The SIM Swap Saga - [website] Published: 19th of Oct 2011 by: Miss Knowitall
Having recently had my cell phone stolen and not wanting to lose the number people have been calling me on for years, I’ve decided to do a SIM swap...
...but calling customer service has left me with far more questions than answers.
I know that when getting a new SIM card you’ve got to take your ID and proof of residence (RICA advertising made that abundantly clear, didn’t it?), but surely I’ve got to prove that the number I claim was mine actually belonged to me in the first place, or is that not necessary because of RICA?
I’d been told that I needed to take an affidavit from the police stating that my phone had been stolen, or that I would have to know the last five numbers I’d dialled before being parted from my phone (out of my head nogal!), when I went to do the SIM swap, but wanting to make doubly sure I didn’t leave anything behind when I went to the store I called customer enquiries to check.
There are a few things I intensely dislike about calling customer enquiries at really big companies; allow me to list them:
1. The recorded voice that greets you and proceeds to play a loop of options for you to choose from, but doesn’t offer “Speak to a human being” as an option (This particular voice seemed to get increasingly irritated when I didn’t select an option)
2. The fact that the options are so generic that you’re bound to end up listening to five minutes of information you already know before eventually hanging up
3. The elevator music that accompanies your wait for a real-live person, which wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t interrupted every 30 seconds with a recorded reminder of how important your call is
But I usually find that when I get through to someone with a pulse they’re friendly and efficient and my queries are solved within minutes. But not this time.
The operator, who was as friendly as I imagine Oprah is, told me that all I needed to take was my ID and proof of residence, but that I couldn’t do the SIM swap over the phone. I asked about needing to know the last five numbers dialled or having an affidavit from the police and was told that no, all I needed was my ID and proof of residence.
How incredibly simple, I thought.
Until the operator said, “Having an affidavit would just be a bonus.”
What exactly does that mean? The reason I called was because I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed when going to do the SIM swap, so either I need it or I don’t. If having an affidavit from the police is a “bonus” then does that mean without one there’s a chance I might be turned away?
I think it’s possible the operator didn’t know the answer to my question and instead of saying, “Just let me check for you…”, instead just winged it, but look at the results it’s had – a page-long rant and no real resolution. I guess I’ll have to call again…
