Good Tariff with free phone for Kids? Help Please

lnjk

I am looking for a phone for my daughter when she goes to secondary school.
Tesco mobile do the 'Chat' phone for free and £7.50 a month includes 250 mins 5000 texts.

Please can anyone tell me if this is a good deal or if their are any better?
Thanks

victor2

Depends what phone she "needs", but seriously consider a PAYG SIM. It might help teach her to control her use and won't be the end of the world if it gets stolen or misused by a friend.
Basic phones can be picked up for as little as £10 and PAYG SIMs are free, but I'm sure a basic phone won't do!
Of course you'll get the inevitable "I would have phoned you, but my phone ran out of credit" excuse one day, but it generally beats getting hit unexpectedly with a huge bill.

latecomer

I would go with Tesco as you can cap the monthly amount which means no nasty bills - no idea about that phone.

lnjk

victor2 wrote: »

Depends what phone she "needs", but seriously consider a PAYG SIM. It might help teach her to control her use and won't be the end of the world if it gets stolen or misused by a friend.
Basic phones can be picked up for as little as £10 and PAYG SIMs are free, but I'm sure a basic phone won't do!
Of course you'll get the inevitable "I would have phoned you, but my phone ran out of credit" excuse one day, but it generally beats getting hit unexpectedly with a huge bill.

Thanks but that is something I didnt mention about Tesco is that they cap it so she cannot go over the limit. The phone looks good for a little girls as well.

NiftyDigits

This isn't much of an issue, as you can choose to 'cap' the contract with Tesco Mobile...as aforementioned(wrote this earlier, but forgot to post it).
But a two year contract? Do you think that she will be happy with that phone for two years?

Perhaps you should read a review: pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/mobile-phone/3267431/samsung-chat-335-review/

Eleven years old isn't little. In London, you'll probably be expected to have a BlackBerry.

victor2

lnjk wrote: »

Thanks but that is something I didnt mention about Tesco is that they cap it so she cannot go over the limit. The phone looks good for a little girls as well.

Capping usage sounds good, even if it means there's still the potential for hitting the cap and not being able to call you. Of course you'd be tied into a contract and paying for minutes/texts that may not get used, and don't carry over to subsequent months. PAYG would avoid that, although you then have the hassle of topping up regularly, which can be done online and with a credit card (at least I know Orange can, so assume Tesco is similar).
I guess it comes down to the ease of a contract versus the possible inconvenience of managing a PAYG system.

4Xchaos

I have two young "teenies" and would definitely regard "a little bit of hassle" (which equates to 2-3 minutes per month) topping up preferable to a scary phone bill.

We are all on giff-gaff (o2) which despite some loathing, I like. They can always call me (or text) for free. I can top us up together at the same time.

I buy reasonable 2nd hand phones - not models to get mugged for but "ok phones for a teenie" and have a £5 hokey-cokey bag but there are other options available.