Do pay as you go sims still exist?

Krakkkers

My elderly mum needs a new sim for her phone, she does not need data, does not text and will very rarely, as in only in emergencies use the phone.
She keeps saying that she does not want to owe anyone any money, meaning no direct debits.
She just want a sim where you put £10 on it and it lasts as long as it lasts, do these exist any more?

maisie_cat

FIL had a PAYG than kept expiring, so we got him a Giffgaff sim, they start at £6/month.
We pay for it and he thinks it's a PAYG with the benefit of being there if he needs it in an emergency.

Flugelhorn

one in this household has a tesco sim that does that - tops it up once in a blue moon, makes a call once every couple of months etc 

Krakkkers

I have seen Lebara for about £1.5 a month which i could pay for her but do the original PAYG lasts as long as it lasts deals no longer exist? are they all monthly DD now?

cymruchris

I've started using Spusu on my home alarm system (It needs a simcard as one of its communication channels) and for £2.90 a month it's unlimited text/call and 1gb data. I know you don't want the data - but having certainty of connection for £2.90 a month seems pretty reasonable knowing that it won't ever accidentally expire without anyone knowing, and that when she has to make an emergency call it'll just work.

https://www.spusu.co.uk/spusu1special

Krakkkers

So i guess the answer is those kinds of contacts don't exist anymore, looked on Tesco but they are all monthly payments now

Cisco001

RWG mobile PAYG rate is good. 5p min, 5p text, 1p 1MB data.  Credit never expire, but need to make a outbound call/ text every 90 days.

Or you could get one off 2 year SIM for £50 with 250min, 250 text and 2GB data.

 

p00hsticks

I think they do but the companies tend to hide them away - there was a similar thread a month or two ago which I can't find at the moment (I'll keep looking), but I seem to recall that Asda mobile and Tesco mobile were mentioned 

jbrassy

I don't know if the old school PAYG offers still exist to be honest. At least I don't see them advertised any more. People prefer the convenience of a direct debit and most deals include unlimited minutes and texts.

According to the MSE sim finder, you can get a sim with SPUSU which has unlimited mins and texts (and 1gb of data which you won't use) for £2.90 a month. It is a rolling 1 month contract meaning you can leave whenever you want. 
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheap-mobile-finder/sim-only-filters/

If you have unlimited mins and texts, you can also get rid of the landline and save money that way.

Farway

p00hsticks said:

I think they do but the companies tend to hide them away - there was a similar thread a month or two ago which I can't find at the moment (I'll keep looking), but I seem to recall that Asda mobile and Tesco mobile were mentioned 

Here's link to tesco lite PAYG

https://www.tescomobile.com/help/payments-and-charges/call-charges/pay-as-you-go-lite

flaneurs_lobster

maisie_cat said:

FIL had a PAYG than kept expiring, so we got him a Giffgaff sim, they start at £6/month.
We pay for it and he thinks it's a PAYG with the benefit of being there if he needs it in an emergency.

You can treat a Giffgaff SIM as a pure PAYG (no need for monthly plan/payment) if it's only being used very occasionally or for emergencies - I've had about £7 on a backup phone for more than 4 years, just send a text every 3 months or so to keep it active (and check the phone's OK).