GuideSwitching
Two free text messages, thirty days, and exactly what a network is not allowed to do however its retention script sounds.
Written July 2026 · no prices published · nothing for sale
Switching — at a glanceOur summary. Confirm current terms with the provider.
- Keep your number
- Text PAC to 65075
- Give it up
- Text STAC to 75075
- Cost of the code
- Free
- Arrives
- Within minutes
- Valid for
- Thirty days
- The reply itemises
- Any early-exit charge and outstanding handset balance
- Transfer time
- Usually one working day, with no gap in service
- What a network cannot do
- Refuse, delay, condition it, or demand a retentions call first
Our position. teesrition is an independent information service for mobile customers in the United Kingdom. We are not a mobile network. We have no affiliation with, endorsement from, appointment by or connection to Three, EE, O2, Vodafone, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile or any other provider, and no commercial arrangement with any of them. We do not sell, supply, arrange or broker SIM cards, contracts, handsets or services of any kind, and we take no commission from anybody. Everything here is general information; a provider's own current terms always take precedence.
01
The two text messages
Codes
| Text this | To this number | And it does this |
|---|
| PAC | 65075 | Moves your existing number to the new network |
| STAC | 75075 | Closes the account and gives the number up |
| The reply | — | Lists any early-exit charge and handset balance before you commit |
Do this- Use PAC unless you actively want a new number.
- Read the itemised reply properly before deciding anything.
02
What a network cannot do
Rights
Almost every obstacle people meet when leaving is a script rather than a rule.
Do this- It cannot refuse to issue the code.
- It cannot sit on it or delay it.
- It cannot attach conditions to it.
- It cannot make a retentions conversation a condition of leaving.
03
The right sequence
Order
Retention offers are lawful and occasionally very good. They simply cannot be a toll gate: get the code first, then consider any offer with it already in your hand.
Do this- Check coverage on the new network at your own address.
- If anything is uncertain, test it on a rolling month first.
- Buy the new plan.
- Text for the code, then hand it over.
- Keep the old SIM in the handset until the number transfers.
- Diary a check that the final bill closes at zero.
04
If it does not go smoothly
Problems
Put it in writing — app transcript, email or letter — with dates, facts and the outcome you want, and keep the reference number.
WarningIf you are with a brand that rents masts, every part of this goes to that brand and never to the network that owns the infrastructure.
Do this- Complain in writing, never by telephone.
- Escalate free to the Communications Ombudsman at eight weeks or on a final response.
Still unsure after reading this?
Ring us and we will go through it with you. Nothing is offered for sale at any point.
020 3896 5248This number is for guidance and information only. We sell nothing, arrange nothing and act for no network. Ring it if anything on these pages is unclear. Our position. teesrition is an independent information service for mobile customers in the United Kingdom. We are not a mobile network. We have no affiliation with, endorsement from, appointment by or connection to Three, EE, O2, Vodafone, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile or any other provider, and no commercial arrangement with any of them. We do not sell, supply, arrange or broker SIM cards, contracts, handsets or services of any kind, and we take no commission from anybody. Everything here is general information; a provider's own current terms always take precedence.