Cheapest option for infrequent user

oddjob_3

Apologies if this has already been covered, but I currently have a PAYG with BT Cellnet and this is costing me approx £25.00/ month for min. usage i.e. 3 or 4 person to person calls per week and maybe 1 text per day on average.

I see "deals" at £3.99/month etc. with 120 calls and 1000 texts "which must be used between ?pm and ?pm" etc. All very confusing and I do not want have to make X no of calls to get the discounts as appears to be the case with my current provider.

i am happy with my own phone, a Nokia 33 something, and am not interested in games, pictures, inbuilt cameras and other gimmicks.

Best real deals appreciated please.

chalktalk

There are various contract deals which appear cheaper because they offer cashback - you need to make sure you cancel at the right time, and insome cases remember to apply for the cashback.

2 basic "no frills" options to use as yard sticks to compare offers against are -

freshtelecom.co.uk - no line rental PAYG with all calls (including all mobiles) at 15p/min at all times, all texts 5p. Free SIM card with first £10 top up. (works via t mobile network)

http://www.resource-utilities.co.uk/mob1.htm
£4 +VAT line rental per month, no free minuites but 8p+VAT per minute daytime rate, 2.5p+VAT weekend rate, free SIM card when you join, no minimum contract, free phone unlocking if required when first sign up, free itemised billing. (works via o2 network)

These are both not special offers - just standard deals against which to compare any deals you find.

bazza1603

Hi,

Orange do an online plan with 120 anytime minutes and 30 SMS for only £15 a month. Choice of handsets are limited.

Best Handsets for free are either the Nokia 6600 or Samsung E700. Both are a bit long in the tooth, but still are decent phones. I use the Nokia 6600 and will recommend it , as long as you can live with the size.

Vodafone do 18 month contracts for £15 that include 100 anytime minutes and 100 SMS.  I dont like 18 month contracts, as I wouldnot want to be tied to one network on phone for that long.

Best regards

Barry

derrick

Virgin Mobile,PAYG,no monthly fee click on link for tarrif list

Virgin Mobile

I think there is a referal cash icentive if refered by someone already on Virgin?

MarkyMarkD

I wouldn't call £15 a month "low user".

When I have previously looked to switch my wife from her current O2 deal (VERY old BT Cellnet deal (Easylife or something like that) which is 50p per minute for all calls but top-ups last forever) I have always fallen at the first hurdle because other deals insisted on a periodic top-up.

Is this no longer the case? E.g. with the Virgin deal referred to above - can you just top-up when you need to, even if you only spend £20 (or less) per year? I have followed the link but it's all a bit opaque to me - sorry.

(By the way, don't laugh at the 50p per minute - so what if your usage in an average year is literally 10 minutes or less, and as my company phone is also O2 we avoid cross-network charges from mine to hers).

djohn2002uk

;D ;D ;D ;D50p/min ;D ;D ;D ;D

djohn2002uk

:-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ Now I have to add, my wife is on the same o2 tariff. One call a month if she gets a bit extravegant  :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[

derrick

MarkyMarkD,with Virgin you only need to use the phone once every 180 days according to their website,but I have a letter from them dated February 2004 stating every 12 months,which they confirmed when I called CS,and they said they would check their site,they obviously haven`t,but even once every 180 days is OK if you don`t use the phone a lot,and when I have had to use CS they are very good and the call charege is only 10p per call,not per minute.
The part about the 180 days is at the bottom in the "legal bit"

derrick

Have just been on the phone to Virgin CS and have been told that the site is right, i.e. 180 days in which you have to use the phone,but this can be either voice calls,texts,or even voicemail retrieval and calls to 780 auto system from your phone,these last two are free but count to using your phone in the qualifying period.

Was also told that Virgin have never implemented this policy but the facility is there if needed,if you are cut off just phone them and they will reconnect you, also they will never take away your credit,this is yours for eternity (or until they change their T&Cs)

MarkyMarkD

Thanks for that info, Derrick - it's good to hear.

Other suppliers used to wipe your credit, disconnect your phone, blah blah blah.

We have a T-mobile phone (free from MBNA IIRC) which has NEVER been used and which now CANNOT be used because they blocked the SIM for lack of use - d'oh!

I realise that we could get another T-mobile (or presumably Virgin) SIM without any unlocking hassle, which was why I was interested in Virgin's minimum top-up policy.

Now, the question is how much I care about being able to make cheaper O2-O2 calls (which in reality amount to about 3 a year). And my wife actually likes her (free from Barclaycard) Philips O2 phone.

If I had been an MSE at the time, I would have sold the Motorola V2288 on eBay years ago rather than leaving it mouldering in a drawer.