We've always been careful to top-up our French pay-as-you-go credit before the due date, so as not to forfeit what we already have. But recently we lost €150 of Orange credit due to something completely unexpected.
The key lesson here is to be certain to press the red button when you finish talking to someone you have rung. If you don't, even if you go on to make a second call as we did, that first call will still rumble on in the background. The first you'll know of it will be many hours later when you get a text message urging you to top-up and the phone cuts out because your credit is exhausted. In our case €150 worth.
The explanation is that the phone networks have the facility for mobile phone users to put one call on hold while they make another. It's not publicised - no instructions are given on network facilities - nor will your mobile phone have any details on how to use it. It's simply a network service of which no-one explains the pitfalls.
We've learned to our cost that it's really easy to put a call on hold without realising - if you make a second call without cutting off the first, the phone network simply supposes you're coming back to that first call when you've finished the second one.
anon xx
Val says - Certainly worth knowing about and taking care, thank you reader.
Comments to taglines82@gmail.com
Val says - Certainly worth knowing about and taking care, thank you reader.
Comments to taglines82@gmail.com
