Pay as you go SIM only deals

[NikNak]

As the title suggests.... can anyone point me in the direction of the best SIM only pay as you go deal please..?

A friend has asked me to look around for him and report back.....

The best i seem to have found is with The Post Office (surprisingly... :shock: ) https://mobile.postoffice.co.uk/call-rates/

But i cant see on their site how long the 'top-up' is valid for.... from what i can make out, most network providers now seem to limit the top-up you apply to your SIM to 30 days. Again i'd be grateful if anyone can confirm this too....


Cheers all :wink:


Nick

 

[RobinBHM]

That post office deal seems very good, but are the texts delivered by a postman

Giffgaff has a good following, runs on O2

I would compare sim only contracts with payg. Overall cost comparisons can only be made based on usage

 

[woodpig]

There are no time limits on O2 that I am aware of, at least there weren't when I used O2. I'm currently on the 3 network which is half the cost of most other networks and they have no time limits either. There was supposed to be a 30 day limit on the very first £10 credit when I bought a new iPhone but that never materialised and the credit lasted me months. I mainly use mine for data and texts.

http://www.three.co.uk/Store/Pay_As_You_Go_Price_Plans

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

What are your friend's priorities? That'll determine what deal is best.

 

[RogerP]

Because I hardy ever use my phone but need it just in case I have it on payg with 3 which is 3p per minute any call with no expiry. In other words I've stuck a tenner on it that'll probably last forever.

 

[JohnPW]

There's 2 price plans with payg.

The "full" price where the credits do not expire, although you would have make a call or send a text every few months otherwise they do expire. This is real payg, you only pay for what you use. The main companies charge a ridiculous price for this , 25 to 35p a min!!!

And then there is a "bundle" price, where you buy a certain number of minutes, texts, and data but they expire after 30 days, effectively a rolling 30 day contract. the call rates work out cheaper if you use them all by 30 days but in practice you don't so it doesn't work that much cheaper.

The best deal for real payg by far is Three, esp for low usage; 3p a minute, 2p a text and 1p a MB of data.

 

[artie]

There are no time limits on O2 that I am aware of, at least there weren't when I used O2. I'm currently on the 3 network which is half the cost of most other networks and they have no time limits either. There was supposed to be a 30 day limit on the very first £10 credit when I bought a new iPhone but that never materialised and the credit lasted me months. I mainly use mine for data and texts.

http://www.three.co.uk/Store/Pay_As_You_Go_Price_Plans

Woodpig got in first, so I will second this deal.

I have been on it since last year.

It does seem to work out a bit more expensive than they say, but still the best I can find.

You just top up and it doesn't expire until you use it.

I have been informed that they have a deal with Orange/EE. So anywhere you get a Orange signal you get 3 and vice versa.

 

[NikNak]

What are your friend's priorities? That'll determine what deal is best.

ahhh yes, good point.... he's actually deaf ( :shock: ) ..... without his 'ears', so he uses it just for emergencies etc. I've even tried texting him and get no reply cos its not even turned on..!! Then the next time i seem him i ask did he get my msg etc... "oh, i'll have a look...." and turns it on...!! reeaalllyyyy.....?!?!

So it sounds like in this circumstance the 3 deal sounds even better. He can put a fiver on and it'll last from one birthday to the next ccasion4:


Cheers guys, i'll let him know....


Nick

 

[BearTricks]

I got a payg sim on O2 a while ago only to discover that after a month everything I paid for disappeared.

It seems like the big companies aren't happy with letting people send a text every few months any more and have turned pay as you go in to a 30 day contract system.

I guess people could just get a messaging app on a pay as you go phone and use that without ever topping it up, which of course doesn't put money in O2s pocket.

I ended up getting a contract with Vodafone and getting a 20% discount on their advantage scheme.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

 

[RogerS]

Orange PAYG doesn't use the same sharp practice as O2. Well, not at the moment. Once BT gets its grubby little mitts on EE then all bets will be off.

 

[woodpig]

My Wife is on O2 and there's been no time limit on her top ups.

 

[Alexam]

I have Orange PAYG and have had it for years. Pop onto an EE shop an have a chat,. They always seem so very helpful when I go in.

Alex

 

[ChrisR]

Because I hardy ever use my phone but need it just in case I have it on payg with 3 which is 3p per minute any call with no expiry. In other words I've stuck a tenner on it that'll probably last forever.

Plus one.

I toped up my Orange pay as you go with £25.00, when I retired in April 2008, I still have approximately £15.00 credit.

Chris R.

 

[JohnPW]

I have Orange PAYG and have had it for years. Pop onto an EE shop an have a chat,. They always seem so very helpful when I go in.

Alex

At 30p per min to mobile and landlines, it's not exactly a good deal. And they bury the prices on their website, it takes quite a bit of digging around to find:
http://ee.co.uk/content/dam/ee-help/Hel ... 7.2015.pdf
http://ee.co.uk/content/dam/ee-help/Hel ... .10.15.pdf

 

[sitefive]

Have to give +1 for the post office, using their £5/month deal and its excellent, the network coverage is great,
for 5pounds a month I don't even look at how much units I'm using as I'm never using it all up, I would be happy if they would offer 2x less units for 2x lower price tho.
for giffgaff the Internet is just terrible, ran away from them, and their prices arent cheap either!

 

[artie]

Have to give +1 for the post office, using their £5/month deal and its excellent, the network coverage is great,
for 5pounds a month I don't even look at how much units I'm using as I'm never using it all up, I would be happy if they would offer 2x less units for 2x lower price tho.
for giffgaff the Internet is just terrible, ran away from them, and their prices arent cheap either!

Which network do they use.?

I still haven't found anything to beat the 321 package.

3p per minute to landlines or mobiles, 2p per text and 1p per mb.

I have used almost £15 since last Dec.

Not affiliated in any way with the 3 network.

 

[sitefive]

I think they use EE
Even I barely use my phone I have checked I would have spent £2.69 with three 321 in past 30days..
A saving indeed but at least I don't have to count minutes.