International Travelling Sim

iceburn

Oh one of those, remember that.

monomer

andy88 wrote:

... it is even more notorious than I thought. I've just spent 56 minutes talking to Orange CS and 27 to Virgin CS. At the moment Orange think OVP Virgin is 43p but seem to have charged about 30p; OVP Voda 25p peak, 12.5p off-peak (this sounds very odd indeed), charged 50p. Virgin CS don't know and will get info and call me back

Virgin Mobile CS told me about a month ago that 0870 and 0871 numbers were charged at 15p/minute at all times, and 0845 were charged at 10p/min at all times. They weren't able to give me any info on charges for 0844 numbers.

Unfortunately, Virgin Mobile themselves don't allow voice diverts except to Voicemail (even if you opt into their Pay Monthly direct debit option).

iceburn

andy88 wrote:

can still divert calls using the phone itself. On OVP Voda they have charged 50p per minute and on OVP Virgin 30p per minute for 0871 number. I hope they are checking these tariffs, as I believe from elsewhere that Virgin charge !5p, but it is notoriously difficult to get charging details from any of the networks. I've just been told again it is 12p - correction it's a premium rate number.

Edit - it is even more notorious than I thought. I've just spent 56 minutes talking to Orange CS and 27 to Virgin CS. At the moment Orange think OVP Virgin is 43p but seem to have charged about 30p; OVP Voda 25p peak, 12.5p off-peak (this sounds very odd indeed), charged 50p. Virgin CS don't know and will get info and call me back

No Orange no longer checks the OVP tariffs much anymore. Ppl on the newsgroup and orange list think it is really now a big con. They do not match the 0871 call rates, roaming rates, bolt ons, etc etc.. The list is endless. In most cases now it is better to go just get the real tariff from the other network. The expection being OVP freetime 750 (if that is still availble for new connections. Since you can call the pre-dial number and than make calls with the minutes from it.

andy88_2

I heard back from Virgin and forgot to re-edit that post. 15p per minute. Now I try and convince Orange. What was frustrating was to be told to begin with that Orange merely pass on the premium rate number supplier charges; it took some time to get across the point that this statement was inconsistent with them charging me 2 different prices.

Something odd about OVP Virgin is that 0870 calls drop tp 5p, same as landlines and Orange. I was kinda hoping this might happen with 0871 as well.

Maybe we shouldn't go on at length about this as nobody else can get an 0871 number to FL mobile at the moment, and OVP Virgin no longer available either, so it's rather abstruse for now.

iceburn

andy88 wrote:

I heard back from Virgin and forgot to re-edit that post. 15p per minute. Now I try and convince Orange. What was frustrating was to be told to begin with that Orange merely pass on the premium rate number supplier charges; it took some time to get across the point that this statement was inconsistent with them charging me 2 different prices.

Something odd about OVP Virgin is that 0870 calls drop tp 5p, same as landlines and Orange. I was kinda hoping this might happen with 0871 as well.

Maybe we shouldn't go on at length about this as nobody else can get an 0871 number to FL mobile at the moment, and OVP Virgin no longer available either, so it's rather abstruse for now.

Oh you can still get 0871 number to FL mobile. No charge to you I am not so sure (havent look.) But for people who "want" ovp virgin I doubt many would now you can get it from ebay. Likewise with everyday 50, people sell them on ebay. Since orange still allow people to transfer those contract.

andy88_2

MSE_Martin wrote:

Years ago i wrote about the Mint card a multi-country cheaper Sim system. Now https://www.sim4travel.co.uk has launched something similar.

I'm still waiting for a lot of details on it - but thought you may find it interesting to take a peek at in the meantime

(feedback from anyone who's trying one is very welcome)

Martin, as I sent you information about this SIM, though not this agent, several weeks before you posted this, perhaps you could look again at what I sent more recently about using it even more cheaply, as described on a now unpinned thread.

Fry_2

Just to add to the range of International SIM companies and the debate (I have not tried them),

see: http://www.textbay.net/sims/UK/index.php

"# International SIMs - ‘Pay as you go ‘SIM cards for over 60 countries
# Dual SIMs - Enjoy the convenience of having two country accounts on a single SIM
# TextBay Callback - Save even more money by letting us connect you to the cheapest international phone lines"

P.S. Thanks to 'Andy88' for his reply earlier in this thread.