Porting to Boost Mobile. The Worst Decision You Will Make

Cryptorchid on 19/10/2019 - 21:57
Last edited 19/10/2019 - 21:58

So, like many of my fellow Ozbargainers I grabbed a 12 month Boost sim card at about a $15-20 discount. "What a sweet deal" I thought "This is exactly the deal I need!"

Started the porting process on the 1st of October (approx). 7 days later: sim card still not active. Concerned, I call customer service. I get told that I have been escalated to the "back-end" porting team. About 3 days later I get one call that went to voice mail concerning the porting process.

I call back the next day "What was the call about?". Apparently my previous provider had wrong birth date on file? I contact the previous provider to confirm my details. The port process is started again from the start.I have now called everyday for about the past 10 days concerning my port. Today they were kind enough to transfer me to their porting team; I Gave up after 47 minutes of waiting.

I'm not alone here btw. Any deal regarding Boost is littered with posts concerning their terrible porting process. One Ozabargainer stated they were in "week 9". If there was anyway to get a refund I would have taken it weeks ago…

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Comments

  • Bluberry on 22/10/2019 - 01:09

    If you are getting the run around by Boost, consider lodging a complaint with the TIO.

    It is super easy to do. Takes less than 10 mins and it forces the provider to respond (otherwise it escalates and cost them $$$).

    Here is the link:

    https://www.tio.com.au/making-a-complaint

  • saty1296 on 22/10/2019 - 05:14

    I am also being given a run around. Port is from Vodafone Postpaid to boost prepaid I checked all details were definitely filled in correctly but never received any post port verification code and link to validate that code from Telstra. Last night I was on the phone with Telstra porting team from 06:59pm until 10:20pm in the waiting queue only to be told that they will contact me today as their mobile porting team was closed. Funny thing is I started porting of two phone numbers from same Vodafone postpaid account, one was done yesterday on the spot as it was submitted by Boost chat representative due to an error in my submission. The other number's porting is turning out to be a nightmare. So no success so far.

    I remember one of my friend at work was porting his 3 numbers from Vodafone Postpaid to Boost prepaid. He did not get any success for 3 continuous days. Then when he chatted with Telstra porting team on the phone, all 3 numbers were ported within a few minutes.

    Not sure what causes this issue. Very poor service I would say.

  • Drewbo on 22/10/2019 - 07:54

    I intend to move from Telstra post-paid to Telstra pre-paid before heading to Boost. I have the blank SIM card and am ready to go but holding off due to some of these nightmare experiences I’m reading here. Is coming from Telstra likely to cause issues? I can’t afford to be without a reliable service for more than a few hours. Thanks.

    • Melbournian on 24/10/2019 - 14:11

      I ported from Telstra post paid today.

      It went smoothly.

      You need to contact Telstra to request from post paid to prepaid. It can take up to 24 hours. Mine took 2 hours.

      Then I contacted Boost to activate new sim. Took them 5 minutes.

      Then I recharged with the voucher via Boost app.

      The whole process took 3 hours.

  • itzbizlink on 22/10/2019 - 08:54
    +1

    Ported 3 numbers a few months ago.
    Did one in May, no problem whatsoever, ported in a couple of hours. Happy with the service & signal, so a few weeks later, ported 2 more numbers.

    The first one was ported within minutes. Great, I thought, and started the process with the other one. From the same account, same provider as the previous one, but this is a very different story.
    After 24 hours, still not ported. Called Boost and was told 'wait for 48 hours'. This falls on Saturday, so when I called again, they say it should be done in a few hours, but if not, call on Monday. Come Monday, still not ported, so was transferred to Telstra porting team (I was told that all their porting were done by Telstra team.

    Told that there is a problem at the back end, porting needs to be done manually, there is a queue but it will be done 'in 48 hours'.
    48 hours later, still having issues, and asked to wait another 48 hours. At this stage I told them that this is unacceptable, and resorted to calling them every few hours, each time told that there is nothing they can do, the porting team are working on it, they are escalating this and wait for another 48 hours.

    Until one time I got to a 'helpful' customer service that seems to try to resolve the problem. Was on the phone with him for about an hour (with him contacting other departments, he said). At the end of it, he said he will be sending a new SIM card, which I will receive the next day and guaranteed to work… BUT it will be with Telstra and on Telstra plan.

    I was rather shocked at this hijacking attempt - told the guy that, and called Boost to advise them.
    The Boost customer service must have done something since the porting went through the next day…

  • happirt on 22/10/2019 - 09:26
    +1

    The best I find are the Kogan prepaid startup kits $4.95 as a secondary sim

  • RockSand on 22/10/2019 - 09:27
    +1

    Are you me?!?! Im on the same boat, except that i dont have the patience after the last 2-hours-wait phone call where they misrouted my call to Telstra NBN team. currently on the 6th week since I first ported on 12 September, just CBF really. Their live chat system is pretty good, call is just horrible

  • 20 on 22/10/2019 - 10:20
    +1

    I had a similar issue around June where it took around a month to port from Optus to Boost. Apparently a "software glitch" according to live chat. Followed up on live chat every week or so until porting went through while I was ingeratate. Was a bit inconvenient…

  • Punda on 22/10/2019 - 10:21
    +1

    No problem here. Took 5 minutes. Great coverage. Great price. Best move ever.

    • Cryptorchid on 22/10/2019 - 11:21

      Why do you want me to cry?

      • Punda on 22/10/2019 - 23:59

        Awwwww please don’t, it’s not often I have things go so smoothly haha

  • Cyberninja on 22/10/2019 - 14:03

    So my existing service was scheduled to expire after 24 hours and the port in request was stuck for previous 36 hours. I called their port in customer service number and explained the situation. They advised me to recharge my existing number with minimum amount to extend its validity and in turn offered a $30 credit on my boost account once it gets ported in.

  • netsurfer on 22/10/2019 - 20:38
    +1

    You need to speak to the porting teams. Boost's porting team is essentially Telstra porting team. The thing with Telstra is when it works, it is great, but when things gone pear shaped, if you don't talk to the right team, you are simply going around in circles.

    You may also need to talk to your current provider's porting team. Let me guess… Optus?

  • JungliChilli on 22/10/2019 - 21:27

    I havent been overly happy with the network.

  • brendanm on 22/10/2019 - 23:46

    "The worst decision you could make" seems overly dramatic.

  • wtigers on 23/10/2019 - 03:45

    Boost is good.

  • saty1296 on 23/10/2019 - 06:25

    So far I have spent about 7 hours on the phone with them and my mobile phone number from Vodafone Postpaid to Boost Mobile Prepaid has not yet been ported. Telstra have cancelled original order and are trying to place a fresh order in the hope that I will get a verification code with the new order which I can verify and hopefully porting will go ahead. While cancelling the original order, I got told that original order did not contain Vodafone's Postpaid account number even though I had clearly filled it in while submitting my order. Their porting system so very hopeless. Telstra MNP team supervisor advised me that their new software from past two months is totally unfit for purpose and is not allowing them to do many simple things which they were able to do with previous software.

  • lost in transit on 23/10/2019 - 06:54

    I’ve lost a number years ago and that was using the Optus porting process,I was quite angry at the time and It was easier just to start a new number,I used boost porting process around a year ago now with no problems.I came over from Belong as they only had 15 gig compared to Boosts 30 gig, it’s funny Belong wanted to know why I was leaving so I told them, sorry we can’t help, then a month later they changed it to 30 gig, had they explained this I would have stayed but they were happy to see a customer walk.

  • Lancerx on 23/10/2019 - 14:40

    Agree about their porting is a nightmare especially if you're coming across from Telstra or Telstra wholesale. The rest of telco seem to be very straight forward. Other than that, can't fault the price and network we're getting at bargain price.

  • bongom on 23/10/2019 - 17:12

    Catch is the problem if your service is inactive?
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/397123

  • blupool on 23/10/2019 - 17:46

    I had porting issue last time with Kogan. This one really annoying where only my wife's phone was blocked went straight to voicemail in prev provider(optus).
    optus didn't care as I had left them already. no number blocking feature in my phone.
    Tried porting to another kogan simcard but didnt work. after few months it got fixed by itself.

  • Thatsgold on 23/10/2019 - 18:31
    +1

    I'm currently on the phone to Boost because its been 3 days and the porting has still not been completed and to find out why.
    Boost told me that Vodafone rejected the request due to the account number not matching……
    Spent an hour with Vodafone just to find out what the exact reason was and they told me that Boost used my date of birth instead of my account number………..
    I mean WTF man

    • Cryptorchid on 23/10/2019 - 20:05
      +1

      Dude. This. This is exactly the problem!

      • Spidytube on 13/09/2020 - 00:40

        Did you get your issue sorted?

  • juzza87 on 23/10/2019 - 21:50

    I ported over to them and there was an issue with one of the details, took three days but it was resolved and I was satisfied with the whole experience. The thing with the porting is it's automated, they will punch the process in and leave it and you won't know if it failed unless you call back. Try and get them to stay on the line and confirm there's no issues and it goes through successfully. I did it online and knew the third time when it worked.

  • saty1296 on 24/10/2019 - 06:42

    So far 3 days have gone past no luck, no call backs at all. Have contacted many people in Telstra and Boost and wasted a lot of time. No luck. Very poor experience so far.

  • penypnch on 24/10/2019 - 10:42
    +1

    Personal advice for anyone with issues porting into Boost via the Telstra network (1) Ensure all personal details exactly match with both providers as passport/Drivers Licence (2) Number porting problems are considered to be the responsibility of the new provider (Boost) to resolve (3) Take Bluberry & my advice - lodge a complaint with TIO .

    • saty1296 on 24/10/2019 - 11:34

      I had ensured that personal details exactly matched with both providers. You are right it is responsibility of Boost to port the number correctly and in a timely manner. I have lodged a complaint with TIO yesterday after being given a run around.

  • StonedWizard on 25/10/2019 - 09:33

    I am porting to Telstra and even with lodging a TIO case, it's still taking 4 weeks.

    The TIO can't investigate for another 1 month.

    • Cryptorchid on 25/10/2019 - 13:33

      Yeah I'm pulling out of this house fire. The retail store I bought it from has agreed to refund me.

      Goodluck everyone else!

  • saty1296 on 25/10/2019 - 16:22
    +1

    After lodging a case with TIO, Boost mobile complaints team contacted me today, lady on phone was very unhelpful and did not provide any help at all. She said she will try to contact Telstra MNP team on Monday as there was a waiting time of more than an hour with MNP team. She advised that there is nothing she could do to help me. She said she will take her own time and follow her own procedure to reach to a resolution in her own way. TI Ombudsman has given Boost Mobile until 08 November 2019 to contact me and resolve directly with me and after that date I should contact TIO. I will wait until 08 November 2019 and then see what happens next.

    • Cryptorchid on 25/10/2019 - 16:35

      Keep me updated mate!

    • StonedWizard on 25/10/2019 - 18:06
      +1

      @saty1296 - I am porting to Telstra and even with lodging a TIO case, it's still taken 4 weeks.

      My case manager says there's a huge back log and there's no timeline when it will be fixed.

      I have even escalated it to the TIO, but a case manager may take up to 6 weeks to review my case.

      Hope this helps.

  • moonraker on 25/10/2019 - 16:51
    +1

    I have had enough of their bullshit . With a TIO complaint , case office assigned they still can't give me an ETA on the port - wasted too much time . I have requested a Return via the Ebay seller and will put this sorry mess to bed and stick with Amaysim .

  • saty1296 on 29/10/2019 - 09:32
    +2

    Requested a porting on 21/10/2019. Just talked to Telstra porting team on phone, I was on the waiting queue for more than 45 minutes. Telstra MNP team representative advised my order is stuck in a loop to get cancelled. Once it gets cancelled, I will need to contact their sales team to place a new order and then keep my fingers crossed that new order will work alright for me. However at this stage they do not know how long it will take for them to cancel my existing order. She literally advised that my order is stuck in an indefinite loop. So Telstra MNP team does not have any resolution for me so far. Telstra MNP representative advised that they are working with a totally unfit software and there are 5000 orders stuck in a loop at the moment. Extremely poor time wasting nightmarish experience as OP is facing. Vodafone Postpaid have already billed me for next month charges.

    TIO will not do anything before 08 November 2019, even after that we do not know how long it will take for TIO to get the resolution, if they are able to get me any resolution.

    • Cryptorchid on 29/10/2019 - 10:02
      -1

      Yep I got Telstra to write me an email detailing the issue and I simply returned it to the retailer.

      SUPER FU#$ED situation. Goodluck everyone else with this sh!t show.

  • brauhem on 29/10/2019 - 12:58

    How it porting out going? I have just requested a change from postpaid to prepaid, and want to now port out from Telstra to Aldi and then into Boost? Is this the best way to do it?

    • lgacb08 on 01/11/2019 - 11:09

      Best way is to be on Telstra and request a blank sim sent to you, ring up boost to do the sim swap, because from Telstra to boost is just like swapping simcard when you lost the old one. Porting from one mvno to another seems to be most troublesome because they like to blame each other for issues

  • saty1296 on 07/11/2019 - 20:39

    My number from Vodafone Postpaid was finally ported to Boost Mobile on 05 November 2019 after TIO complaint. Porting process began on 21 October 2019. Boost had to cancel original porting order. I had to buy a new blank Boost SIM card again and requested Boost chat to create a new porting order for me, porting was done within minutes without the use of pre verification code.

  • [Deactivated] on 24/12/2019 - 19:34

    Ported a few weeks ago. The process took some 5 minutes.

  • bozbargain on 05/01/2020 - 07:29

    Porting from Voda prepaid to Boost. Number was on Telstra postpaid 6 months ago. Couldn't activate online, some error about non-matching details. Rang the 1800-number, rep sounded knowledgable, saying that since I am a Telstra post-paid customer (ie have a Telstra account number), activation cannot happen online and number need to be ported/approved by adding it to my Telstra account manually. He did that yesterday morning and said it was all OK from Boost/Telstra's end now and that it could now take 'a few days' before Voda will release the number. Haven't received a Voda SMS with the port-out notification and am worried now based on this thread that since it took more than 5 mins, I'll be waiting for weeks as well (and may need another blank sim to start all over again)?

    • bozbargain on 05/01/2020 - 15:31

      Never mind, it all resolved itself today automatically so the rep I spoke to was right.

    • Bargainboi on 02/02/2020 - 23:20

      can I ask which number you had called? the 1800 number?
      having same issue saying non-matching details.

      • bozbargain on 03/02/2020 - 10:40

        Yes, just that 1800 number. Based on your other message, it’s probably similar to my situation where Telstra already knows you as a (previous) customer and therefore wants to have your services added to that account. The online process can’t do that as those systems are not properly connected so you need to ring instead.

  • atymic on 04/02/2020 - 17:19

    Thought I would tell my story in case it's helpful to others.

    I was advised that I can't use the normal boost sim, since telstra needs a special "blank" sim mailed to me (takes up to 2 weeks).
    I ended up grabbing a few $2 sims, most of them required recharge to activate. Vodafone was a dud, as was optus (both $10 min recharge to activate)

    The one that worked was Lebara mobile. They require a recharge via the site, but not if you activate via phone :)
    I did it over the phone in about 10 minutes, and then ~5 mins later got a text from telstra to confirm the port.
    Swapped in the lebara sim, and then submitted the boost activation and port from vodafone/lebara. 10 minutes later and i'm live on boost!

  • mshark on 05/02/2020 - 11:37

    Have finally finished porting from Kogan to Boost after almost 4 days. Back and forth like a tennis ball between Boost and Telstra porting team, having to give ID, licence # and sim card details each time. Kept ringing porting team in spite of their escalation promises and finally got it sorted last night. They said it was a problem on their end. Never had this kind of porting issue before.

    • Top G on 05/02/2020 - 20:02

      Just did Kogan to Boost today, while not instant had no issues. It sucks when problems happens as you're in limbo between 2 carriers.

      So far boost feels more responsive in my area in terms of mobile internet loading times but we will see. The title of this thread is a bit alarmist tbh.

  • Toph Beifong on 06/02/2020 - 17:41

    My port from Optus to Boost took less than 5mins. Enter the correct details and you will be fine!

  • Zippy7 on 08/02/2020 - 21:56

    My parents ported to Boost recently.
    About a month apart each.
    Both had problems.
    Sorted out now, but it was cheap…

  • Matt88 on 09/02/2020 - 16:00

    Ported 2 phones a few weeks back (both from Optus) and the process took less than 5 minutes each time.

  • Ruff on 27/04/2021 - 11:59

    Mine ported in 1h. My wife’s took 7 days. Seems hit and miss.

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