Haven't had a chance to blog before now, but Saturday, as soon as we got off the coach in Dorset, Dad took us down to Poole to pick up my replacement Nokia E61. Phew. I have to say, the staff in the Poole Carphone Warehouse were lovely, and the entire unpleasant experience was very much softened by their kindness, and by the efficiency of the Carphone Warehouse's insurance department, who didn't quibble at all about replacing my mobile even though I'd had it such a short time. Even the excess, which I expected to be quite a lot, was only 30 quid. Compared to the 200 quid nature of the phone, that's trivial.
In fact, I wouldn't ever buy direct from a phone provider now, as I always have in the past – I will always go to the Carphone Warehouse, and I will always buy their insurance. Especially now that I'm hooked on smartphones and am unlikely to go back to the kinds of cheap, minimalist phones that you can easily replace at little cost.
That said, I'm much more aware now that having a flashy phone makes you a target, and being 'normally so careful' – as my amazed parents described me as they tried to comprehend that their diligent daughter had had her phone nicked – isn't good enough. You have to always be careful.
I will, therefore, be much less likely to use my phone outside and in public unless I really, really have to. Which somewhat makes a mockery of bothering to have a phone that's mobile, but I just don't want to go through all that again.
One annoying point, though, is that I can't transfer my number over from Orange to O2, because unlike T-Mobile who will transfer your number at any time after you've bought your phone, 02 want you to do it at the time you buy, so I'm too late. Rats. So it's a new phone number for me, whether I like it or not. Which is a bummer as I've just sent out Christmas cards with the wrong phone number in. Oops.
Anyway, all's well that ends well, and frankly it's not like I'm not easily found online if people really want to find me.
I've got my replacement phone
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congrats, nice xmas gift to an otherwise shitty event
If you're going to lose a phone, it's probably within the first six months of owning it because new phones have easy resale value when stolen.
I just cancelled all my phone insurance because my gadget drawer contains three fully operational mobile phones. I figure as long as I keep syncing their address books I'll be in good shape even if my main phone goes missing.
You mean they don't have compulsory number portability in the UK like they have here in the States? In most areas, you can port a number anytime you'd like assuming you can prove you own it.
Wouldn't you think that, with all the wonders of modern technology, there should be a way of a call to your old 'phone number could be diverted to your new one?
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumeradvice/mobile/switching/number/
Ofcom says
It’s quite easy to take your mobile phone number with you if you switch to another network. This is known as mobile number portability. You will need to ask your existing mobile company for a PAC (Porting Authorisation Code) before you cancel the service. The PAC enables you to transfer your number to another network.
To take your number with you when you change companies, make sure you do the following:
*Phone up the customer services staff at your current mobile phone company and tell them you want to leave for another company.
*Tell the customer services staff that you want to take your mobile number with you. Then ask them for a Porting Authorisation Code (PAC). This is a reference number which you will need to quote when moving your mobile number from one company to another.
*Tell your new mobile phone company that you want to use your existing mobile number, then give your new company your Porting Authorisation Code (PAC).
Some mobile phone companies can charge a fee to move your number. If you are experiencing problems taking your number with you to another network, please see http://www.ofcom.org.uk/complain/mobile/company/porting/
Uncanny. I got an E61 at the start of the month. Got it off eBay as I didn't think it was worth getting locked into it on a new contract for 12 months when so many new models are due out in the spring – an E61i with camera was mooted but hasn't yet surfaced and the E95 regular phone with 5mp camera and built-in GPS is due early in '07.
Happily enjoying the phone apart from lack of camera and the built-in mail client isn't playing too nice with gMail so I'm using it via the web.
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