o2 simplicity - advice please

mrs_tooti-frooti

Hiya,

My son wants to move onto the simplicity so that he gets the inclusive 150 mins calls a month. At the moment he is on the o2 £10 a month 300 free texts (what was the old genie card).

The problem is, or rather, what I am wondering is, after he has used the 150 mins of inclusive calls on the simplicity would he be able to continue making calls and run up a huge bill. As you can probably make out from the wording of this post, I pay his bill!!!

At the minute, he has 300 texts and £10 to spend on calls and then thats it until the next top up date. The last thing I want to do is give him free reign with the mobile, gawd knows what the bills would be like!!

Any one with any experience of this tariff?

Thanks

Mrs TF

Money_Grabber13579

Yes, it's possible. However, I believe it's possible to put a credit limit on the account, however this isn't any where near fool proof.

doelani

My son , pays his own bill, has had a simplicity bill of £196 so yes it can be run up.

paperclip4201

If it's set up on your card you'll have reign over the account, remember that.

If he runs up a bill it's his responsibility to pay it off, if he doesn't, as it's a simplicity tariff, your trust of him has been breached and i'd advise you to cancel the contract. But you should trust him initially.

My mum never let me get a contract as a teenager, ended up spending £30 a month on top ups when i could've got a plan for £20 paying for it all, waste of money tbh (currently on my 2nd contract as an adult, never missed a paymet).

tarajayne

I have the simplicity for my son at £20 per month. He has that instead of pocket money. 600 mins and unlimited texts and I either check his phone myself (21202) to check balance or look online. He is very good at keeping track himself though!

Kat-D

21202 can be up to 48 hours incorrect whereas online account is more up to date.

Katgrit

You son would be best with T-Mobile Solo Fixed 15 or 20.

This is a 30 day rolling contract so you can cancel at anytime. It is either £15 for 350 minutes and unlimited texts OR £20 for 600 mins, unlimited texts and also 1GB mobile internet (which is PLENTY!!). If he goes over these minutes it will need topping up via pre-pay, so he cant run up a bill for you. Make sure you ask for Solo FIXED because without the fix bit it'll just be normal Solo and extra calls will go onto a bill.

If your son is sensible enough to keep within his minutes then this is ideal as he'd never need to top up. And you arent risking a whopping huge bill landing on your doorstep!!

He should be able to transfer over his current number to T-mobile if he requests a PAC code from O2. T-mobile will let you transfer a number over at any point of the first 6 months of a new contract.

ivinsp

which network does your son ring mostly?

if it's o2 how about your numbers, £5 for 1000 mins/sms to up to 10 nominated o2 numbers

or maybe a calls/home calls bolt on?

Cavey

I would never give someone else a contract phone with a bill that I was responsible for. I do not think it is worth the heart-ache.

I don't know how old your son is, but the thing that would concern me is not your son, but the people in his vicinity.

The simplicity tariff effectively gives the phone access to your bank account. If the phone is lost/stolen or simply abused by someone else, you could be liable for some, if not all of the usage. It could be as little as a friend from work/school/college texting a keyword to an inappropriate chatline for a "joke" when the phone is left alone for two seconds.

I don't trust the credit-limit capping. I asked O2 to cap my usage to £50 (I have never been over £30) and they replied saying ok, but there are circumstances where this limit could be exceeded. So no guarantees.

I also asked O2 to block international calls and premium rate texts. They said ok, but I was able to call Belgium when the need arose (was expecting to have to un-bar the call) and I have not tried the premium text option.

If you really want a contract with a proper limit, try the Solo Fixed or U-Fix style (or similar ones from other vendors) that have a basic contract-style allowance with further charges covered by a pre-pay system.

iwanttosave_2

o2 don't put a credit limit on contracts because the service cannot be guarenteed.

I would stick with PAYG until he is willing/old enough to have the responsibility of his own. I'd say most of the billing queries I've come across are because little Timmy has had the phone and it seems there are lots of charges.

skintas_2

i was with simplicity than i cahnged to the 12 month contract with 800 mins, unlimited calls at weekends and i think 1600 texts, was the same as your son £20 a month i find it better as i always go over the 600 minutes..still with 02