0870/0845 In free minutes..

pricefighter

I would be interested in the provider and number as well please.Cos i cant find any trace of it in all the normal lists.

andy88_2

monomer wrote:

It's rather amusing but if you have an o2 online sim and choose to have the 'calls and messaging allowance' of 100 x-net minutes (pooled with free texts and picture messages) for topping up, you'll notice that 0845/0844/0870 numbers are included in the monthly allowance. [Well, I wasn't charged for them, anyway... I've just reread andy88's post that says he was charged.]

In an almost perverse kind of way, you can actually think of these as truly free calls since the £10 you use to top up is still on your PAYG balance. (And this includes using the simply-fone 07744 number.)

And yes, I'm able to confirm that at weekends the call rate to 0844 and 0845 is 2p/min (at least to the numbers I tested anyway). I didn't bother testing any 0870 numbers but I believe they are charged similarly.
....
You know, I think some people underestimate how versatile the o2 online sim is!

Thanks for all this but I didn't say I was charged. I asked them about it, which only adds to what I said before - that it's very difficult to ask for this info and get consistent results.

I haven't used one of these, but have some which I will send to friends or family abroad. I can see I need to study your info more deeply.

Do you happen to know if diverted calls will be taken from the 100 included minutes? If so I could divert one of these to a US mobile via an 0844 number, and then divert my Orange phone to this ........ or maybe the Orange 0844 tariff is in the same area anyway

monomer

pricefighter wrote:

I would be interested in the provider and number as well please.Cos i cant find any trace of it in all the normal lists.

The provider is pre-dial and they made an announcement in December 2003 that their 0844 number [5p/min from a BT landline] works to mobiles in the weekend only (well actually it works to vodafones on weekday evenings as well [NB: evening rates to 0844 are 10p/min on o2 PAYG]). The fact that it works to UK mobiles isn't openly advertised on their webpage though.

I used it yesterday (Sunday) and it definitely works to Vodafone and O2 numbers. It doesn't connect to Simply-fone's 07744 number in case you were wondering!

monomer

andy88 wrote:

Thanks for all this but I didn't say I was charged. I asked them about it, which only adds to what I said before - that it's very difficult to ask for this info and get consistent results.

Do you happen to know if diverted calls will be taken from the 100 included minutes?

Thanks for clarifying that, andy88. I thought it strange that anyone would be charged for it. From my experience the 100 minute allowance is definitely inclusive of 0844/0845/0870 numbers on o2 online talkalot.

Unfortunately, the o2 PAYG system will only let you divert calls to your voicemail and no-where else. I think you'd need a contract phone for proper diverts.

andy88_2

Thanks. My O2 contract didn't want to divert to 0871 (only a test - not a long-term intention!) so it probably wouldn't do 0844's either, but I can see I might have to play around a bit with one of these O2 payg SIMs.

matrix999

Can I just check something with MSE that use the Pre-Dial Service.

I have an O2 Contract phone that has 50 mins of inclusive calls to O2 Mobiles, Landlines, and 0844/0870/0845/0800/0500 numbers everyday Off-Peak.

Would I be correct in saying that if I wanted to call say a mobile on the Orange network I could dial the 0844 484 0700 Off-Peak and then the Orange Number and this would be deducted from my inclusive mins instead of being charged 35p per min to call a mobile on a different network?

Please can you advise, thanks

andy88_2

I think I can guess monomer's answer to this so instead I'll say -

you could think of setting up an account with call1899 and use their 0207 access number with your minutes and then be charged 10p weekdays and 2p weekends by 1899

matrix999

Thanks andy88,

I only call mobiles with my inclusive minutes and therefore it would only be Off-Peak calls.

The Pre-Dial service using the 0844 number or the 07730 number would be taken from my inclusive mins and then hopefully I should be able to call onward call another mobile network.

I think i'm correct in my thinking???

monomer

matrix999 wrote:

The Pre-Dial service using the 0844 number or the 07730 number would be taken from my inclusive mins and then hopefully I should be able to call onward call another mobile network.

I think i'm correct in my thinking???

I've personally not tried calling Orange numbers using pre-dial's number but almost certainly you'll only be able to use the 0844 access number in the weekends only. During weekday evenings, only Vodafone numbers can be called using this number.

Their 07730 O2 number doesn't let you connect to UK mobiles, but you can still call abroad to the countries on their list.

For your situation, I think Andy88's solution is more flexible and a useful backup system.

matrix999

Thanks Monomer,

I'll try calling an Orange mobile this evening using the 0844 number from my O2 Mobile and will let MSE know if it works or not

Thanks for the info