Cheapest way to keep number?

vladman · 1 May 2008 at 2:04PM

Hi,

I've had my private mobile phone number for over ten years now, but I've not been using it in the last couple of years, as I have a company mobile phone now. But I'm still paying some £20 a month, just to keep the contract (and my number) going.

What would be the best option for me, so that I can keep my number, for an indefinite amount of time ideally, with the least hassle, and without spending £20 a month? Pay-as-you-go Sim-card? There's so many, and as far as I know, a lot of them expire if you don't use them for some time... Are there any other options?

Many thanks.

espresso · 1 May 2008 at 2:42PM

Request a PAC, port it to a free PAYG SIM. Make a chargeable call before 180 days elapse. Cost approx 20-30p per year, compared to £240.

vladman · 1 May 2008 at 6:21PM

hi espresso, thanks for your reply.

at the risk of being accused of being cheeky, would you be able to recommend a specific PAYG SIM? as i said, there are many out there, and if there's one universally thought to be the "best" one, i was hoping you could tell me what it is?

thanks again.

oscar_merkx · 1 May 2008 at 8:53PM

espresso wrote: »

Request a PAC, port it to a free PAYG SIM. Make a chargeable call before 180 days elapse. Cost approx 20-30p per year, compared to £240.

Great advice, have just done that

espresso · 2 May 2008 at 9:19AM

vladman wrote: »

hi espresso, thanks for your reply.

at the risk of being accused of being cheeky, would you be able to recommend a specific PAYG SIM? as i said, there are many out there, and if there's one universally thought to be the "best" one, i was hoping you could tell me what it is?

thanks again.

Not sure that there is a 'best' one. All that I would say is that both T-Mobile and Vodafone cut you off immediately on the 180 day, and are then very awkward about re-activation, so I would avoid those.

utilitybroker · 2 May 2008 at 9:50AM

The best is probaly Virgin as they dont strictly enforce their 180 day rule,and they give you Free Voicemail.

Even though they dont enforce it strictly you still should make a chargeable call or send a chargeable text evey six months to be on safe side.

You can grab a free Virgin Sim here plus some free credit which will last you a while to send the odd text/or make short calls.

http://www.virginmobile.co.uk/promo/duoSim.html

virgo17 · 2 May 2008 at 10:43AM

Another vote for Virgin.

I have a couple of their SIM cards that were not used for about 9 months and were still working fine. To be safe though, follow the previous suggestions and make a short call every 180 days.

Tesco Mobile is another one that springs to mind but I'm not too sure how rigorously they enforce the 180 day rule.

V.

vladman · 2 May 2008 at 1:48PM

Thank you VERY much everyone, I'll give Virgin a go. :-)

amar_fiaz · 2 May 2008 at 8:54PM

one thing to bear in mind about Virgin is that apparently you need to make a min of £30 calls/txts before they will release a PAC code for you to transfer your number again. Thats what they stold me when i enquired 2 weeks ago (similar situation, i needed to 'park' my number somewhere while checking out the best deals for monthly contracts)

I've decided to go with Orange PAYG. They say there is no restriction on releasing a PAC code. You'll get £1 credit when you register a sim plus they are currently running a promotion whereby you get £5 credit for transfering your number to them from another provider. That adds up to quite a few Orange weds cinema tickets!!

thor · 4 May 2008 at 6:42PM

I have never bothered about keeping a number after cancelling a contract but I have had my current one for nearly 2 years and am tempted to keep it(it is also the first one I have managed to memorise). Therefore I have not investigated ways of transferring from one phone to another.
What I know is that you must request a pac from the network provider who are obligated to send it to you and will cancel the contract at the same time. You will then have a set number of days(typically 30) to get it moved onto your new network(either payg or contract). It is this 2nd bit that I am a bit fuzzy about. What is the procedure involved? If I want to move my number to an existing payg sim card, do I call up the network provider for the sim card and give them the pac? Is this all that is required?

Anon · 4 May 2008 at 8:44PM

thor wrote: »

You will then have a set number of days(typically 30) to get it moved onto your new network(either payg or contract). It is this 2nd bit that I am a bit fuzzy about. What is the procedure involved? If I want to move my number to an existing payg sim card, do I call up the network provider for the sim card and give them the pac? Is this all that is required?

Once you have your PAC, you have 30 days to use it. You call up the network that you want to transfer it to, give them the PAC and two business days later the number transfers across (basically, a text message comes through, switch off phone and back on, the number has now moved). It used to take 7 days but OFCOM made a change to the system to speed up the change for convenience of customers - once the number has transferred, your contract technically ends with the old network (but you may still be liable for charges if you have not served the minimum term of your contract).

I have done this quitea few times - used to use Virgin as they have £5 free on the sim which is enough to keep you going while the number transfers across. However, as mentioned above, they seem to gave implimented a £30 minimum spend before letting you have a PAC (not sure as didn't check with them!). I used Orange to facilitate my Three to Three transfer - slight delay as unlike Three (who issue your PAC instantly by text) Orange now send it out in the post in 3-5 working days

.

Anon

Cheapest way to keep number?

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