AIS 1-2-Call SIM and the current SPAM advertising

[Guest buaseng]

Further to the thread about SIM cards for the infrequent user and my replies with my personal solution. Many users will also be aware of the current advertising SPAM in Thai which is being sent by txt to 1-2-Call SIM users - see http://www.baht-stop.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4788

 

I have just tried to send my normal monthly txt to keep the phone number active and found that there is 'No Connection'. I rang the AIS Service centre from another phone and they told me that because my SMS 'IN' box had been filled up (presumably with SPAM) and couldn't accept any more txts and the phone had not been used for about 4 weeks they had ceased/disconnected the number.

 

It seems I will have to buy a new SIM next time I get to LOS.

 

Incidentally, I have also lost the remaining 290+ baht of the 300 baht I had last topped the phone up with - they have a policy of not giving refunds if the phone is disconnected because of lack of use!

[Gaybutton]

It's a bizarre policy, for sure. There are ways to avoid having that happen. The best, of course, would be if the Baht-Stop post is correct and all you would need to do is contact 1-2-Call to stop the spam. Another way would be to give your phone, or at least the SIM card to someone who lives in Thailand and you can trust, when you are about to leave Thailand. Have that person make a quick call with it once every two to four weeks. That will keep the number active.

 

Another way is not to use 1-2-Call at all. If you get an account with DTAC, as long as you pay your monthly bill you won't lose your number whether you use the phone or not. The trouble is that can be a bit complicated. The only way a farang can get a DTAC account is to have a work permit. If you don't have a work permit, then you'll have to get a Thai to open an account for you. The monthly bill will go to whatever address in Thailand you want it to go. Assuming you would use the address of that same Thai person who opened the account for you, then he will receive the bill each month. If you have a Thai bank account, then all that would need to happen is for your friend to inform you by Email, or whatever, how much the bill is and you can pay it online, assuming there are funds in the Thai bank account.

 

With DTAC there may be a way to check your balance online or set up an automatic payment plan via your bank account and online banking. I have not checked if that can be done.

 

There may be other phone companies besides DTAC that offer an account. I don't know. You would have to check into that unless someone else knows and responds to this post.

 

Maybe someone else can come up with other ways to handle this, but those are the only ways I can think of at the moment.

[Guest joseph44]

I've had the same problem with spam once, and obviously I was automatically connected to "mLive".

I phoned to 1175 and asked to disconnect me from this service or ANY other service which caused spam.

Since than, no more unwanted messages. Being subscribed to mLive is the worst.

[Guest buaseng]

It's a bizarre policy, for sure. There are ways to avoid having that happen. The best, of course, would be if the Baht-Stop post is correct and all you would need to do is contact 1-2-Call to stop the spam. Another way would be to give your phone, or at least the SIM card to someone who lives in Thailand and you can trust, when you are about to leave Thailand. Have that person make a quick call with it once every two to four weeks. That will keep the number active.

 

Another way is not to use 1-2-Call at all. If you get an account with DTAC, as long as you pay your monthly bill you won't lose your number whether you use the phone or not............

Thanks GB. The phone number has already been discontinued and cannot be re-instated (according to their service centre).

 

The other two options you suggest are not particularly suitable and are not worth the bother (for me) to set up.

 

I just found that it was convenient to already have a Thai SIM active, particularly when arriving at the airport to call my regular driver and others to let him/them know of any delays/arrival time in Pattaya. It was also useful to let friends in the UK know, in advance, how I could be easily contacted whilst in Thailand.

 

I don't need the use of a Thai SIM for more than 6 to 8 weeks a year so the DTAC option is not attractive or probably economical.

 

It is not life and death and I can survive without having the convenience of an already activated phone and I am sure that I can quickly get a new SIM (particularly if I arrive at the airport when the AIS sales/help counter there is open).

 

I just thought I would update folks on the current situation, having previously lauded the AIS 1-2-Call system and published a way in which to keep a Thai SIM number active for infrequent users - a way which seemingly no longer works!.

[Gaybutton]

I just found that it was convenient to already have a Thai SIM active

 

Maybe you still can. 1-2-Call isn't the only phone card company in Thailand. DTAC also has a popular phone card system, as well as a few other companies. True Move and Sawasdee come to mind. Since you have to get a new phone number anyway, you might want to check companies other than 1-2-Call first and see if any of their systems will suit your needs.

 

While 1-2-Call is the most popular phone card system in Thailand, and is fine as long as you're in Thailand, it loses its usefulness if you are not going to be using your phone for long periods of time. Obviously, for those who are only in Thailand for limited periods of time each year, unless you follow my suggestions above you're going to lose your phone number. Fortunately 1-2-Call is not the only game in town. There are other options, although I don't know their policies.

[Guest buaseng]

Fortunately 1-2-Call is not the only game in town. There are other options, although I don't know their policies.

I have only ever been aware of 1-2-Call and DTAC. Will have to investigate what other options there are for pay-as-you-call phone cards when I next get there. I guess it would be too much hassle and be very difficult to investigate lesser known options from the UK.

 

Alternatively if anyone has inside knowledge of the ins and outs of other options perhaps they would post them here?

 

The bottom line now is that unless the company offers a pay-as-you-call card which remains valid regardless of the frequency of use I will just buy a new 1-2-Call SIM each visit and put up with the inconvenience of losing the number each time I return to the UK.

[billyhouston]

When you top up your 1-2-Call card, you are buying call credits and also time/validity credits. Being away from Thailand from March to October I need to make certain that my validity takes me through that period. 1-2-Call allows users to transfer validity from one number, which has plenty of time credits, to another number which needs them. A market has grown up in time/validity and it's possible to purchase it, usually in blocks of month at a time, from various sources. Kad Warorot in Chiang Mai comes to mind but I'm sure Pantip in Bangkok will also offer the service.

 

Not had a problem with failing to make a call from March to October provided that the 'validity' is topped up. Of course, there's always a first time.