The "de-activated SIM card" seems to be a straight-up scam from the TracFone company. Here's a copy of my recent exchanges with the "Customer Service" at Tracfone;
ME: Tracfone expired the existing SIM card for this phone and de-activated the account. Because this is an emergency phone and not regularly used in our household I didn't discover the de-activation until the middle of August. I called Tracfone and was sent a new SIM card... Which wiped out all the accumulated carry-over minutes as well as the service-date. When I called customer service they were only able to restore the service date to the 11-3-11 date that had previously been on the phone but were "unable" to verify that there was any air-time in the phone prior to the de-activation and so refused to restore the time that should have been left in the phone carry-over tank. To the best of my recollection there were over 2000 units associated with this account prior to being wiped out by the new SIM card Tracfone sent. I wouldn't be quite as upset if I had requested a new SIM card or if this change was in any way initiated by us, but this was something initiated by the Tracfone company which we only discovered when the phone no longer worked for us. I have always been happy with the Tracfone service, but this in combination with a plan to drop analog reception has me very disappointed with the inability of the Tracfone company to resolve this issue to my satisfaction. I have a VERY hard time believing that company records don't allow for verification of how much time was associated with this phone prior to their de-activation of this phone and I am particularly upset that the phone would have been "de-activated" at all when I had purchased activation to 11-3-11. TRAC: Based on Tracfone policy, minutes and service days will not carry over once phone is reactivated beyond 60 days from the time of the deactivation period.
Record shows that phone was deactivated last 6/2 and was reactivated last 8/20. That's the reason why you lose the remaining minutes and service days. Thanks.
ME: I understand that this is the Tracfone policy, however we didn't know that the phone was deactivated. As far as we knew we had paid for service until 11-3-11 and only discovered the de-activation when we tried to use it some time around the first of August.
I would expect to be de-activated if we had gone past the 11-3-11 service date, but, we did not.
We had no reason to expect that Trac would de-activate phone contrary to the purchase information on our last yearly activation card and then summarily fail to honor both the service date and air-time tank associated with this phone.
I would very much appreciate an offer of resolution to my concerns. Thanks.
TRAC: We already called the appropriate department and based on their investigation, there's no minutes left on your phone. Thanks.
Thank you for being our customer. To respond, please reply to this email.
ME: Yes that's correct. "there's no minutes left on your phone", and that would be because Tracfone deleted the minutes that were paid for and accounted to the phone at the same time they de-activated the phone that was paid to be in service until 11-3-11. I still have not been given a satisfactory explanation for the de-activation of a phone with over 2000 minutes of calling time and active service paid through 11-3-11 that has caused all this trouble in the first place.
I would like to know why this phone was de-activated, please. And I would also like to know to whom I can direct my complaint regarding the emptying of my air-time minutes.
Thank you for your immediate attention to my request.
Trac: Sorry, as much as we would like to add the minutes, however it will not go through because system will prompt that there's no minutes left on the account.
You may purchase another airtime card and add it on the phone,
Thanks.
... And this is where it stands so far... TracFone has gracioously offered to let me purchase more of what they just deleted from my account... This, and of course my plan to dump TRACFONE for a different service.
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