Sim Card Sent with Upgrade phone not Activated

I tried to activate the sim card that was sent with my upgrade cell phone on Monday 16 March 2015. It was actioned but I had ask to put the request on hold as I needed the data of my old sim card. When I called on Wednesday morning 18 March 2015 to continue the request I was told that the sim card was no longer valid that I needed to purchase another sim card. What a headache as I tried calling the call centre on Tuesday evening and the call was disconnected after holding on for 30 minutes. I wish the lady I spoke to on Monday had advised me of the consequences and what they actually did (this call I was holding on for 20min - zero updates, yet again) . When I spoke to Nadine at Vodacom Online, she advised that there was no need to activate the sim - Why was I not advised of this on Monday when I called the call centre? I'm so frustrated with Vodacom I feel like cancelling my contract!