Who to use After Sains ? My TPO experience.

The_Last_Username

Family = low user parent, low user adult & medium user adult; so 3 sims needed - pref. the same network (just for easiness) though not a necessity.
Medium user is ATM using 500 minutes/unlimited text/ 1Gb data bundle.

Currently Sainsburys mobile which is going; we were with Ovivo which went. Tried Giffgaff but problems with network in our area.
(O2 is very variable on both major MVNO's here, esp. in holiday season.)

So I'm thinking Asda Mobile - it's EE network and charges/bundles look ABOUT the same as Sainsburys are/were.

Concerns though:
1/ Poor reviews - esp. re customer care. (Found Sains to be 5*.)
2/ No online service. No online accounts; purchase of airtime etc.
(Can live with that bugbear.)
3/ Possibility of same happening AGAIN - I mean Asda discontinuing mobile service. They only do PAYG - and I have no idea how many (or few :cool: ) customers they have.

So, given that Vodafone MVNO's seem to have poor longevity and O2 have poor reception, are there better alternatives without increasing the spend?

alanjones60

Delight mobile. 3p a min. 2p a text . 1p per mb. Plus, free delight to delight calls and texts, you dont even need to top up to get the free stuff, Delight run on ee. Iv been with them over 6 months now. no problems yet

Herongull

How about The People's Operator, also on EE?

Free calls and texts within network (very useful if you often phone and text each other). Many other virtual mobile networks also give you this, but I don't think ASDA mobile does?

For the low users, TPO is generally cheaper than ASDA mobile eg 5p per minute to other mobiles and landlines, texts 3p to other networks.

For the medium user, there is a £10 bundle with 1000 texts, 600 minutes, and 1.5Gb. Is 1000 texts enough or does he really need more than this?

Also 10% of what you pay goes to charity with TPO.

I haven't used them myself (as I have different requirements) but I believe they have a reasonable reputation.

Herongull

Delight seems to get poor reviews, but it does have a £10 bundle that would work for the medium user 500 minutes, unlimited texts and 2 Gb data. Also has free calls within network. on EE network.

I was put off Delight by the reviews and also their data protection policy - they appear to have the right to pass your personal data onto third parties unless you option out, but the only way to opt out was to write to them and I was worried that by the time they processed your letter, the personal data might have already been sold on.

Actually it was their privacy policy - see paragraph d
http://www.delightmobile.co.uk/privacy-policy.aspx

A bit of a worry....

ripplyuk

I'm in a similar situation. I'm currently with Asda mobile and have found them to be great. Very polite and helpful on the phone and porting my number was hassle free ( it had ported before I woke up the next morning). I get a great signal in my house but unfortunately many other places I go to, I'm getting no signal at all. I was just about to move to Sainsbury's within the next few days!

I always like to speak to someone before signing up, just to gauge how helpful/knowledgeable the staff are. I've rang Delight mobile but was put off because the lady I spoke to was so rude. She kept shouting at me that my number wasn't a delight mobile number, despite me repeating I haven't joined yet. Then she said I should join Vectone (their sister company), instead of Delight. It was just weird. It's a foreign call centre too, so we struggled understanding each other.

I've used TalkMobile's webchat today and was told that the pay as you go help team finish work at 3.30pm so she couldn't help. On the website it says they actually close at 6pm so I rang up, and was passed around 4 different departments, kept on hold with each and finally gave up. There's no email address listed to contact them either.

They're all fine unless something goes wrong and you need to speak to someone who knows what they're talking about.

Swipe

Herongull wrote: »

Delight seems to get poor reviews, but it does have a £10 bundle that would work for the medium user 500 minutes, unlimited texts and 2 Gb data. Also has free calls within network. on EE network.

I was put off Delight by the reviews and also their data protection policy - they appear to have the right to pass your personal data onto third parties unless you option out, but the only way to opt out was to write to them and I was worried that by the time they processed your letter, the personal data might have already been sold on.

Actually it was their privacy policy - see paragraph d
http://www.delightmobile.co.uk/privacy-policy.aspx

A bit of a worry....

They don't have my details to pass on and I always top up using a voucher.

Herongull

You would have to give them your name and address to get the sim posted. Or can you get the sim from shops?

They might also collect data on your usage and interests and they will have your mobile number to sell on to cold callers

Swipe

Herongull wrote: »

You would have to give them your name and address to get the sim posted. Or can you get the sim from shops?

I had it delivered to work so they just have my first initial and surname

Herongull wrote: »

They might also collect data on your usage and interests and they will have your mobile number to sell on to cold callers

I have a dual sim phone so still have my number on my main sim. In terms of passing on my number, I've not received any calls at all on my delight sim number. I don't really surf on my phone, just check the weather and email and whatsapp so not much info they could get from that as the data is encrypted

diamonds

ripplyuk wrote: »

I'm in a similar situation. I'm currently with Asda mobile and have found them to be great. Very polite and helpful on the phone and porting my number was hassle free ( it had ported before I woke up the next morning). I get a great signal in my house but unfortunately many other places I go to, I'm getting no signal at all. I was just about to move to Sainsbury's within the next few days!

I always like to speak to someone before signing up, just to gauge how helpful/knowledgeable the staff are. I've rang Delight mobile but was put off because the lady I spoke to was so rude. She kept shouting at me that my number wasn't a delight mobile number, despite me repeating I haven't joined yet. Then she said I should join Vectone (their sister company), instead of Delight. It was just weird. It's a foreign call centre too, so we struggled understanding each other.

I've used TalkMobile's webchat today and was told that the pay as you go help team finish work at 3.30pm so she couldn't help. On the website it says they actually close at 6pm so I rang up, and was passed around 4 different departments, kept on hold with each and finally gave up. There's no email address listed to contact them either.

They're all fine unless something goes wrong and you need to speak to someone who knows what they're talking about.

Vectone has email customer care, a record of problems is at your disposal, thats a plus in my book.

The_Last_Username

Update:

Since I know there are bound to be others in my situation who will be wondering which mobile service to use now that Sainsburys Mobile will soon be no longer, I thought I would share my experiences.
I ordered both Asda Mobile & The People's Operator sims ( just "in case", you understand ) ready for changing all 3 phones over.
Both sets came promptly, within a few days.

I'm liking the "look" of TPO - the rates are good and the "free" calls / texts within network will be a bonus for the medium-user.
I say that as I do however note that these "free" calls/texts have a "subject to minimum £10/month top-up" clause and is limited to a "fair use" clause of 100 minutes/250 texts.
Still, better than nothing.

Observations of TPO so far?

The website is "clunky" and not especially good - in Firefox especially.
As an example, the "community" register and sign-in pages are illegible in (my version of) Firefox. It made registering ......... interesting.
Seems to suit Chrome better.
I can't register for online account until I register the sim - I will do that this coming week and update my views then.
No swipe-card top-up or automatic rolling top-up; you have to either top-up online (again looks "clunky" ) or use Payzone or Paypoint paper vouchers which you can enter via text, call, or online. Not as convenient for mother as a top-up card but we can live with that.
The bundles appear to offer good value, but the site/product design rears its' head again in that you cannot "Queue up" or automatically renew bundles; a text reminder supposedly warns of a bundles' expiry.
Perhaps these (admittedly minor) issues will improve over time.

I will update this thread with my opinions following experience of registration the sim & top-up and of porting numbers over, hopefully beginning this coming week.

HappyMJ

Any suggestions for a Vodafone MVNO?

My phone is network locked to Vodafone and cannot be unlocked. Unlocking has been attempted, failed and now it's permanently locked to the network.

I could throw phone out and buy another one but that wouldn't be a good use of cash at this point in time.

I'm thinking of just getting a Vodafone SIM.