. Mind you, we still can't send MMSs to Europe from Vodacom sims. They've been 'negotiating' that for years. Anyone know if Virgin is the same?? I would try but dont want to waste airtime.
 
I thought Virgin would make it simple to SMS/MMS/Call anywhere in the world, since it is a global company. All of this sounds a bit ridiculous, I must say. It's like we're being cut off from the rest of the world. It's not just a VM thing, it's all the mobile networks.
 
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