Topic notes

Switching

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

Read this first

Text PAC to 65075 to keep your number; STAC to 75075 to give it up.
The code is free, arrives in minutes and stays valid for thirty days.
The reply itemises any exit charge before you commit to anything.
A network cannot refuse the code or demand a retentions call first.
Buy the new plan first, and keep the old SIM in until the number moves.

How we are placed. thurlowvance 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.

Note 01

The two 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

Use PAC unless you actively want a new number. Porting costs nothing, and a number you have had for years is worth keeping.

Note 02

What a network cannot do

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 conversation with retentions a condition of leaving.

Retention offers themselves are perfectly legal and occasionally very good. They simply cannot be a toll gate. Get the code first, then listen to the offer with it already in your hand.

Note 03

The right order

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 and read the itemised reply properly.
Hand the code over and leave the old SIM in the phone until the number transfers.
Diary a check that the final bill closes at zero.

Note 04

If it does not go smoothly

Put it in writing — app transcript, email or letter — with dates, facts and the outcome you want, and keep the reference number.

At eight weeks unresolved, or immediately on a final response, the case goes free to the Communications Ombudsman.

Worth knowingIf 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.

Still unsure after reading these notes?

Ring us and we will go through it with you. Nothing is offered for sale at any point.

020 3807 7759This number is for guidance and information only. We sell nothing, arrange nothing and act for no network. Ring it if any part of these notes leaves you unsure.

Ring us if these notes do not cover it

We hold no arrangement with any network, take no commission and sell nothing at all. If your question is not answered here, telephone and ask.

020 3807 7759Guidance and information only. We sell nothing and act for no network.

Switching

Read this first

The two codes

What a network cannot do

The right order

If it does not go smoothly

Still unsure after reading these notes?

Ring us if these notes do not cover it

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