Check if You've Any Unused Boost SIM from The Groupon Deal Back in Feb 2017

Love a bargain on 25/10/2017 - 16:35
Last edited 24/05/2018 - 01:35 by 1 other user

If, like me, you've any unused Boost SIM from this deal, you should check whether they are still valid. You can do so by going to the activation page, put in the SIM number and click "check number".

I have two left.

Tried to activate one yesterday and the system said the SIM is invalid and couldn't be activated. Complained to Boost (got given a big runaround between many of their teams) and was told they'd get back to me (which of course does not happen).

Tried the remaining one today and the webpage also showed that it's invalid. Called Boost again to add that to the original complaint and was told that they have decided that they would not provide me with any replacement starter kit because it's over 30 days since purchase (despite the fact that I should have 18 months to activate the kits).

Just contacted Groupon and was told they'd escalate/investigate.

Mobile Prepaid Mobile Plan SIM Card

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Comments

  • Nomic on 25/10/2017 - 16:48

    Dammit! "The SIM is not available for activation. Please enter a different SIM serial number." The one I used last month worked fine.

    Was going to use this one next month too…

  • tunzafun001 on 25/10/2017 - 16:50
    +1

    TIO

    • Love a bargain on 25/10/2017 - 16:51

      That's my next step if Groupon can't straighten them out.

      • tunzafun001 on 25/10/2017 - 16:53

        Lodge it now. They then have 10 days from when you lodge. I waited the 48 hrs, then 5 days, then another 24hrs Optus told me to wait. Net result, issue started on the 4th Oct, I still have no working phone, TIO cant act until the 27th Oct.

        • Love a bargain on 25/10/2017 - 16:55

          I've already activated the free Kogan SIM from last week's deal so I'm not desperate. Can't live without a phone.

      • Diji1 on 25/10/2017 - 17:31
        +2

        Don't bother, seriously. Just TIO. Part of telco tactics is delaying people until they go away. It's a waste of time, just TIO now.

  • rzrz on 25/10/2017 - 16:51

    My SIM was not working too, Boost chat told me it was a damaged SIM and told me to buy a $2 SIM and transfer the credit over.

    • Love a bargain on 25/10/2017 - 16:52
      +4

      I refused that suggestion out of principal. Why should I have to pay an extra $2 for a SIM & have to call them up to plead my case every time I want to use a starter kit I've purchased.

      I don't believe it's a matter of damaged SIM either. I reckon that Boost has made all the SIMs invalid after a short time despite the supposedly long validity.

  • tomclancy on 25/10/2017 - 17:23

    OP I'm in the same boat as you. Two Boost SIMs that are now invalid. Already contacts Groupon for a replacement/refund and they said they will respond with an answer in 7 days. Boost just gave me the run around and told me to visit a Telstra Shop with the groupon receipt and they would be able to swap it for me, but I haven't had a chance to try that yet.

    • Love a bargain on 25/10/2017 - 17:46

      I wasn't even offered this option. However, I struggle to see how staff at a Telstra staff would be able to offer replacement Boost SIM kit.

      • tomclancy on 25/10/2017 - 18:43

        I thought the same thing. But if I'm walking past a Telstra Shop in the next couple of days I'll pop in and report back

      • tomclancy on 27/10/2017 - 16:06

        FYI - I just heard back from Groupon. They have offered me a refund of 'Groupon credit' only which must be used on their website and valid for 30 days :(

        Looks like I'll be taking this up with TIO now…

        • Love a bargain on 27/10/2017 - 16:26

          That's no deal man.

          I will bring up false representation, the trade practices act and anything alike if they give me this same offer and see if I can at least press for a refund.

        • HomeAlone on 12/11/2017 - 10:18
          +1

          They offered me the Groupon credit also.

          I replied reminding them that refunds must be provided in the same form as the original payment.

          https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees…

          18 hours later the money was in my Paypal account.

      • tomclancy on 02/11/2017 - 13:19

        A further update:

        I called Boost customer service (1800026678 > 5) and spoke to a helpful CSR who checked everything and advised that both sims are actually Telstra sims. Weird because I've opened the starter packs and the SIMs clearly have boost mobile printed on them.

        The CSR said they have $10 Telstra credit on them (not the $30 as per the packaging). Sure enough I went to https://www.telstra.com.au/activate and am able to initiate activation based on the mobile number on the back of the starter pack. Worryingly, however, when I try to initiate activation at https://www.telstra.com.au/activate using the SIM serial I get an error message. The Boost CSR advised that if I activate at https://www.telstra.com.au/activate then I will be able to at least use the $10 credit on the Day2Day prepaid option. The Boost CSR also kindly offered to post out 2 blank Boost SIMs which I could then request the $10 credit be transferred to and activated on Boost - for 7 days worth of mobile credit each.

        Think I'll just hit up TIO now and instead try to get Boost to send out two $30 SIM starter packs as replacement.

        FYI - the helpful CSR said Groupon is not an official reseller of Boost SIMs so she doesn't know how Groupon got their hands on them.

        • Love a bargain on 02/11/2017 - 14:24
          +1

          They've tried to pull the you bought it from Groupon so you should talk to them line on me too.

          I'd imagine Groupon is not a reseller because Groupon ran the promotion campaign in conjunction with Boost (just like any other restaurant, activities, wellness deals), which is also supported by the fact that our starter kits were dispatched to us directly by Boost.

          I also suspect that Boost has also "outsourced" the entire CS function to Telstra too. The online chat transcript I got was from a Telstra email account, and when I asked a CS to send something to me by email, that also came from a Telstra email account.

          So for them to say that our Boost SIMs are in effect Telstra SIMs are effectively passing the ball from one hand to the other.

  • Lets Go Brandon on 06/11/2017 - 05:16

    Anybody made progress yet?

  • NeoX on 06/11/2017 - 10:57

    Guys, had the same problem. It's apparently expired in October of 2017 not 2020 as says on the package.

    SAVE the package and complain to Boost etc.

    Took me 1 week to get it sorted.

    • Love a bargain on 06/11/2017 - 11:10

      What is the solution offered by Boost?

  • NeoX on 06/11/2017 - 11:21

    They gave me the credit that was what the sim was for. $30 starter pack. KEEP all your packaging etc and expect about a week of back and forth with boost! Annoying as hell but lucky I don't have anymore starter pack from boost.

    • Love a bargain on 06/11/2017 - 17:29
      +1

      Does that mean you'll need to buy a $2 SIM & they'll put the credit on that account?

      • NeoX on 06/11/2017 - 19:01

        Yeah I had to do that. I just wanted to get it sorted as I had no phone lol

        Didn't ask for my $2 back :( I'm not a true Ozbargainer.

  • Helldog on 12/11/2017 - 18:55

    OP, please refer Groupon to this thread. I bought 2 and activated mine back in March of this year with no issues.

    I bought the other one for my sister, expiry date was October 2020. She went to activate it prior to heading to remote WA for work to get a better shot at coverage. The website was down for maintenance at night so she did the activation through live chat in early October. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the port didn't work and she had to get on the plane and head up to Broome. After many calls to Boost, she ended up managing to find a $2 SIM from Coles Broome and Boost transferred the starter kit credit across. Really poor by Boost, I would never use them again after her experience. Staff seemed pretty useless and had no idea why the port was failing. It took 4 days from submitting the original port to her being able to use her number on Boost. It didn't seem worth the additional hassle to get a credit for the $2 spent to mitigate the issue.

    • Love a bargain on 16/11/2017 - 10:32

      I'm sure Groupon is well aware of this (but just trying to fob us off).

    • lomie on 13/12/2017 - 06:16

      How much credit was transferred? $30?

      I may have to do this to get value out of my 2 packs I've bought.

      • Helldog on 16/12/2017 - 17:41

        Yeah it was $30 transferred to the $2 SIM.

  • Love a bargain on 16/11/2017 - 10:30

    Update:

    Groupon has the decency to unilaterally cancel my voucher and put Groupon credit on my account after I refused to accept Groupon credit as refund when it was first offered. Wrote back to advise them that I do not accept this "resolution" + there is an opened TIO complaint + refund must be in the same form as the original payment. (Not happy with them AT ALL!)

    Resolution team in Telstra (following referral by TIO) is useless. The "case manager" simply contacted the same teams that I had contacted through CS previously and got the same answers. If they have no power to provide any resolution, then why are they there?

    Has anyone actually managed to get Telstra/Boost to replace theirs?

    • tomclancy on 16/11/2017 - 10:52

      Has anyone actually managed to get Telstra/Boost to replace theirs?

      Not yet. In process. Groupon gave me $17 credit (which if I get 2 working $30 starter packs then I'm not going to argue with) and my TIO case is still pending. Like you, a Telstra rep called me off the back of the TIO case and basically said they can't do anything on the Boost side of the company, they can only work with Telstra. They told me to call Boost Customer Service and ask for 2x blank Boost SIMs to be posted to me and then when I want to use them call Boost Customer Care team again and they will activate them with $30 credit. That's a lot of stuffing around. I will call Boost Customer Care today and if they don't agree to this then I will let the TIO case be resolved by TIO (tomorrow 17/11 is the day TIO can step in and make a decision).

      • Love a bargain on 17/11/2017 - 11:46
        +1

        They should be the one contacting Boost on your behalf and working out a resolution for you. (Since you've already contacted Boost and was not able to resolve that with them before you contacted the TIO.)

        (Btw, when I called Boost, the calls were answered by Telstra CS agents.)

        And one concern I'd have with this resolution is that I can't be sure if Boost would honour their side of the bargain a few months down the track, whereas if I receives replacement starter kits, at least I've got something tangible that says I'm entitled to getting those credits.

  • undercut on 17/11/2017 - 10:19

    Damn, I've got 5 of these! Thanks to everyone for posting your experience. Have tried to get a refund from Groupon, but they are referring it to their resolutions department. They are claiming that the deal stated that the sim was valid for 28 days only. How can I argue around this?

    • Love a bargain on 17/11/2017 - 11:32
      +1

      Go to "My Groupons" in your Groupon account, select "all" in the drop down menu & you should be able to find the deal page of what you purchased by clicking "view details" for that Groupon.

      FYI, they did do another Boost mobile deal in Jun which requires the SIM to be activated within 28 days of redemption so the Groupon staff might have been confused.

      • undercut on 17/11/2017 - 12:17

        Thanks for that :)

    • lomie on 13/12/2017 - 06:19

      I found the following info in the Groupon order confirmation email.

      How to Redeem

      • Buy your Groupon
      • Ensure you enter correct address at checkout on Groupon website
      • SIM card will be shipped to you in approx. 14 days
      • SIM card must be activated within 18 months of purchase

      Sim Card Activation
      • Activate online: activate.boost.com.au
      (1) Wait for your Sim Card to arrive
      (2) Follow the instructions provided on the activation page
      (3) Credit is pre-loaded on to the sim card and valid for 28 days
      • For enquiries please check boost.com.au/get-help

  • ronnknee on 26/11/2017 - 17:03

    I'm on the same boat. Live chat agent was useless and told me to replace them at the Telstra store. I still have 6 left.

    I have submitted an enquiry to Groupon on this.

  • Love a bargain on 27/11/2017 - 17:04

    My complaint is still ongoing but I thought I should share what I have learnt from my experience so far:

    1) Unless you are happy with a refund of your purchase price, there is no use contacting Groupon (because that's the only thing they can/would do).

    2) Case managers at Telstra have absolutely no control over the operation of Boost. They cannot make Boost send out replacement start kits (or even blank SIMs). All they can offer is to apply the credit to an existing Boost or Telstra account.

    This is not a bad option if you have other Telstra accounts (or if one of your friend/family has a Telstra account, doesn't mind the hassle, and are willing to pay you for the credit).

    It is also a reasonable option if you don't mind the inferior inclusion of Telstra's plan (as opposed to Boost's) since it is possible to order Telstra $2 SIMs for free on Telstra's website. However, you're relying on your case manager being contactable exactly when you need the credits to be applied. The resolution team's call centre is only opened during business hours, and because you're looking for a particular person (rather than just any agent who happens to pick up your call), he/she might be otherwise engaged/unavailable.

  • stickyfingers on 09/12/2017 - 11:51

    Just went to use one of my 3 last night. Screw Boost.

    • ifuggedxyz on 09/12/2017 - 13:57

      How did you manage to do it? Did you activate them on the Telstra website? and as Telstra sim with $10 credits?

      • stickyfingers on 09/12/2017 - 15:32

        I didn't get to use it. Put an Amaysim SIM in instead. I'll have to chat with them later.

        • stickyfingers on 09/02/2018 - 17:09

          Finally got around to it.

          Boost said to speak to the retailer. The SIM packs are faulty.

          Groupon is stating a 7-day minimum response time as they have to "work with Boost". Pathetic.

          I've stated to Groupon that I am requesting a cash refund of the full value of the faulty SIM cards. I'll update here if I remember when I hear something…

          Good luck all.

        • stickyfingers on 19/02/2018 - 16:57

          @stickyfingers: Update: Groupon a few days ago offered me Groupon credit or said I could wait a few days for a refund.

          I requested the refund and today was advised that a refund of $8.50 was processed.

          A**holes. I had already told them two SIM packs were unused and not working and I paid $10 per pack, not $8.50. I'll update when I hear more.

  • lomie on 13/12/2017 - 06:12

    I am also experiencing the same issue with 2 Boost starter packs I bought from Groupon.

  • asx100 on 06/01/2018 - 01:52

    I had seven left! Anyone can direct me how to get money back from Groupon. Any success stories?

  • Love a bargain on 09/02/2018 - 20:49

    Just a quick update. Went all the way through with the TIO complaint. In the end, Telstra can't make Boost do anything about it but it offers a refund of the value of the credit + an additional amount as goodwill gesture.

  • apokalypsez on 23/02/2018 - 11:19

    hi guys..i brought this long ago last year and same shit happen, i have 6 unopen pack…

    • Love a bargain on 23/02/2018 - 11:25
      +1

      Just persevere & you'll eventually get the value of the kits back. Don't settle for just a refund of the purchase price.

      Be prepared for lots of BS from Boost about how they can't send out replacements though. Good luck!

      • apokalypsez on 23/02/2018 - 11:27

        i call boost or groupon?

        • Love a bargain on 23/02/2018 - 14:15

          Groupon would only refund the amount you paid.

          Boost might, in the first instance, offer to apply the credit to another SIM (you'll have to pay for a $2 SIM - they won't send one out to you or reimburse you for that). If you don't accept that, than you'll have to file a TIO complain & go through various levels of escalation (where Telstra's staff will just repeat making the same queries/ requests to Boost & getting the same "can't do" response). The whole process might take several months. Just make sure you document all conversations with them.

  • apokalypsez on 23/02/2018 - 11:33

    f this…stay away from boost.

  • Strahany on 07/05/2018 - 21:54

    Everyone knows that Telco's have 'issues' as the best of times, let alone when dealing with activations with/without porting. This is why I will never truly understand the appeal of saving a few dollars when there is (seemingly often) such a large opportunity cost involved.

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