"Free" minutes are not transferrable. They may cut your phone off
I ported a number to a Net10 Nokia 1600. Then I got the new Motorola EM326g ($60.00 and it is available on the site as of today) and I did an online tranfser to it on the 28th. The number and the existing minutes and service days transfered as well. The system has been allowing transfers for over a year now and CS was doing them long before that.
Today the phone shows unregistered sim. I called CS and was told that the phone was deactivated because it had received more than 300 free minutes at activation. I told her I had upgraded from another phone. I provided the serial number for that phone and was told that the minutes transfered were free minutes and were not allowed to be transfered.
I explained that it was their system, not mine, and that the online process did not give me an option to not transfer the minutes. I was told numerous times, they fully understand what the system will allow, but that still does not mean that it should be done that way.
I got cut off while waiting for a supervisor. I called Miami and went through a csr and 2 supervisors but they would not let me talk to loss prevention.
I told them I understood the policy, which must be new, of not transferring free minutes and asked for the phone to be reactivated with the remaining 288.5 minutes and 50 days from the phones activation. The phone can not be released for reactivation even with an airtime card until LP released the phone. They want me to fax proof of purchase for the phone the free minutes were transfered from, even though they are not going to give me those minutes.
"Once the phone is suspected of fraudulent action it cannot be reacitvated until the stated proceedure is complete".
I asked to speak to his supervisor and he said he was the head floor supervisor. I asked to speak to loss prevention and he said he could not do that unless they request to speak to me, which they did not.
I told him I did not have a receipt for the Nokia 1600 but I had the phone and the package that it came in. He said if I knew where I had purchased the phone I could take it back the they could give me a duplicate receipt. I said "Yea right, you are way out there on that one." He said if I could not provide the receipt then they could not release the phone.
So, unless you have had your current phone for a while and have already used all the free mintues, I would think hard before upgrading to a new phone, daisy chaining phones or activating one with any minutes transfered from another. If you have used all the free minutes and have added an airtime card to your phone at some point before you do the upgrade then you may be alright.
But remember, if they want to cut it off they will. So have your receipts handy. You will have to provide the proof of purchase for the phones that you transfered, but they won't let you keep the minutes from the phones.
I know someone else that has had legit tracfones turned off in the last couple of days because the name in the system for the old phone did not match the name in the system for the new phone. He also was told the same thing I was told. Free minutes are not to be transfered to another phone.
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