Best contract for travelling parents

Badger_Lady

Well, yesterday I checked on their online forum and phoned the sales team twice, confirming all of these details with each adviser before ordering.

And, despite this, it seems you're right! :mad: http://customerforum.o2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1377

I'm furious - I'd already ordered it and told my Dad it was on the way, and he was thoroughly delighted.

He currently has to divert to a UK2Abroad service, because Orange will only divert to a UK number. He also has a UK number with Skype.

For me calling them, I usually know which number to use and I'll avoid any diverted services. The main reason for using this mobile is for their business - they let out a couple of holiday villas in France, so they have to provide a phone number that customers can reach them on at any time. The phone number they're using now has been in our family for 10 years or more, and is freely displayed on all their business literature, so this is key.

Redux, I got a bit confused on your post - would this solution allow them to always be reachable on the same UK mobile number?

redux

With your added comments about the same number, on literature etc, I see why changing it is a bit more difficult. Is there no mobile coverage at all at the house, or only a problem with one network?

Overall, it seems a bit tricky to me, and no ideal solution that covers all cases, but it seems to me they're sometimes a bit trapped into a chain of more call diversions than necessary. Can they not publish a landline number that is forwarded to either landline or mobile? If they're happy with uk2abroad, why not list that? Or you mentioned the SkypeIn number ...

Myself, I'm a bit sceptical of uk2abroad, as their quoted tariff comparisons are about 2 or 3 years out of date, e.g. not the 74p incoming call rates they mention, and their own rates in Europe are now no better than roaming with an ordinary UK payg SIM card.

I'd suggest one of the Betamax VoIP brands for call forwarding, at under 10 pence a minute to mobiles, and free to the landline.


My suggestion wasn't the whole solution, but an idea. If they went for a SIM-only contract, perhaps for only 6 or 8 months of the year, they could choose one which would include IoM mobiles. So it would sometimes still be a two-stage forward, but cheaper than current costs as some of those SIMs have good rates for call forwarding ... .

As a roaming SIM won't come from everyone's included minutes, gradually migrating to publishing that number instead could be unpopular (and you can't port a UK number on to IoM or Jersey).

Longer term, they could work towards listing a UK landline rather than mobile, or sometimes leave a message about it on the mobile voicemail

Badger_Lady

Thanks! It shouldn't be this complicated, should it? :rotfl:

I'm starting to think that perhaps we should just take out a contract for £15 a month - O2 do one with 24 month tie-in - and sell the free handset (e.g. Blackberry Pearl) to recoup some of the cost. This would be a lot cheaper than they currently pay, it just seems to still be way over the odds considering how much they use.

I understand what you're saying now about the various ways to get round the situation, but my Dad's an ex-IT Manager and is pretty rigid about how he solves this problem! And my Mum will never give up her phone number or handset :rolleyes:.

redux

Was it ordinary upgrades or retentions at Orange they spoke to? Actually, I don't know if there's a diffference, but at some networks the latter will work out cheaper

Badger_Lady

^ I started with Upgrades, who muttered something like "oh, we may be able to do you something cheaper than £15" and put me through to Retentions. But the Retentions guy had a stinking attitude and happily cancelled my contract with no effort whatsoever to keep me (weird, huh? Maybe he should be transferred to Billing :rolleyes:).

Apparently Orange did call my Mum's phone yesterday, asking to speak to me. They gave out my contact number but I haven't heard since, and a call to Orange revealed nothing...

Badger_Lady

3 Mobile will definitely do a divert on PAYG.

If you run out of credit, the divert doesn't happen. They can also divert directly to a foreign number, although they can't guarantee that it will always work successfully to a landline (because they don't have contracts with foreign landline providers, only mobile networks).

So, I could get out a SIM-only PAYG deal with them, for £9.99 (minus £4 Quidco cashback), port my Mum's number onto it, and use it for everything they currently use their Orange contract phone for.

There are two other things that could be a big bonus (?) but I'm not sure I understand and the Online Chat guy is no use!

1) International Saver - http://www.three.co.uk/personal/products_services_/callingmessagingintlsaver.omp

As far as I can tell, you pay £15 a month and get unlimited calls abroad. So presumably you can also use this to pay for the call divert to France? And, because you're not tied into a contract, you could pay the £15 a month whilst in France, but cancel it whilst in the UK?

2) Unlimited Skype-Skype

How does this work then? Do you need a Skype mobile phone? Someone with Skype on their PC (e.g. me!) could call the mobile for free? And, equally, Dad could call me on my PC for free?

Despite 3 Mobile's appauling record for customer services, could this be the answer???

redux

I hadn't realised 3 supported call diversion on payg, or I'd forgotten. Just checked it and it works

I don't know whether it would support the international calls though. The International Saver option is used by prefixing the number with 388. I've just called them to ask if calls can be diverted like this and I think the answer is no

Skype is only usable on a 3 network, and France unfortunately doesn't have one

diamonds

talkmobile.co.uk, mins can divert calls to France