cheapest pay as you go

savingman

Hello all,
I am looking for cheapest pay as you go as secondary phone. I will be mainly using it for receiving calls and occasionally making call.
most of the pay as you go sim advertise themselves as monthly bolt on without contract.
I am looking to top up £5 initially and make odd call in few months .
the provider don't put condition on their website except O2 that you have to topup minimum of £10 in every 6 months. I don't want that I want if possible no commitment and even if I have to commit it should be as low as p[ossible

I was wondering if you guys know policy of different providers?
Thanks
S

johno51

I have two payg sims one from 3 that i put £5 on last April and still have £3,20 on and the other on talk mobile happy hour with £4 left after 12months. just send a txt message every couple of months

Ian011

If you were to have a landline for incoming calls only, you would be lumbered with line rental of around £18 per month. Provision of a phone line and upkeep of equipment costs real money, no less for mobile operators.

A deal where you are paying £10 twice per year for provision of a mobile signal likely sees the provider losing money on you as a customer. All providers have a minimum top-up and minimum usage requirements. There's a detailed list on Ken's Tech Tips website.

preecey

If you have a 3G phone, the cheapest Pay As You Go provider is Three. Calls are 3p per minute, texts are 2p each, and data is 1p per MB. Top-ups with Three never expire, but you do need to make a chargeable phone call or send a chargeable text at least once every six months to keep the SIM active (if you don't, you'll lose your credit and your number). Three SIMs do not work in 2G handsets.

I don't know where you got that information from regarding O2 requiring a £10 top-up every six months. This isn't true at all. If you only have a 2G phone, or would prefer the O2 network, they have calls for 5p per minute, texts for 5p each and data for 5p per MB on their Classic Pay As You Go tariff. They have a similar policy to Three in that your top-up will never expire but you'll need to make at least one chargeable event every six months, otherwise you'll lose your credit and your number.

So, if your phone is 3G capable, go for Three. If it isn't, choose O2.

redux

preecey wrote: »

I
I don't know where you got that information from regarding O2 requiring a £10 top-up every six months. This isn't true at all. If you only have a 2G phone, or would prefer the O2 network, they have calls for 5p per minute, texts for 5p each and data for 5p per MB on their Classic Pay As You Go tariff. They have a similar policy to Three in that your top-up will never expire but you'll need to make at least one chargeable event every six months, otherwise you'll lose your credit and your number.

So, if your phone is 3G capable, go for Three. If it isn't, choose O2.

Actually that tariff might be the precise one the OP spotted

When you join Classic Pay As You Go, you pay for what you use, as you go. The minimum top up requirement is £10.

If you don't top up, or add a Bolt On at least once in any six month period, your mobile will be disconnected and you'll lose any credit on your account. If you want to be reconnected you'll be given a new mobile number.

http://www.o2.co.uk/help/pay-as-you-go/classic-pay-as-you-go

Maybe adding the international bolt-on once every few months is a way around adding £10, but the credit wouldn't last forever on the terms they've published.

Alter_ego

Tesco PAYG, credit never expires

preecey

redux wrote: »

Actually that tariff might be the precise one the OP spotted

When you join Classic Pay As You Go, you pay for what you use, as you go. The minimum top up requirement is £10.

If you don't top up, or add a Bolt On at least once in any six month period, your mobile will be disconnected and you'll lose any credit on your account. If you want to be reconnected you'll be given a new mobile number.

http://www.o2.co.uk/help/pay-as-you-go/classic-pay-as-you-go

Maybe adding the international bolt-on once every few months is a way around adding £10, but the credit wouldn't last forever on the terms they've published.

One thing I don't like about O2 is their terms. They sometimes contradict each other.

The terms on the Classic Pay As You Go page do indeed state that a £10 top-up is required every six months, but when you scroll down and click on the Terms and Conditions link, then scroll down on the next page and click on the link in clause 10, which states:

"Standard Pay As You Go airtime Service Terms and Conditions and standard Tariff Terms apply to this Tariff. Refer to o2.co.uk/termsandconditions/mobile/on-pay-and-go-our-service-terms-are-worth-a-read and www.o2.co.uk/termsandconditions/mobile"

...you'll be directed to the main Pay As You Go terms page, where in clause 7 it clearly states:

"7. Our Rights to Bar or Disconnect Your Mobile Phone

7.1. If you do not carry out any chargeable activity at least once in any 6 month period your Mobile Phone will be disconnected and you will lose any remaining credits balance on your Account. If you wish to be re-connected after this time you will be given a new Mobile Phone number."

So for the avoidance of any doubt, I'd suggest the OP uses Three for all intents and purposes, unless they have a 2G phone.

Another suggestion I would make is Talk Mobile Pay As You Go, with 10p calls for up to an hour, who use the Vodafone network, and permit the use of their SIMs in 2G devices. Their PAYG disconnection terms are here:

"4.1.4. if you do not use the Services for 180 days. Using the Service means making a chargeable outbound call (but not calls to 5888), sending a chargeable SMS, using data or topping up your account."

billsavings

No mention of this £10 every 6 month top up requirement on the O2 Classic Payg was ever mentioned at the time of its release.

Reviews of the product all say you need to make a chargeable event every 6 months.

Even Ken http://kenstechtips.com/index.php/o2-classic-payg-review#Credit_Expiry_Inactivity says

"On the Classic Pay As You Go tariff, your Pay As You Go credit will not expire. This is providing you keep your SIM card by using it at least once every six months. Each time you add money to your SIM card, there’s a minimum top-up of £10."

O2 dont seem to know their !!! from their elbow on this one.

Kim_13

I bought mum a phone with O2 Classic PAYG for Christmas; wasn't told about it either! She ported her number from giffgaff as giffgaff are now charging 15p per minute rather than the 5p O2 charge. Looks like that could have been a mistake, as I'm not sure she'll need more credit before June.

Hopefully they'll send a warning message before time if they do indeed disconnect for not making a purchase often enough.

[Deleted User]

Kim_13 wrote: »

I bought mum a phone with O2 Classic PAYG for Christmas; wasn't told about it either! She ported her number from giffgaff as giffgaff are now charging 15p per minute rather than the 5p O2 charge. Looks like that could have been a mistake, as I'm not sure she'll need more credit before June.

Hopefully they'll send a warning message before time if they do indeed disconnect for not making a purchase often enough.

They probably won't send a warning I'm afraid but all your Mum has to do is send a text once every 6 months (usually cheapest option) or just call her own landline (my wife does that).

Kim_13

Colin_Maybe wrote: »

They probably won't send a warning I'm afraid but all your Mum has to do is send a text once every 6 months (usually cheapest option) or just call her own landline (my wife does that).

She usually sends at least one text every few days, so no problem with that as that is a standard pay as you go term. The Classic PAYG page states that the sim is disconnected if you don't top up or buy a bolt on in that time, which is the issue. Elsewhere on the site, as others have found, they say different, with the requirements that you describe.