It all began when I thought that it would be a good idea to get a French prepaid cell phone so that other people from the Montpellier/W&M program could be able to get in touch with me whenever they needed to. I also thought it would be great because I could call people back in the States and ask them to get on Skype so we could chat. False. All of the above very very false (and now that's it's mostly resolved, just hilarious)
First of all, three W&M students went together to get cell phones. We went into 3 stores before we finally decided on Virgin Mobile because it had the best cell phone prices. The entire transaction was in French, which was fine because all of us speak very good French and are in the top two levels at the university that we're studying in here, and the guy who helped us seemed really nice. At the end of this transaction we all were under the impression that we had purchased, for 29 euros, a cell phone with 100 minutes that could call anywhere, along with a card with 5 euros of credit that you could use towards texting, calling, whatever.
Nope. The use of 5 euros of credit turned out to be correct in that you could use it towards anything, including international calls, but I promptly used all those euros up calling people in the States and giving them my number so that they could call me if they wanted to. However, after the credit ran out, my phone stopped working, and so did the other students' phones, despite the fact that we had all received text messages on our phones that said essentially, "You are now the proud owner of 100 minutes! Go ahead and play!" So, we went back to the store. There, a different employee called Virgin's help line where we then discovered that you have to wait 48 hours after you receive the text message before you can actually activate the 100 minutes. And no the contract did not say this, I definitely read the entire thing before I went back to the store. In fact, the only place that it says this is online in tiny print after you click like 5 different things.
Alright, so now we get our 100 minutes. I attempt to call my mommy. Doesn't work. I am, however, able to call French numbers, including other cell phones that my friends have purchased in France. At this point, the other students and I realize that the guy did not by any means tell us the whole truth about these cell phones. We go back to the store for a third time and find him working again. We argue with him for upwards of 15 minutes about how he didn't disclose the fact that our 100 minutes only worked with French numbers. He insists that he did and then proceeds to try to blame our misunderstanding on the fact that with his particular French accent, "5" and "100" sound remarkably similar. They do; I will give him that. However, the word "minute" and "euro" do not sound the same. So when he said that our 100 minutes could call anywhere, we heard just that. We left the store frustrated, angry, disappointed, and not sure of what to do. I considered returning my phone and asking for my money back, but I decided to keep it because I could still call my friends with French cell phones and my French family, plus people in the States could still call me.
Um, well that didn't last long. Sometime shortly after we went to the store for that third time, my phone stopped working almost completely. I could no longer make any calls at all - not to French numbers, American numbers, no one. I was ticked, but again, since I had given out my number to so many people already and I could still receive calls, I decided to keep it in the hopes that somehow, miraculously, it would fix itself. It didn't. After almost a week of receiving the same message that said "Your credit is out. Please go on the virginmobile website to recharge it." I returned to the store yesterday afternoon. My favorite guy was working again. And this time, I meant business. (I also was on the verge of tears, which worked in my favor) He apologized profusely for all of the trouble that had occurred, although he still took no blame for any of it, and called VirginMobile. Within 45 minutes, I was able to use my phone again. YAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY! So, as of now, I have a cell phone that can call French numbers and receive calls from anyone who is willing to pay the international rate. You should email me and ask me for my number so that you can call me :D
At the same time as this ridiculous saga of the minutes occurred, a side plot developed. Apparently the number of which I am now an owner previously belonged to a woman named Nadine. I have received at least 4 phone calls looking for this woman, and it's a good thing I speak decent French because these people are definitely French! The first person who called was a woman, and when I told her Nadine wasn't here she promptly hung up. The next person who called was a man, and he was much more persistant and unconvinced that this wasn't her number. I repeatedly told him that I did not know anyone named Nadine, that I'd never met a Nadine, and that he had the wrong number. He, however, was quite insistant, and we he finally decided that I was not Nadine he then tried to get me to remember him! He asked if we had met in Marseille or Paris. I insisted no and told him that I lived in Montpellier. I then hung up rather promptly on said creeper. Next, I received sort of a sad piece to this mysterious Nadine puzzle. I got two automated calls for Nadine informing her that her electricity is about to be cut off. Now, I'm curious about what has happened to her. Has she run away and changed her number without telling her friends? Is she lost? Has she gone bankrupt? Finally, about an hour ago, I received yet another call for Nadine, this one from another French man. He, however, unlike the other callers, thought that I was Nadine playing a trick on him. This man tried to carry on a conversation with me as if I were his friend Nadine! I explained to him that he was the 4th or 5th person who had called looking for her, that I had just purchased this cell phone, and that she must have changed her number. He still didn't believe me and wanted to know if I knew her new number. Um no sir. I don't know Nadine...so I hung up on this creeper as well I don't know what it is about these people, because in the States if you call the wrong number, you apologize and hang up! Yeesh!
So if you're a French woman named Nadine and you're no longer with VirginMobile...could you please tell your friends that you have changed your phone number?
And to Nadine's friends, she has a new number. You should stop by her house and ask her for it or email her or talk to one another about it. Something. Please?
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