PAC codes and switching
Two free text messages, thirty days, and exactly what a network is not allowed to do however its retention script sounds.
Sections on this page
The facts
- PAC
- Text to 65075
- STAC
- Text to 75075
- Arrives
- Within minutes
- Valid for
- 30 days
- The reply
- Itemises any exit charge
What it means for you
| Text this | To this number | And it does this |
|---|---|---|
| PAC | 65075 | Moves your existing number to the new network |
| STAC | 75075 | Closes the account and gives the number up |
| The reply | — | Lists any early-exit charge and outstanding phone balance before you commit |
Use PAC unless you actively want a new number. Porting costs nothing, and a number you have had for years is worth keeping.
The facts
- Refuse the code
- Not allowed
- Delay it
- Not allowed
- Attach conditions
- Not allowed
- Demand a retention call first
- Not allowed
What it means for you
Almost every obstacle people meet when leaving is a script rather than a rule.
- It cannot refuse to issue the code.
- It cannot sit on it or delay it.
- It cannot attach conditions to it.
- It cannot make a conversation with retentions a condition of leaving.
Retention offers themselves are perfectly legal and occasionally very good. They simply cannot be a toll gate. Get the code first, then listen to the offer with it already in your hand — that way you are choosing rather than asking permission.
The facts
- First
- Check coverage at your postcode
- Second
- Buy the new plan
- Third
- Text for the code
- Fourth
- Hand it over
- Fifth
- Keep the old SIM in until it moves
What it means for you
- Check coverage on the new network at your own address.
- If anything is uncertain, test it on a rolling month first.
- Buy the new plan.
- Text for the code and read the itemised reply properly.
- Hand the code to the new network and leave the old SIM in the phone until the number transfers.
- Diary a check that the final bill closes at zero.
The facts
- Complain
- In writing
- Include
- Dates, facts, outcome wanted
- Keep
- The reference
- Escalate free at
- Eight weeks or a final response
What it means for you
Put it in writing — app transcript, email or letter — with dates, facts and the outcome you want, and keep the reference number.
At eight weeks unresolved, or immediately on a final response, the case goes free to the Communications Ombudsman.
Still unsure after reading this?
Ring the desk and we will go through it with you. There is nothing to buy at any stage.