Is Tesco's Pay as You Go any good?

mobilegossip

very_skint wrote:

Can anyone recommend one which would be good to use with Tesco mobile. or supply a list of good ones to look into.

Just wondering now if my phone will allow me to pick a number from the phonebook and dial it whilst connected to the dial through service. (using a Motorola V620).

All the ones that start 07744 97 emulate from the same company Simply Fone,who are the market leaders So it doesnt matter what one you choose to use
07744 97 4116,4404,4333, etc etc . Their all as good as one another,and go through same switch.

very_skint

Hi there,
I havent transfered to Tesco mobile yet so cannot try this out myself yet.(waiting to use up my current credit first).

Say for instance you have one of your favourite numbers as 07744 97 4116 (dial through access number)

Then in your mobile's phone book you save a number like 07744974116p01626XXXXXX (where p is a pause) would that then be recognised by tesco as your favourite number or would the p and the number after it mess it up?.

i.e the idea is to have the dial through access number as your favourite number but then have many of your phone book numbers after it so that you can maximise the feature.

WSO

You can save an instant 10% on all your Tesco mobile automatic top-ups... I was using a manual top-up via text using this service (£10 can last me 3 month) but since discovering the 10% discount on automated top-ups I will be using an auto top-up when I'm close to running out and then cancel once it's gone through.

Sucessfully done this on my OHs temporary sim over a week ago.

At Tesco values rates, thats 4.5p per text which is cheapest I've found for text credit that doesn't expire before I get a chance to use it!

https://www.mastercardrepower.com/mccafe/tesco/view/Welcome.do

Get yourself a Repower account... I'm using my Egg Money card which gives me an extra 9p cashback every time I top up too... not sure about Clubcard points as I joined before I could add it and I've not managed to add one sucessfully yet - I'll rephrase, just added it - apparently all top-ups qualify for Clubcard points so thats another 9 or 10 points (depending on top-up method I guess) for every £10 there...

mobilegossip

very_skint wrote:

Hi there,
I havent transfered to Tesco mobile yet so cannot try this out myself yet.(waiting to use up my current credit first).

Say for instance you have one of your favourite numbers as 07744 97 4116 (dial through access number)

Then in your mobile's phone book you save a number like 07744974116p01626XXXXXX (where p is a pause) would that then be recognised by tesco as your favourite number or would the p and the number after it mess it up?.

i.e the idea is to have the dial through access number as your favourite number but then have many of your phone book numbers after it so that you can maximise the feature.

The 07744 number you first dial in the chain is the one you pay for . Where the call goes after that is no concern to the provider.(Putting a pause and number in does not effect this ).

redux

As S-F have dumped many European mobiles from their coverage, and others still have them, I wouldn't still call them the market leader.

steedie1

i have just been into Tesco - on another errand - and bought a sim pack for 1/2 price, £2.48 - it also has £1 of credit on the card as well,- Bargain I thought - I currently use O2 and the coverage with them has been very good , so if tesco use the same network the coverage shouldn't be a problem..

mobilegossip

Call them what you will.Most 07744 numbers in circulation belong to them.Their line quality is better then others.Their more upfront about what network you can use 07744 from.They started the whole idea.They offer calls to some destinations others dont eg 0845/0870.So i think its reasonable to use the term market leader.Number of destinations reached is not the sole criteria in coming to that conclusion.

very_skint

mobilegossip wrote:

The 07744 number you first dial in the chain is the one you pay for . Where the call goes after that is no concern to the provider.(Putting a pause and number in does not effect this ).

Thank you, thats what I was hoping, just another £7 worth of credit to go before I change over.

Could last me a while, but if I transfer before feb 19th ish, tesco give you another £5 worth of credit.

RE: The auto top-up,
What is the minimum amount and maximum duration of the allowed topup, i.e I would like lets say £5 every two months, but is the minimum £10 and 1 month?

WSO

Simon, like you I am a light user so do not use too much. Yes, the minimum amount for the auto top-up is £10 per month (no chance of me using that within a month) - however, because we are light users we can cheat a bit with a little forward planning.

My first auto top-up for £10 monthly has been set up for the 1st of Feb - when I get my credit on the morning of the 2nd (payment is processed overnight on your chosen day) I will cancel the auto top-up and set another one up when I'm down to my last £1 or so next time around.

When I last topped up in Nov I used the text service the repower account offers (again £10 is the minimum) - however saw the 10% discount after topping up otherwise I would have done it last time too!

£10 of credit for £9 when you need it without too much effort seems a good deal to me! (Having 5p texts on my Tesco value sim is just a bonus - yes I'm a texter when I use it!)

redux

mobilegossip wrote:

Call them what you will.Most 07744 numbers in circulation belong to them.Their line quality is better then others.Their more upfront about what network you can use 07744 from.They started the whole idea.They offer calls to some destinations others dont eg 0845/0870.So i think its reasonable to use the term market leader.Number of destinations reached is not the sole criteria in coming to that conclusion.

Ok, maybe so. But many of the destinations are available for under a penny a minute on top of inclusive minutes, so it is hardly the great prospect that it was a year ago, when many European mobiles were also included. This isn't leadership; it's retreat. For someone on an O2 mobile, 0844 callthrough numbers cover most of the destinations anyway (and for payg cheaper off-peak when incl minutes have run out), so S-F is nearly redundant.

As for upfront, you haven't looked very critically at their suggestion to 3 customers to use an 0871 number to call foreign landlines, costing 10 or 15p per minute, when 18185 or Nobelcom would charge a penny or less from inclusive minutes. And then there are the mysterious posts about Orange access numbers ...