Tesco PAYG moving to monthly contract

RomfordNavy

osmarks said:

You can still get the "classic" O2 PAYG SIMs on eBay. I'm not sure if they exist in physical stores.

That reminds me, I've already got two of those, bought off ebay after a recommendation on here, to use for receiving OTP codes.  Never put any credit on these but just used them for receiving texts.

However "O2 fully closed its PAYG Mobile Broadband and iPad SIM services on January 31, 2025".  So perhaps I will not be able to load any credit on them now anyway.

RomfordNavy

flaneurs_lobster said:

...

Trying to think if it's possible to just buy an activated PAYG SIM OTC but I'm struggling. Easy enough to buy an (eg) Asda Mobile SIM in, er, Asda but think it needs to be activated online. Lebara maybe? 

Just checked and it looks like even Asda have stopped doing simple PAYG sim cards now, their "Talk & Text Plan" at £4 per month seems to be the cheapest they do.

That £1/mth sky deal suggested by https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/profile/FrugaiMacDugal is not looking so bad now.  May be the best of a bad bunch.

whattochoose

I've been on the Tesco Lite tariff for years, an occasional phone that I top up about every 2 years.
Only ever used it for phoning (8p a minute) and very occasional texting, no internet access required at all.
Since Tesco are removing this tariff, I've no wish to stay with them, and I'm wondering if anyone can suggest another bog standard, cheap pay-as-you-go option where no internet access is required?
Thank you.

flaneurs_lobster

whattochoose said:

I've been on the Tesco Lite tariff for years, an occasional phone that I top up about every 2 years.
Only ever used it for phoning (8p a minute) and very occasional texting, no internet access required at all.
Since Tesco are removing this tariff, I've no wish to stay with them, and I'm wondering if anyone can suggest another bog standard, cheap pay-as-you-go option where no internet access is required?
Thank you.

Have you read the preceding posts?

savergrant

whattochoose said:

I've been on the Tesco Lite tariff for years, an occasional phone that I top up about every 2 years.
Only ever used it for phoning (8p a minute) and very occasional texting, no internet access required at all.
Since Tesco are removing this tariff, I've no wish to stay with them, and I'm wondering if anyone can suggest another bog standard, cheap pay-as-you-go option where no internet access is required?
Thank you.

Rwg is the standout budget option, runs on ee. No frills and does seem to experience more than its fair share of outages, but 5ppm;

https://www.rwgmobile.wales/webshop/offers/order-a-sim/

How do I top-up? 

The easiest way to top up is via our shop 

You can top-up via your phone by dialling 669, option 1 and using our interactive voice service 

You can also top up by buying a NOW Mobile e-voucher from any Paypoint or Tesco store and dialling 669 to enter the unique code. 

flaneurs_lobster

RomfordNavy said:

osmarks said:

You can still get the "classic" O2 PAYG SIMs on eBay. I'm not sure if they exist in physical stores.

That reminds me, I've already got two of those, bought off ebay after a recommendation on here, to use for receiving OTP codes.  Never put any credit on these but just used them for receiving texts.

However "O2 fully closed its PAYG Mobile Broadband and iPad SIM services on January 31, 2025".  So perhaps I will not be able to load any credit on them now anyway.

The Classic SIM is a standard voice/text/data SIM, what O2 have ceased is their data-only PAYG SIMs.

I put a tenner on one of my Classics about a month ago so still OK then.

whattochoose

savergrant said:

whattochoose said:

I've been on the Tesco Lite tariff for years, an occasional phone that I top up about every 2 years.
Only ever used it for phoning (8p a minute) and very occasional texting, no internet access required at all.
Since Tesco are removing this tariff, I've no wish to stay with them, and I'm wondering if anyone can suggest another bog standard, cheap pay-as-you-go option where no internet access is required?
Thank you.

Rwg is the standout budget option, runs on ee. No frills and does seem to experience more than its fair share of outages, but 5ppm;

https://www.rwgmobile.wales/webshop/offers/order-a-sim/

How do I top-up? 

The easiest way to top up is via our shop 

You can top-up via your phone by dialling 669, option 1 and using our interactive voice service 

You can also top up by buying a NOW Mobile e-voucher from any Paypoint or Tesco store and dialling 669 to enter the unique code. 

Many thanks for this information. Just wondering though, can you recommend any sim cards for calls only that you can buy over the counter, maybe in one of the supermarkets?
Thanks again.

savergrant

In shops you'll probably find lebara and giffgaff but as normal pay as you go they're not much different to the new tesco prices. Same for asda which you can only get as asda. Problem is all of them are likely to bump you onto a bundle which you need to opt out of before topping up, or your topup will just be used to buy a bundle.

whattochoose

Thanks savergrant. The Tesco phone is just a standby phone which I hardly ever use. I'll be using it even less now that the 8p a minute calls will no longer be available.
I've had a text from them saying they'll switch me to an Essentials tariff. I'll contact them to opt out and see what else is out there.
Thanks again.

savergrant

RomfordNavy said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

...

Trying to think if it's possible to just buy an activated PAYG SIM OTC but I'm struggling. Easy enough to buy an (eg) Asda Mobile SIM in, er, Asda but think it needs to be activated online. Lebara maybe? 

Just checked and it looks like even Asda have stopped doing simple PAYG sim cards now, their "Talk & Text Plan" at £4 per month seems to be the cheapest they do.

That £1/mth sky deal suggested by https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/profile/FrugaiMacDugal is not looking so bad now.  May be the best of a bad bunch.

Asda still list pay as you go rates and describe it as 'a mobile plan where you only pay for what you use', but it's likely that you have to opt out of a bundle to access it

https://mobile.asda.com/rates-and-charges