Do you have a mobile phone that you hardly use. Does a relative or friend have a pay as you go (PAYG) mobile that they keep as a standby? In fact please check any phone that you use infrequently and use as a standby mobile phone number. A lot of people have a PAYG phone kept aside for emergency use only. Whether that is for the owner to make a call or to allow others contact the owner it is important to keep that phone number active so you don’t lose your standby mobile phone number.
There is a little known business rule employed by mobile phone number operators that if a phone’s SIM card is not used enough, that the SIM card will be deactivated. The time before deactivation varies by company.
For some smaller companies it can be as little as after 70 days of not using the phone. Other companies give you longer. Vodaphone typically allow 9 months.
Most companies send a warning text before the the deadline. Unfortunately if this is before you next use the phone, then it will be too late!
Standby Mobile Phone Number – Unused Credit
Ok so not great finding your PAYG mobile no longer works when you eventually come to use it. In fact I’m sure many of you may find it a lot more than just inconvenient.
To add insult to injury, you will also lose any unused call credit. What’s it may not be possible to recover that credit from the mobile phone operator. This is because the company will no longer be able to access your account as you no longer have the SIM phone number. The operating company are legally in their rights to do this too.
Why do Companies Deactivate Little Used Mobile Phone Numbers?
Well it is not malicious as it may first appear. The underlying drive is due to the increasing use of mobile numbers and the concern that the amount of numbers available for use may actually run out. This is why they have a rule that after a number of days of inactivity the mobile number may be reallocated.
How to Avoid Losing Your Standby Mobile Phone Number
Making sure You don’t lose your standby mobile phone number is a simple thing to do. Make a short call or send a simple brief text every few months.
Hope this is helpful
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