Giffgaff goodybags good for indecisive money saver?

NotVeryTechie

Hi there all

I hope you can help a very indecisive person. I have finally replaced my phone, which is a dinosaur. I bought a Samsung Galaxy S5 outright from Amazon, so as far as I know it is totally unlocked (hope I am right :eek:)

Now I need a new sim/contract/PAYG/whatever to use it (currently it is a nice looking paperweight ). Anyway, I have been trying to work out what to go for. I am a light phone user, but would use some Apps and I send a lot of texts to my family in South Africa. It would be nice to be able to call them too on occasion.

I have looked and looked and just can't get to a decision. I am now thinking that it may be best to do something like a goodybag from Giffgaff. I can roll that over as long as I am happy with it, and change it if I later make a different decision. It will cost a bit more than I have been topping up on PAYG, but not horrifically much (looking at the £15 pm deal).

Is this a good way to go? Or is a contract going to be better in the long run? Also, can I keep my number if I buy a goodybag? I don't want to change it. If not, what other deals should I be looking at?

I really want reliability and little hassle. One thing that does put me off about Giffgaff is that I do prefer to talk to a human face-to-face and they are only online. But it is not really worth paying O2 or EE prices just for that.

Hope you have some advice!

wongataa

A goodybag has no relation on keeping your number. A goodybag is just another way of paying for the mobile service instead of PAYG. To keep your existing number you need to get a PAC of your current network and use it to transfer your number to your new network.

Note that the inclusive texts and voice minutes GiffGaff goodybag won't be able to be used when contacting a foreign phone number. They can only be used to contact UK numbers so any contact with South Africa would come out of your PAYG balance.

I think pretty much every talk/text bundle available from UK networks will not include overseas numbers.

With any network if there are no issues then you have no reason to contact them. It's up to you whether you think online contact is better than contacting a call centre somewhere or not.

musafir05

Try ID Mobile they piggyback on the 3 Network and offer 4G free of charge subject to availability. There sim-only deal start at £5 and offer slightly better value to other private mobile networks.

cashmonger

Giff gaff have become not the cheapest in town. Check my recent threads on the subject where others have replied with more competitive offers.

NotVeryTechie

Thanks guys. Although I don't want to spend money unnecessarily, I am not looking to chase only the very lowest deal. I do want ease of use and good customer service too.

grumbler

NotVeryTechie wrote: »

It will cost a bit more than I have been topping up on PAYG,

Which PAYG exactly?

Is this a good way to go?

How long is a piece of string? All depends on your usage in terms of min/texts/Mb. Giffgaff used to be very popular because of cheaper data only, but they aren't the cheapest anymore. Intensive direct texting to SA can cost you a lot @8p/text. Calls @3p/min look good though.

I really want reliability and little hassle. One thing that does put me off about Giffgaff is that I do prefer to talk to a human face-to-face and they are only online. But it is not really worth paying O2 or EE prices just for that.

Well, it's often easier to use a live chat than wait in a telephone queue.
>> EE introduces customer services queue jump

JJ_Egan

Judged by forum posts a face to face talk is often as useful as talking to the wall .

diamonds

Vectone (EE) give uptp 60% off whan you have a UK £10 pocket saver bundle 1p landline calls and 5p mobile calls to SA, texts are 15p tho

http://www.vectonemobile.co.uk/pay-as-you-go/offer/low-cost-international-calls-uk.aspx



Lycamobile has Global Plus bundles that include UK and SA calls from£15 a month

NotVeryTechie

grumbler wrote: »

Which PAYG exactly?

I have been on Virgin PAYG (the old style package) since 2005.

All depends on your usage in terms of min/texts/Mb.

This is where the trouble starts. I have not had a smartphone until now, so I have no idea what my data usage would be. I will probably check email and facebook and may use other apps, but impossible to tell at this stage.

In terms of minutes and texts, I have been relying on people calling me because I was on PAYG. I would actually use the minutes if I had them as part of a package. How much? I have no idea.

Intensive direct texting to SA can cost you a lot @8p/text. Calls @3p/min look good though.

Not that intensive. But it does eat an allowance over time.

diamonds

o2 International Favourites ? Gives SA users a local number to call you

grumbler

NotVeryTechie wrote: »

I have been on Virgin PAYG (the old style package) since 2005.

What does 'package' mean? If it's just 'tariff' and it's as 'good' as their current PAYG tariffs with 8p+ per minute prices, than it's hardly a surprise that you kept paying ~£15 p.m.

This is where the trouble starts. I have not had a smartphone until now, so I have no idea what my data usage would be. I will probably check email and facebook and may use other apps, but impossible to tell at this stage.

500Mb can suffice for a light user and will cost no more than £5 on a pure PAYG with 1p/Mb (Three, Delight mobile) without any bundles. Calls are 3p/min; UK texts 2p/min, but international can be expensive.

Not that intensive. But it does eat an allowance over time.

Do they offer allowances for international texts?