Using 19.99 Euro Free.fr sim card on hols in France?

sasparillo

Thanks for everyone who's answered. No doubt saving newbie and I will report back!

diamonds

Cool^ good luck !

Savingnewbie

I've successfuly placed an order. The address section is pretty annoying and it seems that you must enter a valid French postcode and district ; you can then tick the box that states that your address is not in list and manually enter details. In terms of payment methods, there is a greyed out option to enter debit card details instead of French bank a/c. I look forward to using the SIM later this month and will report back.
Thanks to all for their comments and help

diamonds

We look forward to news

sasparillo

Savingnewbie wrote: »

I've successfuly placed an order. The address section is pretty annoying and it seems that you must enter a valid French postcode and district ; you can then tick the box that states that your address is not in list and manually enter details. In terms of payment methods, there is a greyed out option to enter debit card details instead of French bank a/c. I look forward to using the SIM later this month and will report back.
Thanks to all for their comments and help

Hi Savingnewbie,

Thanks for posting this.

Can I just quiz you on a couple of things?

Does that mean you put a French address or you put your English address after entering a French postcode and district? Did you enter anything for the French bank a/c since you say the debit card details were grayed out?

I would love this to be ok as it would make my stay in France a lot more relaxing in terms of calls and internet!

crazyotterhound

Hi, I too am interested in this deal as I visit France about 3 months during the year. I have a French address and French bank account which will make registration a little simpler .What I am confused about is why they want you to sign up for direct debit if the contract is of 1 month duration? This sounds to me like the direct debit will roll over month to month unless cancelled i.e. this deal involves a cycle of direct debit cancellation/resign up when visiting and leaving France. Perhaps someone could clarify?

Kenneth_Keen

No report back from Savingnewbie, (text removed by MSE Forum Team), all as irritating as the fact that the telekons are all looking for ways to deceive us and call it marketing.

Does anyone have positive experience of a single company offering a SIM card which does not have a contract for France?

I went to a phone shop in France last week and after waiting the usual 30 minutes for the other two customers to get sorted was given the answer that my two dongles bought in Germany and Portugal may be unblocked for those countries but not necessarily unblocked for France - that is to say, I could buy a SIM card for anything up to 15€ and then find it was worthless. No, he did not have a card which he could test on my dongles, since he was also in the conn business and instead offered me a wonderful wifi station for "just 100€" which would work, but already having been conned in other countries I deferred his generous offer.

No doubt all those who have finally found a solution don't wish to waste their time letting us know, but perhaps there IS no solution and we will all remain slaves to some graduate marketing person who sold his life to make communication a ripp-off business for those taking the profits and who don't give a toot about taking fifty quid here and fifty quid there from as many uninformed "customers" or victims as they can find.

Is someone out there "happy" with what they pay for?

Even the free.fr is as far from "free" as one can imagine, with complicated twists and tricks to catch the unsuspecting soul. Also b-and-you.fr/carte-prepayee is, according to the kind man in the phone shop, a difficult thing to get out of, once they have your bank account. He said it takes a native French speaker over thirty minutes working through all the menus on the phone and even then they still book you for a service not provided.

I have used Filiago "service" from Germany across Europe, using a satellite dish to varying degrees of satisfaction. I finally cancelled the "no contract" contract many months ago and they are presently sending me solicitor's letters demanding payment for services never received. In my eyes there is not a single honest telecommunications company in all of Europe unless you call "charging people money for no service delivered" honest. When are you people finally going to stand up and blow your whistles?

Is the man Snowdon to be proven to be another victim because none of the rest of them have any backbone? And then even fewer people will be willing to stand up and say "we are being ripped off and are not going to take it any longer".

:mad:

PegasusPJ

the B&You PAYG has been withdrawn as of 2 days ago (I was going to get that as it had no time limit on the top-up, like in the UK*, unlike every other French networks).

I go to France several times a year but with top-ups expiring at most within 6 months (assuming you go for the expensive one, which I would waste money on as I don't call/text/data that much, the cheap ones only have 2 weeks lifetime!), I would need a new SIM or at least a new top-up every time (I tried that in the past, just gave up as too expensive).

so in the end I'm getting a relative (who lives in France and is on Free broadband) to get me a Free £2/month SIM .. only £24 a year (plus data when I'm there, cheaper than roaming).. plus I get access to the Free Wifi network

that said, it's mostly so that I can use some Data more cheaply.. just for calls/texts, with the cheap rates that the EU is imposing these days, it's not that bad to roam.

*I know in the UK that technically it expires if you don't use at all for 6 months.. but only 1 text keeps it active forever and you don't lose the money that's on it.. in France you lose the money after the set period, even if the number stays active for a wee bit longer.

redux

Also look at Joe Mobile, a brand run by SFR that might be slightly reminiscent of giffgaff.

€5 for a bundle of some calls and texts, add 1 GB of data for €6 (can be added mid-bundle), or €20 for calls texts and 3 GB. The monthly bundle would auto-renew, but it can be turned to off and the account stay alive for 6 months. Reactivate for your next visit.