Basic sim-only classic PAYG needed - who to go for?

lather30

Is there anyone out there who still does a good old-fashioned PAYG tariff? I'm not talking about any form of pay-monthly bundle or anything like that. What I mean is the old kind where you top it up, use it when you need to, and then only have to top it up again when the balance gets low - even if that's several months later.

The reason I'm asking is because my 81-year-old mum has decided to get her first smartphone, and needs a sim card for it. She only makes a handful of calls each month (usually about a dozen or so a month, and each one usually only a couple of minutes long), and doesn't text at all. She does want to use a bit of mobile data, which is why she wants a smartphone. But, even there, she'd probably only be using a few MB per month.

Given that light use, even the cheapest bundles on offer aren't really any good for her, as she wouldn't use anywhere near the monthly allowance. As a result, she'd be wasting money having to buy credit that she'll probably never use.

We've already tried O2, as I'm on their Classic PAYG for my work phone (which again only gets light use) and that seemed ideal for her. Unfortunately, they stopped new sign-ups to that on the 7th of this month, and now only offer pay-monthly bundles to new customers! :mad:

So can anyone suggest who we can try to get a basic 3G PAYG sim for her? Remember, it MUST be one where you only have to top up when the balance gets low, with no requirement for having to add money every month.

[Deleted User]

lather30 wrote: »

Is there anyone out there who still does a good old-fashioned PAYG tariff? I'm not talking about any form of pay-monthly bundle or anything like that. What I mean is the old kind where you top it up, use it when you need to, and then only have to top it up again when the balance gets low - even if that's several months later.

The reason I'm asking is because my 81-year-old mum has decided to get her first smartphone, and needs a sim card for it. She only makes a handful of calls each month (usually about a dozen or so a month, and each one usually only a couple of minutes long), and doesn't text at all. She does want to use a bit of mobile data, which is why she wants a smartphone. But, even there, she'd probably only be using a few MB per month.

Given that light use, even the cheapest bundles on offer aren't really any good for her, as she wouldn't use anywhere near the monthly allowance. As a result, she'd be wasting money having to buy credit that she'll probably never use.

We've already tried O2, as I'm on their Classic PAYG for my work phone (which again only gets light use) and that seemed ideal for her. Unfortunately, they stopped new sign-ups to that on the 7th of this month, and now only offer pay-monthly bundles to new customers! :mad:

So can anyone suggest who we can try to get a basic 3G PAYG sim for her? Remember, it MUST be one where you only have to top up when the balance gets low, with no requirement for having to add money every month.

I signed up to O2 Classic PAYG on the 15th of this month online.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6069817/rip-o2-classic-payg

couriervanman

Three network 321 tariff

mrschaucer

Giffgaff basic PAYG, not the bundles. You need to make a paid call/text every 6 months, I think.

mac.d

Three with their 3p minute, 2p text, 1p MB are probably cheapest. There's also Asda (8p/4p/5p) and Tesco's Lite PAYG (8p/4p/10p). Most providers still offer standard PAYG where your credit doesn't expire as long as you use it within their minimum usage requirements (usually 120+ days). The confusion about the availability of this is down to them also offering bundles that expire after a month.

See the following site for low usage PAYG info:

https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/best-payg-sim-for-low-usage

Neil49

Three with their 321 tariff as long as reception is ok.

I keep a spare phone going on it and haven't topped up since late 2017 when I put £10 on it. Just make sure you send a text message or make a call every 6 months or less to keep it live.

alanjones60

I agree about the three payg,but order a data sim,gives you the 3 2 1 tariff,but also gives you 200mb of data for free every month

mgfvvc

lather30 wrote: »

We've already tried O2, as I'm on their Classic PAYG for my work phone (which again only gets light use) and that seemed ideal for her. Unfortunately, they stopped new sign-ups to that on the 7th of this month, and now only offer pay-monthly bundles to new customers! :mad:

You can still find the O2 classic SIM on ebay for 99p. Last time this was discussed they were cheaper on Amazon.

oldagetraveller

1p Mobile, EE network. Not a sponsor!

lather30

Thanks for all of the replies. Don't like Three as other members of the family had some bad experiences with them a while back, so decided to order a GiffGaff sim for her.

Chino

lather30 wrote: »

Don't like Three as other members of the family had some bad experiences with them a while back, so decided to order a GiffGaff sim for her.

Seems a poor reason to opt to pay 15p/minute for calls instead of 3p/minute.