A recent report has highlighted a customer's complaint regarding China Mobile's transfer policy for so-called "VIP" or "lucky" phone numbers. The user, identified as writer Xia Xiaoyan on Weibo, stated that when attempting to transfer ownership of her mobile number, she was informed by China Mobile that she must prepay 10,000 yuan in phone credit and commit to a minimum monthly consumption of 400 yuan. She questioned whether these demands constituted an unfair clause.

The user explained that the number was originally registered under her ex-husband's ID two decades ago when they acquired consecutive numbers together. Despite this, she has been the sole user for over 20 years, with the number linked to various bank accounts and Alipay. When she visited a China Mobile service center to transfer the number to her name, staff classified it as a VIP number. They insisted that the transfer required an immediate prepayment of 10,000 yuan and a binding monthly minimum spend of 400 yuan. The user expressed frustration, calling the requirement an unfair policy applied to a long-used number being transferred to its actual user, noting that no such terms were mentioned when the number was initially registered.

According to the user, the staff cited internal regulations as the basis for the charges. After she threatened to file a complaint, the staff then proposed an alternative: reducing the monthly package to 58 yuan and the prepaid amount to 200 yuan. However, this modified plan would still require management approval before the transfer could proceed.

In response to inquiries about the specific rules for transferring VIP numbers, a China Mobile customer service representative stated that after a number is transferred, it is treated as a new activation. The number's tier is determined by its "standard level," requiring the new owner to subscribe to a "lucky number" contract plan, pay a deposit, and sign a corresponding agreement. The representative clarified that the prepayment amount depends on the specific number pattern, such as those containing sequences like AAAA, ABCDE, or ABABAB, which could necessitate deposits reaching tens of thousands of yuan. Customers who find the prepayment too high are advised to select a different number.