Donate to Remove ads

Got a credit card? use our Credit Card & Finance Calculators

Thanks to johnstevens77,Bhoddhisatva,scotia,Anonymous,Cornytiv34, for Donating to support the site

Cheap payg phone tariff

Making your money go further
NomoneyNohoney
Lemon Slice
Posts: 972
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 10:31 am
Has thanked: 336 times
Been thanked: 438 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#283007

Postby NomoneyNohoney » February 7th, 2020, 2:32 pm

Yes, O2 is the same, you need to make a chargeable call at least once every six months, to keep your sim and credit alive.

Talking of O2, I had been meaning to mention something about PAYG.
Remember last year I was extolling the virtues of O2's 3-2-1 Classic tariff, which I preferred to Three's similar priced offering? Well, in November O2 stopped accepting new activations on that tariff, so I guess its now a Grandfathered tariff, so to get the same pricing it now has to be Three network.

Quick bit of history before I get to the point.
Originally myself and my family were on Giffgaff, which piggybacks on the O2 network. Good call quality and signal strength most places in the UK and there was something 'edgy' about them that I liked. Anyway, their PAYG charges were 15p/minute for calls and 5p for texts. From the end of February 2020, these PAYG charges change to 25p/minute and 10p for texts. The other advantage of Giffgaff is free calls Giffgaff/giffgaff, if you top up £10 every three months - which we don't.

Faced with this forthcoming hike in prices, I realised that on my phone, I use O2 payg Classic tariff - 3p/min calls, 2p/text and 1p/mB data - and I had a spare emergency phone tucked away with the same Classictariff. My wife was using Giffgaff, and I realised that it would be better to try and get her on the same tariff, via the emergency phone sim.
So: PAC code requested from Giffgaff, and then her old number ported onto the O2 sim card later that day. End result? Same carrier, 'cos Giffgaff use O2, same old number that everyone knows, and just 3p/minute talk costs, compared with the new Giffgaff 25p/minute from March onwards. Absolutely seamless transition, and call charges at a saving of 88% compared with Giffgaff, if my maths is right.
Despite the tariff not accepting new activations, a number port onto an existing activated sim card went through effortlessly.

Someone commented about how, "do people still use phones for making calls?" Well, most places have free wifi available, so then for us, it's either Skype or WhatsApp for free calls to people, and if there's no free wifi, then that's when the phone gets used. This is the reason that call-credit lasts so long, just being thrifty about what service to use to make calls.

WhatsApp voice calls have proved to be good quality, and using a supermarket's free wifi, it's nice to be able to WhatsApp or Skype video call and discuss stuff with pictures if needed. "What do you think of the colour of this?" "Are these what you wanted?" "Do you like the style?"

Naturally, its different strokes for different folks. If you want to surf the web on your commute to work, then a data package is fine, where payg would be daft. If you ned to make lots of phone calls irrespective of wifi availability, then a data & speech package would be more suitable. If you're parsimonious like me then payg could still fit the bill.

+++
By the way, talking of being parsimonious, here's something that tickles me pink.
To quote extracts from Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/kindle/comment ... g_is_king/
" ...
So, I didn't even buy my KK3G for e-reading. I bought it strictly because of its web browser and free worldwide browsing capabilities. E-reading just happens to be a bonus which I've also come to enjoy.
Through the Kindle Keyboard 3G alone was I able to—while in Mexico, Germany, and Italy—read messages from and send messages to family and friends back in the States in the form of:

e-mails via Gmail;
texts via Google Voice;
Facebook messages, status updates, and timeline posts;

... and more, all for FREE. Just buy the unit. It comes with lifetime, worldwide 50mb/month of free 3G wherever AT&T gets reception (no need to struggle finding wi-fi or staying in range of it). No one seems to know this for some reason. This alone makes it a more important purchase than potentially a laptop. And it probably fits in your jeans' back pockets ..."


I bought this old KIndle cheap, just to find out if I'd get on with an e-reader: its not that ergonomic, but it helped me understand if I'd want to spend more to get a more modern one, and when I found it still has very limited free 3g connection, I did chuckle!

tea42
Lemon Slice
Posts: 440
Joined: March 9th, 2017, 8:28 am
Has thanked: 77 times
Been thanked: 169 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#364022

Postby tea42 » December 8th, 2020, 12:30 pm

I just got a Three 321 simm, wasnt easy as they no longer seem to promote it. Had to buy it from Ebay.

I used to live in Devon and Three was fine, then suddenly no signal! So, I got an O2 £10 bundle simm. That worked but I had to shell out £10 a month :( . Then I moved to Somerset and there was no signal on O2!

So, bought a £99 Oppo A5 2020 bang up to date dual simm phone. So now I sometimes get a signal on either simm and when at home get phone via internet courtesy of Three 321 whenever a signal isnt present.

The Oppo is a great phone and it has replaced my Samsung tablet. Easy to cast photos and Videos to the TV and Tidal music to a smart speaker.

TeeJayCee
Posts: 18
Joined: November 7th, 2016, 2:39 pm
Has thanked: 8 times
Been thanked: 8 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#366496

Postby TeeJayCee » December 15th, 2020, 5:56 pm

tea42 wrote:I just got a Three 321 simm, wasnt easy as they no longer seem to promote it. Had to buy it from Ebay.



They are still promoting the data Sim with free 200mb a month.... https://www.three.co.uk/Free_SIM_MBB/Or ... f49063f506

I understand you can also top it up and use it for calls and texts but I am still waiting for mine so I cannot confirm.

JohnB
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 2497
Joined: January 15th, 2017, 9:20 am
Has thanked: 677 times
Been thanked: 997 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#366507

Postby JohnB » December 15th, 2020, 7:00 pm

The new Three PAYG prices are MUCH higher than their 3-2-1 pricing, 4-5 times, so be wary

NomoneyNohoney
Lemon Slice
Posts: 972
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 10:31 am
Has thanked: 336 times
Been thanked: 438 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#366909

Postby NomoneyNohoney » December 17th, 2020, 2:57 am

Looking on Ebay just now, 99p can buy you two x Three network 321 sim cards. I'd quiz the vendor before buying however, just to get confirmation that they will still activate on the 321 tariff.
I suspect Three would insist they activate on their current tariff, not the old 321.

DrFfybes
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3731
Joined: November 6th, 2016, 10:25 pm
Has thanked: 1171 times
Been thanked: 1964 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#367126

Postby DrFfybes » December 17th, 2020, 7:31 pm

I was on EE which had crept up somewhat since it was Orange. My phone is a similar vintage, no camera, not even a colour screen, but lasts a week on a charge and seems to get a signal when smartphones struggle.

When we moved we ditched the BT calls package as the 'evening and weekend' had gone and the other offerings were more expensive than getting another mobile. MrsF already has a £6/month SKY deal (unlimited call and texts, 2Gb data which rolls over if unused) and I switched to 1pmobile as I didn't need to change the phone (EE were unable to unlock something that old!) and it was 3% of the EE cost for calls.

You have to top up every 4 months, so in reality it is a minimum of £2.50/month, but unused credit rolls over.

Paul

tea42
Lemon Slice
Posts: 440
Joined: March 9th, 2017, 8:28 am
Has thanked: 77 times
Been thanked: 169 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#367778

Postby tea42 » December 19th, 2020, 5:46 pm

NomoneyNohoney wrote:Looking on Ebay just now, 99p can buy you two x Three network 321 sim cards. I'd quiz the vendor before buying however, just to get confirmation that they will still activate on the 321 tariff.
I suspect Three would insist they activate on their current tariff, not the old 321.


Managed to get my 321 tarrif using the Ebay purchased 321 simm card. I even got chat help to do it. Very happy! Best payg tarrif around... :D

T42

CatcheeMonkee
Lemon Pip
Posts: 81
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 9:25 am
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#372063

Postby CatcheeMonkee » January 1st, 2021, 3:01 pm

The Three Freedata SIM that arrived with me yesterday is up and running in my phone on the 3-2-1 tarif, to check I topped up with £2, made one call, and the balance is now £1.97.

(I couldn't register for the freedata with the SIM in my phone, but I have a 4g router and was successful using that. Once registered and with the SIM back in the phone the freedata was available. I was wondering if another workaround would have been to turn on the phone's hotspot and register from a tablet or computer??)

And I can verify that Lebara's £5 pm offer works well!

www.three.co.uk/Free_SIM_MBB/Order

daducky
Posts: 36
Joined: August 10th, 2020, 8:36 am
Has thanked: 29 times
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#372296

Postby daducky » January 2nd, 2021, 10:46 am

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:
NomoneyNohoney wrote:In the past I've used a Three sim in a payg mobile phone, as they had the best rates: 3p/minute for calls, 2p/text and 1p/meg for data. Their network is too spotty for me, and I was delighted to discover that O2 have the same pricing on their classic tariff,
I have a J3 Samsung which cost £120.00 and find its more than adequate for my needs.

AiY
TiY (Thrifty in Yorkshire)

---

All service operators, irrespective of the branded name they op under, use 1 of 4 networks (EE, O2, Vodophn and is it Virgin as the 4th? can't quite recall now) as I understand, at least >4 yrs ago when I got my new 2nd hand unlocked phn. The networks may also have a mobile phone contract service operating in competition with generic servoperators. Many articles which talk of network providers mean servoperators which all a gets a bit confucious he say.
I use PlusNet which uses O2, which offers a barely present signal where I live in a very large city. Buts its the best or was the best I could get across the diff network providers back then anyway despite what their optimistic averaging online network density graphs tell you as don't account for topographic shading. So I just decided on cheap, with a hint of signal and a sickeningly smug M&S smile. Out of my road, the signal's fine.

Incidentally why is M&S? The portions are tiny, the quality is not phenomenal and price, well... But that's a subject for a different discussion. I know it has its fans of course. But I find its pretensions unpalatable, at least without a double dollop of Worcestershire sauce. Speaking of which, just for good measure for measure:

French 76

Measure of vodka
1 measure 50:50 sugar syrup
1 measure lemon juice
1 or 2 shakes Worcs sauce
top up with sparkling wine

Has the ratio of programme: advert declined over the years? When you have an advert which brings on the apoplexy, I really wonder how many times my heart can take in a day sometimes.
Last edited by daducky on January 2nd, 2021, 10:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

swill453
Lemon Half
Posts: 7962
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 6:11 pm
Has thanked: 984 times
Been thanked: 3643 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#372298

Postby swill453 » January 2nd, 2021, 10:52 am

daducky wrote:All service operators, irrespective of the branded name they op under, use 1 of 4 networks (EE, O2, Vodophn and is it Virgin as the 4th? can't quite recall now) as I understand, at least >4 yrs ago when I got my new 2nd hand unlocked phn. The networks may also have a mobile phone contract service operating in competition with generic servoperators. Many articles which talk of network providers mean servoperators which all a gets a bit confucious he say.
I use PlusNet which uses O2, which offers a barely present signal where I live in a very large city. Buts its the best or was the best I could get across the diff network providers back then anyway despite what their optimistic averaging online network density graphs tell you as don't account for topographic shading. So I just decided on cheap, with a hint of signal and an unbarely smug M&S smile. Out of my road, the signal's fine.

Not sure what your point is.

"Servoperator" isn't a word.

Scott.

daducky
Posts: 36
Joined: August 10th, 2020, 8:36 am
Has thanked: 29 times
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#372300

Postby daducky » January 2nd, 2021, 10:58 am

The point is once the best network/s is identified ideally through testing with PAYG card, one can shop by price service combo for the best contract for operators on the same network. But has to realise there is some smoke and mirrors in regard to the operators claims re network strength. I recognise its pretty obvious when you known that, but when you don't...

ukfire
Posts: 31
Joined: February 15th, 2020, 5:07 pm
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 9 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#377097

Postby ukfire » January 14th, 2021, 2:24 pm

Seems Three are getting rid of the 3-2-1 tariff for existing customers next month. Now 10p text/min and 5p data. Any suggestions on where to switch to?

JohnB
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 2497
Joined: January 15th, 2017, 9:20 am
Has thanked: 677 times
Been thanked: 997 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#377108

Postby JohnB » January 14th, 2021, 2:38 pm

I switched from 3-2-1 to 1pmobile, and am very happy with them. Slightly cheaper than Three (though my main usage is data, where its the same, at 1p/Mb), uses EE network which has better coverage near me, and the website is marvellous compared with Three. Top-ups don't expire, but you need to spend £10 every 120 days, with credit building up. SIM delivery was prompt.

If you join with code https://www.1pmobile.com/index.taf?friend=B100346J, we both get £5!

CatcheeMonkee
Lemon Pip
Posts: 81
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 9:25 am
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#378013

Postby CatcheeMonkee » January 17th, 2021, 1:02 pm

CMLink (China Mobile, an MVNO using EE in the UK) currently have a £1 per month recurring offer. The £1 per month gets you 500MB UK/EU Data, 100 UK/EU minutes and 100 texts. There are other deals but the £1 a month one may be of interest on this board ... I've had a mooch around the web this morning and would consider signing up if I hadn't just signed up to Lebara's £5 offer. CMLink have been operating over here since 2017.

https://www.cmlink.com/uk/en/mobile-monthly-plans

Stompa
Lemon Slice
Posts: 825
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 6:29 pm
Has thanked: 151 times
Been thanked: 208 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#378043

Postby Stompa » January 17th, 2021, 2:18 pm

CatcheeMonkee wrote:CMLink (China Mobile, an MVNO using EE in the UK) currently have a £1 per month recurring offer.

Thanks, that looks interesting. However I would be a bit concerned that it's called 'trial', and that on another CMLink page it says "Try out CMLink at the lowest price ever!" - as if they may not have intended it to be recurring.

If you actually attempt to purchase it you appear to be charged £2 (a £1 plan fee + £1 credit) - it's not entirely clear why!

Laughton
Lemon Slice
Posts: 905
Joined: November 6th, 2016, 2:15 pm
Has thanked: 140 times
Been thanked: 330 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#378091

Postby Laughton » January 17th, 2021, 4:35 pm

I just signed up with Three for Mrs L. @ £5 per month for unlimited calls and texts and 1Mb of data (she has an old phone which wouldn't make any use of data anyway.

They then have a £10 per month add on which gives unlimited calls to loads and loads of overseas numbers. We may add that once we actually work out how much she spends on calls to friends in USA, S. Africa, Canada, Germany etc.

Finally got rid of the BT line which had terrible quality where we live and a monthly bill of between £40 and £70.

CatcheeMonkee
Lemon Pip
Posts: 81
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 9:25 am
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#378284

Postby CatcheeMonkee » January 18th, 2021, 11:22 am

Stompa wrote:... they may not have intended it to be recurring.

If you actually attempt to purchase it you appear to be charged £2 (a £1 plan fee + £1 credit) - it's not entirely clear why!


It does say recurring, and I checked other forums and there's certainly someone on Digitalspy who has been using it since last summer. The £2 is £1 for the first month and another £1 credit which can maybe be used for the second month??

Remarks:
All prices include VAT (20%);
What’s included in your pack allowance:
500MB data can be used in UK, EU and selected destinations*
100 minutes can be used for calling UK numbers in UK, calling EU and UK numbers in EU
100 texts
Receiving calls in UK for free
Your plan will be renewed on the same date of every month. Please ensure you have enough balance.
For example, if you subscribe to a plan on 10th June, it will be renewed on 10th July, and subsequently on 10th of each month.
You need to re-subscribe your plan if your plan fails to renew.


Very tempted, if only for a backup phone for the car and Google Maps / a bit of music streaming!

CatcheeMonkee
Lemon Pip
Posts: 81
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 9:25 am
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#383351

Postby CatcheeMonkee » February 3rd, 2021, 1:23 pm

I've bitten the bullet and invested in a CMLink SIM and its £1 per month service to check it out.

The SIM arrived a day after signing up and works on EE as expected. Including 4G. There's been no indication that this offer will disappear anytime soon so fingers crossed.

The £1 per month gets 500Mb, 100 minutes and 100 texts so might be useful for some. Cheaper than 1p mobile ...

www.cmlink.com/uk/en/mobile-monthly-plans

GeoffF100
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 4720
Joined: November 14th, 2016, 7:33 pm
Has thanked: 178 times
Been thanked: 1363 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#395126

Postby GeoffF100 » March 13th, 2021, 9:14 am

I have just looked at my (usually rubbish) text messages from 3 Mobile. I have noticed that the 321 PAYG tariff became eye wateringly expensive at the beginning of February. I have about £10 credit, and may have wasted a £10 top up. Doh! One phone call could now wipe out my credit.

1p Mobile looks like my best bet at a cost of £30 per year, compared with about £20 previously. At 1p Mobile rates my credit with 3 is worth £3 at most. Assuming that I open a 1p account with £10, what happens after 120 days if I forget to top up?

JohnB
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 2497
Joined: January 15th, 2017, 9:20 am
Has thanked: 677 times
Been thanked: 997 times

Re: Cheap payg phone tariff

#395131

Postby JohnB » March 13th, 2021, 9:31 am

1pmobile ask you to register a credit card, with sensible settings to auto-topup when credit falls below £2 and the like. It will top-up with £10 if no other topup has occured in 120 days. If you disable the credit card bit, they assume after 120 days you no longer want to use the service, and I think they keep the outstanding balance They have extensive FAQs about top-ups, and the rules they apply are very sensible.

I've been very happy with them for the last 3 months. If you join with code https://www.1pmobile.com/index.taf?friend=B100346J, we both get £5!


Return to “Living Below Your Means”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests