3 PAYG rate increase

twopenny

Thanks Andrew, that is really clear. I'm very grateful.

Just been looking around the net and there's remarkably less choice than when I last needed to look.

Even less choice for real PAYG. Reminds me of the old days when internet providers had the run of the place - until they got hauled up and told to play nice.

Mercenary

I shall have to stay with Three PAYG even though the signal here is fairly awful as I top up maybe £5 per year.
I rarely ever actually make a phone call or send a text. My main use is WhatsApp, soon to be Telegram since the latest Facebook debacle, which is mostly used over WiFi and the extremely few occasions I have to use mobile data it will still be much cheaper to stay with Three for me. The 1p Mobile and others often include a regular top-up which would mean paying far more money for me than I usually need to spend.

twopenny

Looks like I'm stuck for the moment and will have to see how the money tots up.

Like others, rural, use the phone in bursts when contacting tradesmen or shops. Used to be arranging activities with friends but that's going to be some time away before that's going to happen again.

I've done a comparison word doc of the various providers and the real usage and nothing else has the top up as you need it when you really work them out. iD is now every 2mts required which is more than I need.

Shame, I've seen a lot of companies and sites that have tried to go bigger/ better/ different by dropping the customers who made them originally and they've fallen from top to desperate pretty quickly as those they are chasing are fickle and quickly move elsewhere.

AndrewJB

twopenny said:

Thanks Andrew, that is really clear. I'm very grateful.

Just been looking around the net and there's remarkably less choice than when I last needed to look.

Even less choice for real PAYG. Reminds me of the old days when internet providers had the run of the place - until they got hauled up and told to play nice.

The O2 Classic sim cards will be limited stock, but at only 20p from eBay (99p less a discount of 80%) plus a top-up of £10, it’s worth going for. There’s no guarantee how long they will continue to honour the current tariffs (3p, 2p and 1p) so I wouldn’t put much credit on it and it obviously depends on what the coverage is like where you live.

I moved my mother to 1p Mobile when she got a smartphone. They use the EE network. It’s been very good but it does cost a minimum of £30 per year so it’s not for very light users. She uses it for the occasional international call as it's much cheaper than using the landline in some cases.

I was considering leaving Three last year as I was having some issues with their network. Asda mobile, which currently uses the EE network but, as someone said on here, is moving to Vodafone, was the next best on price that I found. It’s 8p a minute for calls, standard texts at 4p, and data at 5p per MB. Still way higher than the old Three tariffs.

llyama

SpanishBlue said:

I can't see the PAYG option on their website, it just brings up this page <link_redacted> where they appear to only sell bundles.

Am I missing something?

That is the correct page, you need to buy a bundle to get started for £6 but after that it's a normal pay as you go sim with no recurring charges. Just make a chargeable event once every 4 months and top up at least once every 365 days.

twopenny said:
Hardly use your device? Just add £10 to your SIM every two months. Find yourself in need of more data one week?

I saw that too but I think it's just marketing waffle. There's no reference to it in the terms and conditions.

AndrewJB

llyama said:

SpanishBlue said:

I can't see the PAYG option on their website, it just brings up this page <link_redacted> where they appear to only sell bundles.

Am I missing something?

That is the correct page, you need to buy a bundle to get started for £6 but after that it's a normal pay as you go sim with no recurring charges. Just make a chargeable event once every 4 months and top up at least once every 365 days.

twopenny said:
Hardly use your device? Just add £10 to your SIM every two months. Find yourself in need of more data one week?

I saw that too but I think it's just marketing waffle. There's no reference to it in the terms and conditions.

It says this on the following page -
If you have a Pay as you go (PAYG) plan with iD Mobile you can either purchase one of our six Pay as you go bundles, or literally pay as you go using the Top-up credit on your account. Here we explain the standard Minutes, Texts and Data charges for PAYG plans, as well as a few other charges to be aware of.
https://www.idmobile.co.uk/help-and-advice/call-charges

llyama

Yeah that seems right. So £6 for the cheapest bundle to get the sim and then just top up when required like any other pay as you go. No recurring charges.

twopenny

Thanks both. Something to think about. They do make it difficult for obvious reasons.

I'd want to have the correct details for 1D/1p before moving. And want it in print. Perhaps that's the next step. The companies are obviously on the move and what one person has bought into may no longer be the case for new users.

"It’s been very good but it does cost a minimum of £30 per year so it’s not for very light users". I'd be at lest £40. Hopefully more when the good times roll again. I just don't need data.

Phones4Chris

Chino said:

Phones4Chris said:

Apparently not, he claims they are genuine and guaranteed by O2.

I think the concern is less about whether these SIMs are genuine and more about whether they can be activated by new customers. One would imagine not.

If you'd searched (Hotdeals certainly, but I'd guess eBay as well) and followed the links which end up with the seller, you'd see they are guaranteed to be activated, and in any event as I've already posted, your are protected by eBay anyway. And as you can also see from @AndrewJB 's subsequent post, they are fine

AndrewJB said:

I've received my O2 Classic sim from an eBay seller, not the one mentioned on this thread. Mine says that it must be activated by the 7th December 2021.

I've registered an account with O2 and arranged the transfer of my old number without having to add any credit. The transfer should go through on the next working day and I'll top-up after that. The tariff in my account is definitely showing as 3p a minute for calls, 2p for texts, and 1p a MB for data.

I suspect that O2 will also increase their prices in time, but hopefully not for a while or by the same amount. Three's service had been patchy for me recently and the only reason I'd stayed was because of the tariff. I only have a couple of pounds of credit left so it seems like a reasonable time to move.

Phones4Chris

llyama said:

SpanishBlue said:

I can't see the PAYG option on their website, it just brings up this page <link_redacted> where they appear to only sell bundles.

Am I missing something?

That is the correct page, you need to buy a bundle to get started for £6 but after that it's a normal pay as you go sim with no recurring charges. Just make a chargeable event once every 4 months and top up at least once every 365 days.

That seems to be correct for ID mobile, a friend of mine came to the same conclusion, you need to buy a bundle to get the SIM and get started, a £6 will do. Thereafter topping up so you can use the standard tariff.
This seems the likely best option for those that can't get a signal on another network with a suitable tariff.