12.15.07
ODB gets blacklisted!
It was a nice beautiful Saturday morning, the was sun was shining, I was on my second cup of coffee reading the news, girlfriend still asleep, my quiet time… and then I had to get myself blacklisted…
Like most of you out there, I use a China Mobile Shenzhouxing account. If you thought the most annoying part of having a prepaid account is topping it up once a month, you are dead wrong.
I bought a 100 RMB chongzhika (prepaid card) last night and wanted to top up my account this morning. When I scratched the card to reveal the password I inadvertently scratched out the last 5 numbers. Although one of the digits was definielty a 7, each of the other 4 could have been either a 3, a 6, or a 9. After my first two tries which went nowhere I decided to make a list of all the possible combinations and input them one after the other until I succeed. Right? ….WRONG!
Apparently China Mobile only lets you try to top up one account a total of 10 times in a row. After which you are promptly moved to a blacklist and you can no longer charge your account. I found this out the hard way…
After I unsuccessfully entered the pin number for the tenth time, the 13800138000 menu told me to contact the operator. I called the service again and reached the English speaking service lady (which had surprisingly good English…). I explained to her my problem and she promptly notified me that I have been blacklisted by China Mobile. In order to be removed from the blacklist all I had to do is provide her with password that was included in the SIM card package I bought in Wudaokou some 4 years and 4 house moves ago. I didn’t have it.
As I told the operator that I didn’t have the password, I was dreading what I thought would be the inevitable “mei banfa” or “jiushi zhiyang” reply. However, this service lady has been properly trained and explained to me that since I don’t have the password, I need to present myself at a China Mobile service center with my passport, and a list of three phone numbers which I used my account to call within the last 90 days.
Of course, the closest service center to me is closed on weekends… but I kinda expected that.
So I have to make my way to a China Mobile branch with my blacklisted phone, my passport, and the scratched out prepaid card…
I will do that tomorrow and keep you updated.
UPDATE:
I am off the blacklist!
Went to the China Mobile service center where I handed over my passport to be photocopied and listed 4 numbers I called with my account. I entered a new 8 digit password and received a new chongzhika to replace the scratched one out. The whole process took no more than 10 minutes. Fantastic!
Is it me or are everyday tasks in China getting easier?
Where are the days when I had to chase my landlord for his marriage certificate in order to activate my ADSL service…
NATOR ADDS: Thanks for the update. All of us were beside ourselves not knowing the conclusion of your saga. In the future, you may want to try not using Shenzhouxing, or learning how to scratch, or topping up before your phone runs out, or learning to read numbers, or not failing to input a number ten times in a row, or writing down the password, or holding on to important paperwork.
Also, you forgot to tell everyone what you do for a living. I think it’s relevant to this particular situation…
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