Best simple cheap SIM only deal for 88 year old

Judith132

I have bought a simple mobile for my 88 year old father in law who wants a mobile so he can call for help if he or his wife have a problem when they are out. I want to get a standard SIM card that will give him a phone number, and for which he can just buy £10 top up as and when ne needs. His phone usage is likely to be very low so not worth even a cheap monthly SIM only package. Ideally it would be something where he could buy a top up card in the supermarket and apply the top up to his phone with minimal effort. Any suggestions please?

grumbler

Term 'sim-only' is normally used for contracts.
What you need is PAYG.
Three is the cheapest (3p/min) for infrequent use, but the phone has to be 3g-capable. To top up you can buy a voucher and call 444.

Alternatively check Tesco Lite and Sainsbury's Mobile. Both are 8p/min.

whitewing

Haven't used these people but have heard of the big button mobiles

http://www.easiphones.co.uk/product-category/mobilephones/

grumbler

whitewing wrote: »

Haven't used these people but have heard of the big button mobiles

http://www.easiphones.co.uk/product-category/mobilephones/

Judith132 wrote: »

I have bought a simple mobile...
I want to get a ....SIM card ...

.................

lollipopsarah

We bought a PAYG from EE this morning - £29.99 and put £10 credit on it.
I didn't realise that it's the same as my inlaws who are both in their late 80 - haha if they can use it then so can I.
xx

cashbag

As he is likely to only use the phone when there is a problem cost per minute is secondary to obtaining a signal so depending on where he lives get a SIM for whichever is reckoned to be the most reliable signal coverage.

Just make sure he also makes a regular call at the required interval (commonly every six months) to keep the phone & credit active. £10 will go a long way if the phone is little used but he has to make sure it doesn't get deactivated just when it is needed. Also keep the battery topped up.

husk

cashbag wrote: »

As he is likely to only use the phone when there is a problem cost per minute is secondary to obtaining a signal so depending on where he lives get a SIM for whichever is reckoned to be the most reliable signal coverage.

Exactly, don't get a Three sim for this reason. It won't work on a simple phone anyhow.

Check the online network coverage maps for 2G signal from O2, Vodafone and EE.

Tesco pay as you go Lite - uses 02 network
Mobile by Sainsbury's pay as you go - Vodafone
Asda Mobile pay as you go - EE

Alternatively if they are all about the same use the supermarket he shops at most of the time.

tyllwyd

If your father-in-law is elderly and this is his first mobile, the worst thing to do is to give him a mobile that he isn't going to use - he will forget how to use it, or the battery will run down, or he will lose it at the back of a drawer. Make sure you call him, or get him to call you on it regularly, at least every couple of weeks, just so that he gets confident using it.

Judith132

thanks to everyone for their advice. I'm only too aware of the risk that my father-in-law cannot work out how to use the phone, but he has asked for one so that's a good sign, and I've bought the simplest big button model available.

cashbag

Probably a very good idea for you to set yourself a diary alert to remind him to check the phone battery & make a quick call every so often - phone him on his landline, tell him to turn on his mobile, you send him a text & tell him to reply. And also put the phone on charge to keep topped up. Just a simple procedure to ensure that should an emergency occur he is prepared. When I gave my late father a phone I was able to do this & also set up his contact list to include only a very few essential contacts, plus local police & his doctor. I told him in an emergency it did not matter who he rang & even dialling 999 is acceptable if it is the only thing he can manage as the emergency services will understand that an elderly person in trouble but non emergency is not making malicious or time wasting calls.

diamonds

Judith132 wrote: »

thanks to everyone for their advice. I'm only too aware of the risk that my father-in-law cannot work out how to use the phone, but he has asked for one so that's a good sign, and I've bought the simplest big button model available.

Assume its 2G then, Delight Mobile charge the same as 3's 3/2/1 rates but its over EE 2G/3G.