emergencu phone

JimArnold

Looking to buy ny 80year old Aunt a cheap PAYG phone for emergency use - cost of calls probably irrelevant as she won't use it !

I need a cheap simple phone with long battery life on a network which allows the phone to be inactive for a long time without cancelling the credit

Suggestions ?

movilogo

I think all network will disable the number if no chargeable call is made in 180 days.

For real emergency calls [ie 999 or 112], even phone without a SIM card can be used.

Snakeeyes21

is this cheap enough http://www.dialaphone.co.uk/pay-as-you-go/virgin/alcatel-ot-203-black/ I think if you go via quidco you can get £5 cashback aswell

It has up to 350 hours battery life on standby

you need to topup £10.

If you call the phone every couple of months itll stay active

JimArnold

looks ideal except that virgin appear to cut you off after 90 days if phone is not used for chargeable service
in their T&Cs
g) chooses not to use our Services within a 90 day period either by making a chargeable call or sending a text message;

So they are not all 180 days !

without going through them all does anyone KNOW which are ?

smiley-me

I think O2 PAYG stays active even if you don't use it. I can't find evidence to back up my thoughts but it might be a good place to start looking or give them a call to ask.

WychWeird

Have you tried calling the various network providers to see if they offer something that suits your needs? Who knows, they may offer a specific, low use, big button phone on a minimal contract for just such a situation.

**Edit**
Just found these, but I assume you need a network SIM:
http://www.easytousemobiles.com/

Snakeeyes21

How about something like 3s sim zero? its a sim where you pay for what you use at the end of the month, like a contract but with no set cost, set it up in your name,then you wouldnt have to think about if she has credit to use in an emergency, plus theres no credit that can expire and the phone will always be active and ready to use even if it isn't used that often
http://threestore.three.co.uk/dealsummary.aspx?offercode=1SO0D001

SIM Zero
Pay for what you use at the end of each month
Free Skype-to-Skype calls and messages
Call other UK networks or landlines anytime, just 20p a minute
Text cost 10p each
Free Windows Live Messenger(on most of our handsets
Free voicemail

couple that with a ZTE F102 for £29.99 http://threestore.three.co.uk/payg/dealsummary.aspx?offercode=DSL0PP060 plus go via quidco for £18 cashback

mchale

If you go with Virgin and set up a DD for the payments, you won't get cut off

JimArnold

I don't really want to set up a DD - she doesn't have a suitable bank account and I wouldn;t like it in my name in case she loses it and doesn't notice for 3 weeks !

Looks like I'll have to ask each of the networks but I was hoping soemone else already had done the research. Must be a common question

OK I'll do the legwork and post the results