Cheapest PAYG option

bloomsberg78

All,
Let me quickly give you some background, which will explain my ignorance, further down
I was probably one of the last of the human race to get a mobile and even then it's paid for by work, so have never been involved in weighing up Contract v PAYG, etc, etc

My partner is in financial trouble and am helping her cut her costs, I discovered to my horror, some months she paid £60+ and I wouldn't say she is a heavy user and apparantly doesn't even recieve a bill, so she has no idea what drives up the cost. What an absolute Scam:mad:

What we're looking at, in the short term, is getting her onto PAYG. My idea was something that she could load £5 or £10 onto it, and only use the phone in absolute emergencies. We would like something where the credit roles over to the next month if it isn't spent and preferable free to get going (we'd like to use an old phone she already has)

But was doing a search on this forum (so have tried to research, before posting this) and came across this link:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=489484

It appears that the person who wrote this was requesting the same as us, but the replies seemed to be listing £10-14 per month! - which seems an horific amount to pay. Is this really and truely the cheapest way to own a mobile phone on PAYG? Is there nothing where we can just bang a Fiver onto it and let it sit there for 3 or 4 months? Whilst the phone is just used for incoming calls and the occasional text.

Sorry if I appear to have been living in a bubble for the last 10 years:D

mh1923

I use virgin mobile, and the minutes roll over every month. I receive far more calls than I make, so I've probably only used up £20 worth of credit since the start of the year. I thought all mobile companies were like this with their PAYG plans, but you'd better check if you go with someone different.

redsquirrel80

I've got a T Mobile PAYG, you can put a fiver on with a top up card, their various plans are pretty good for low users, and I'm pretty sure credit doesn't expire if you don't use it by a certain point.

mh1923

On reading the thread you linked, I think all those 'spend £10 or more a month' deals were just to get extra freebies added on. If you don't spend that much, you just pay a set rate per minute or per text. Sort of like 'Buy 3 get 1 free' at the grocery store. If you only need one, then there's no reason buying more just to get something free.

thesaint

Your partner needs to be out of her minimum contract period, and then can simply convert her contract to Pay-as-you-go.

I don't think PAYG credits expire anymore do they?

If your partner is spending £60+ a month, expecting a fiver "too sit there for 3 or 4 months" is somewhat optimistic.

davetrousers

I am with Vodafone and do not receive a bill (as you have to pay for it) but I do check my account online.

As I understand it you can generally change your tariff mid-contract. If you are out of contract you can cancel (usually with 30 days notice). If you want to keep your number you will need to request the PAC code then tell the new 'provider' of this.

Mobile Phones are very competitive so you should be able to find something to suit your needs.

bloomsberg78

Thank you all for your kind advice, at least we know there are some reasonable deals out there now.

mikeD

I had a PAYG phone with O2. As I got it to make sure I was OK in case of emergencies and did not use it very much they disconnected me. So that phone is now useless. Have just bought a new phone (Motorola) with Virgin as my Daughter says they have never cut her off and she does'nt use it that much. Also the PAYG charges seem very reasonable. Unless you know better!!

Ypaymore

All payg networks require you to make a call, or send a text every six months. Some dont strictly enforce it to the T. Virgin are particularly good in this respect,and allow you a lot more grace. Virgin are ok unless you want to make x-net calls where they charge 35p a minute. The cheapest overall supplier for this type of call is Asda piggybacking on Voda. 16p a minute for first 3 minutes,then 8p a minute.

http://www.asda-mobile.com/

mikeD

Ypaymore wrote: »

All payg networks require you to make a call, or send a text every six months. Some dont strictly enforce it to the T. Virgin are particularly good in this respect,and allow you a lot more grace. Virgin are ok unless you want to make x-net calls where they charge 35p a minute. The cheapest overall supplier for this type of call is Asda piggybacking on Voda. 16p a minute for first 3 minutes,then 8p a minute.

http://www.asda-mobile.com/

Thanks Ypaymore, another thing I like about Virgin is you can go online to top up the mobile and it is all very simple.

truscotsman72

It's been a while since I used 02 payg, but when I was using it, the calls were 35p a min for the first 3 mins, after that, I believe it was about 2p a min for the rest of the day. Texts are 10p and minimum top up is £10. As for leaving the phone for months, like most PAYG networks, a sim will last 6 month, so at least send one text or make one call every 5 and a bit months to keep it going