Which SIM for elderly father

felinefancy

Hi there...
Dad had a Lebara PAYG sim card for over a year and they've now stopped his SIM.  He only has a very basic mobile phone (not smart or anything) for keeping in the car in emergencies.  I'm now looking for another PAYG Sim which I can put £5 on for him, and which he doesn't need to worry about making a call or text every 2 months.. as he'll never remember, even with my help. 
So a PAYG Sim on which I can just put £5 and he just has to make a chargeable call once every 6 months or so to keep his phone active... that would be ideal.  No more, no less.  Any ideas?  
Many thanks!

teacup326

Hello, 
Exactly the same situation with us, we chose 1p mobile as it was simple, easy to use and understand - great coverage, no hassle and does the job for Dad perfectly. Highly recommend them. 

Good luck. 

EssexExile

teacup326 said:

Hello, 
Exactly the same situation with us, we chose 1p mobile as it was simple, easy to use and understand - great coverage, no hassle and does the job for Dad perfectly. Highly recommend them. 

Good luck. 

Don't you have to top up £10 every so often to keep it going?

Rodders53

1p mobile will cost £30 per annum to run with regular topups needed every 4 months.

Three mobile sim (if phone is suitable) would be OK, even if it needs an initial £10 topup, future ones can be at £5 rate and they never expire? 10/10/5 p rates.  An occasional chargeable event is needed.

O2 classic sims are still being sold on eBay for 99p discounted to 20p inc postage (mind-boggling but true).  3/2/1 p charges, but needs £10 topup every 6 months and their payg rates might change at some future date?

Mister_G

Rodders53 said:

O2 classic sims are still being sold on eBay for 99p discounted to 20p inc postage (mind-boggling but true).  3/2/1 p charges, but needs £10 topup every 6 months and their payg rates might change at some future date?

I don't believe that the O2 Classic requires the £10 topup every 6 months.  It did say so in the original advertising but subsequently O2 said that it didn't.  However, it does require the chargeable event every 6 months.

I have had the O2 Classic for over two years now and I only put £10 once a year on it, or less.

felinefancy

Thanks all... he's decided to go back to Lebara and try to remember each 2 months to activate it (that is until I get the Asda one who are currently transferring Vodaphone - they should still only need activation every 6 months).  

pokora

One thing about 1p mobile is that you can "buy your expiring date in advance" and don't need to be worry about when exactly you have to topup:

mac.d

felinefancy said:

Thanks all... he's decided to go back to Lebara and try to remember each 2 months to activate it (that is until I get the Asda one who are currently transferring Vodaphone - they should still only need activation every 6 months).  

Good call to switch to using Asda Mobile instead in future, they're one of the better options for minimal use and not too expensive for actually using occasionally at 4p per minute/text. Certainly a lot better than Lebara or 1p Mobile.

https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/payg-inactivity-account-termination-and-credit-expiry