Wednesday, August 7, 2013

SIM Card Hell



Back in February, I went back to England to visit my Dad. I have an old unused Blackberry, so I thought I would just take it with me, buy a SIM Card,  on account of the last trip and the extortionately large bill I received when I got back to Vashon for using my US phone for 1 call.

Simple idea, but as it turns out, it was a nightmare to arrange. I ended up buying a new cheap phone in England, and apart from the problems setting it up through T-Mobile a carrier who shall remain anonymous. I mean, their input template wouldn't recognize a period FFS. Have you ever tried to type in an e-mail address without being able to use the "." function? I ended up opening a word document, typing in .com, and pasting it in to the required field. Several sweary words later, I managed to open an account and make a call.

When I got home, I decided to give the phone to my 9 year old son, who is getting more independant by the day. I thought, mistakenly as it turns out, that if I bought a US SIM Card, it would work just fine. $10 later, I installed the new SIM Card, only to get this error message, "Not Compatible."

What is not compatible?

The phone, the card, me and my wife, or some other piece of nonsense?

It didn't say.

By now, the normally sedate Legend's blood pressure was causing my eyes to bulge as I headed off Island to find a card that would work. I popped into Target and was helped by a nice young man who wanted to be my best friend, and couldn't do enough for me. He promised that if the T-Mobile card  didn't work, he would refund the money (another $10), an option I partook of the very next day because it was the wrong f***ing size.

By now, my heart was keeping time to a Gloria Estefan Conga as I headed towards a T-Mobile store, fully intent on doing someone bodily harm if this was not resolved.
The salesperson took the phone, opened it up, inserted the right size of SIM Card, opened the account and handed it back to me and said, "This should work now." I paid another $10 for the new card, and a $10 top up for service.

I switched it on and got a "No Service" message.

"It appears to be NOT working now," I said with only a slight hint of malice.

"Oh, did you say you bought it in England?"

"I did."


"Oh, It is probably locked for use in England and won't work in the USA."

I grabbed him by the throat and flung him to the floor and started to beat him senseless with my English f***ing useless phone. Actually, I didn't do that, but I SO wanted to. Instead,I asked him politely why he sold me the new card and accepted my money if he KNEW it was not going to work.
I think there may have been a few expletives in there also, on account of the manager coming over to intervene.

He apologised, and then offered to sell me a phone that would work which would cost another $49.99.

I offered to insert it up his rectum.

I left the store in a mood that, let's say, could only be described as uncharitable, and went to search for a new phone. This was my last chance to avoid a hefty jail sentence as a result of strangling someone, so I headed off to the Seattle Mall.

I did find one, and paid the more reasonable $29.99.
I now have to charge it up. Of course, the charger doesn't fit any of the other devices we have, so I have to buy something that will work in the car too.

Sometimes good ideas just don't work that well.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Wally,
    You are way to kind to stop by to give me a heads up on my painting of whites, yet to hear that you have painted your chicken coop white letting the time of nature distress it is the best kind of white. Of course I would have painted it and distressed right then and there to nudge it along and then let nature do the rest :)

    I think next you need a rustic chandelier in the coop or galvanized bucket or funnel turned into a pendant light of sorts :))
    Would love to see you post something in the way of your coop and some of the beauty in Washington State Vashon Island, I so miss living in Washington and on Lake Washinton.

    I think you have truly missed your calling, you so should be writing for a news paper column as a columnist!!
    It would be so enjoyable, funny, and so right on spot to what we would all be thinking but would not have the nerve to write it or could write it in your humor :))

    Thank you for making life easy knowing we're not the only ones with drama!
    Oh!, did your son finally get his phone? I hope so:))

    Xx
    Doré

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Doré,
      He did get his phone and I am loving getting his little calls, just to say hi. I posted a blog about Vashon some time ago. You might want to see it.
      http://forbesbell.blogspot.com/2010/10/lobbying-for-vashon.html


      Thanks for your reply. They are always welcome.

      Delete
  2. .....I haven't an effing clue what you're on about as I am of the rare, no, the VERY rare species (well, me and the local nursing home residents) that do without one. Seriously - I'm mostly land line and this old contraption I'm typing on. RIP Basildon Bond....†

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish I could go back. Life was so much more simple.

      Delete
  3. hey nice post



    http://www.videocontelecom.com/prepaid-services.php

    ReplyDelete

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