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Don’t worry, this isn’t an illicit trade in the more mature woman. The idea's to find the UK’s cheapest Pay-As-You-Go mobile, which can be kept for emergencies without using it (ie no need to top up each month).
What are we looking for?
The cheapest phone to buy?
Please then list the minimum top-up requirement each month?
This is all about a back-up emergency phone.
Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert.
Please note, answers don't constitute financial advice, it is based on generalised journalistic research. Always ensure any decision is made with regards to your own individual circumstance.
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Murphys no more pies club Member #67 Total loss 2st 6 lb
Last edited by MSE Andrea; 27-04-2005 at 2:21 PM..
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If you go to Amazon, there is a seller ( Harry7227) selling them for £4.99 supposedly new, where do you find out the postage costs though ? i have gone so far but it was asking for card details so stopped !
Colour phone Siemens A60 with Virgin - £29.99 delivered with SIM joining pack and £15 of airtime included or Nokia 1100 mono - £29.99, again with SIM joining pack and £15 airtime. No contract, no required top up, one flat rate: calls cost 15p a minute for the first five minutes of calls each day and 5p after that. That's for all standard UK calls and calls to other Virgin Mobile phones each day.
Last edited by MSE Andrea; 27-04-2005 at 2:22 PM..
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People throw good working phones away because they don't have the latest bells and whistles. If you can get one of these off a friend then just get a sim card.
Orange sell the a sim pack for £2.99, O2 are free but require you to top up each month and Vodaphone sell them at about £5.
Not a source for a cheap phone, so you will need your old one but...
Try https://www.easymobile.com/ for very low prices 2p per text and 6p for voice calls until end of June. I haven't tried it yet myself - but when my T-Mobile credit runs out I probably will - unless of course someone here knows better!
To be perfectly frank and honest....
the pound in your pocket is worth...
you definately don't have to top up on orange. My daughter has my old pay as you go phone for emergencies, I use it for the cinema 2 for 1 deal, last put £10 over a year ago!
My granny has a very cheap PAYG for emergencies (sorry can't remember make, I bought it a while ago and she keeps it in the glove box!) but the problem is she can't see the buttons too well and her fingers, being arthritic are too big for the buttons! I'm sure she can't be the only one. Does anyone know of a larger size not-quite-so-mobile phone? She is totally uninterested in whistles, flutes, bells and game playing functions!
Best for Granny is the Nokia 1100 (see post above) which has specifically been designed by Nokia for the needs of the elderly. Good sized buttons and large screen font size. Incredibly easy to use as Nokia have reduced the key buttons for all functions to just 1 button.
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you definately don't have to top up on orange. My daughter has my old pay as you go phone for emergencies, I use it for the cinema 2 for 1 deal, last put £10 over a year ago!
And does this still work for the Film Wednesdays? I was considering buying a PAYG on the Orange network (just for emergency use) hoping to get this perk but see from their site that you have to spend £5 per month on calls to qualify.
People throw good working phones away because they don't have the latest bells and whistles. If you can get one of these off a friend then just get a sim card.
Orange sell the a sim pack for £2.99, O2 are free but require you to top up each month and Vodaphone sell them at about £5.
I think emergency (999) calls work with no credit I also heard they work even without a sim card.
If the phone is locked to a particular network, they may charge you an awful lot to get it unlocked so you can use a different network's SIM card. My mum had an old O2 mobile which she wanted to buy a Virgin SIM for - however O2 would have charged her £15 and taken 28 days just to unlock the handset so we could use a different network's SIM in it. We decided it was a better deal just to buy a new phone...
I believe that, although you can *dial* 999 or 112 with no SIM, the call won't be connected. (The network won't connect the call without a SIM).
Q6.7: Can I make emergency calls (112/999) on a phone with no SIM? Not in the UK. The handset will attempt to make the call, but there is no legal requirement on the network to accept the call. None of the UK networks will accept the call. (uk.telecom.mobile FAQ)
student100 has now graduated, and is slowly getting used to the idea of being a businessman...
Last edited by student100; 21-04-2005 at 10:10 AM..
My mum had an old O2 mobile which she wanted to buy a Virgin SIM for - however O2 would have charged her £15 and taken 28 days just to unlock the handset so we could use a different network's SIM in it
On this site somewhere there is links to sites that unlock your phone for free.Also there is a member of mse who can do it for you but i forget who it is.Anyone shed any light on this matter? I have actually used it to unlock one of my phones free.
Anyone recommend a cheap handset on vodafone (already have a sim but it might be worth buying with a new one and selling that SIM on) ? I have a 3330 and want something similar (my battery is dead and it minimum £20 for a Li-ion one). It must be new and from a reputable retailer - preferably on the high street.
Not a source for a cheap phone, so you will need your old one but...
Try https://www.easymobile.com/ for very low prices 2p per text and 6p for voice calls until end of June. I haven't tried it yet myself - but when my T-Mobile credit runs out I probably will - unless of course someone here knows better!
I signed up with them...picked my own easy to remember number (Only mobile no. I've ever been able to remember) for Free...
So far excellent service it is using T Mobile Network
You have use a fiver every 3 months or they charge you 78p ..
Last edited by oldboy2000; 21-04-2005 at 11:40 AM..
Not the cheapest so far, but still a good deal.... and it's triband, just in case Granny drives to America!
Siemens A60 £29.99 + £15 Free Airtime (£10 credit for buying online and £5 on sim card) = £14.99
Last edited by MSE Andrea; 27-04-2005 at 2:23 PM..
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