I currently have an O2 phone with a contract which has been running for
years. It costs me about £120-150 per year but, as my needs have changed, I
think I might be better off with a change to a PAYG now.

Nowadays I use the mobile very little - perhaps only one short call per
week, as it is basically only needed for emergency contact etc. The only
time it gets much use is for keeping in touch by text with the family if we
are abroad on holiday etc.

With any change the only key things I would be concerned about are keeping
my existing number, and not having to top up regularly or losing credit if
it didn't use it in a specified period.

Perhaps I'm looking for the impossible but if anyone has any suggestions I'd
be very interested to hear them.

Many thanks,

V

On 2010-08-16, Victor Delta wrote:

[...]

With any change the only key things I would be concerned about are keeping
my existing number,

http://service.o2.co.uk/IQ/srvs/cgi-bin/webcgi.exe?New,KB=Companion,question=ref(user):str (Mobile),CASE=12343

I'm moving from O2 Pay Monthly to O2 Pay & Go

Get in touch by either emailing us or calling our Pay Monthly Customer
Service team. We'll sort your request out for you and let you know
what'll happen next.

and not having to top up regularly or losing credit if
it didn't use it in a specified period.

That's what keeps me on a 'sim only' monthly contract; I know I'm probably
spending more, but I think it's worth the comfort of knowing that the
phone won't 'run out of credit' at some inconvenient moment or 'lapse from
disuse' just before I *really* need it. I find that my usage of mobile
voice and SMS tends to happen in 'spurts' at short, or no, notice; life is
unpredictable! (In fact I've just splashed out on an HTC Desire so that I
can add 'mobile email' and GPS to my pocket armoury).

Perhaps I'm looking for the impossible but if anyone has any suggestions I'd
be very interested to hear them.

Many thanks,

V

I think the mobile phone companies should offer something like a
non-expiring PAYG account with an automatic top-up (from a debit card or
bank account) for 'just in case' mobile phone users; keep (say) £10 in
credit and top-up automatically if the balance drops below that level and
the telco won't 'expire' the number for lack of use, no matter how long.
I'm sure many people would find that a lot more convenient than either a
monthly account or a PAYG of the current sort.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

Victor Delta wrote:
I currently have an O2 phone with a contract which has been running for
years. It costs me about £120-150 per year but, as my needs have changed, I
think I might be better off with a change to a PAYG now.

Nowadays I use the mobile very little - perhaps only one short call per
week, as it is basically only needed for emergency contact etc. The only
time it gets much use is for keeping in touch by text with the family if we
are abroad on holiday etc.

In which case there's really no reason to stick with a 10 pounds/month
contract. One option might be a zero-pounds-per-month contract, such as
Three Zero or Virgin Pay By Direct Debit. The calls and texts aren't cheap,
but they never expire and you never have to worry about topping up. You may
well find the lack of monthly fee makes the expensive calls worthwhile.

Roaming text costs in the EU are capped now, so all the providers costs are
much of a muchness. Texts from outside the EU are more expensive - but
nobody is really competing on those either.

Theo

"Victor Delta" wrote in message
...
I currently have an O2 phone with a contract which has been running for
years. It costs me about £120-150 per year but, as my needs have changed, I
think I might be better off with a change to a PAYG now.

Nowadays I use the mobile very little - perhaps only one short call per
week, as it is basically only needed for emergency contact etc. The only
time it gets much use is for keeping in touch by text with the family if
we are abroad on holiday etc.

If the phone is unlocked, get an Asda PAYG sim, (Asda use the Vodafone
network). Calls are 8p a minute and text, 4p a minute. I am pretty sure you
can transfer your number over. Credit does not expire as long as you make at
least one chargeable call every 6 months, (check this though as it might be
3 months now), so if you are making one call a week you should have no
problems. If the phone is not unlocked, get it unlocked and start saving
some money.

On Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:28:40 +0100, "Victor Delta"
wrote:

I currently have an O2 phone with a contract which has been running for
years. It costs me about £120-150 per year but, as my needs have changed, I
think I might be better off with a change to a PAYG now.

Nowadays I use the mobile very little - perhaps only one short call per
week, as it is basically only needed for emergency contact etc. The only
time it gets much use is for keeping in touch by text with the family if we
are abroad on holiday etc.

With any change the only key things I would be concerned about are keeping
my existing number, and not having to top up regularly or losing credit if
it didn't use it in a specified period.

Perhaps I'm looking for the impossible but if anyone has any suggestions I'd
be very interested to hear them.

I have a Virgin Mobile PAYG SIM with direct debit. I only use it when
I visit the UK a couple of times a year and just pay for the
calls/texts I need. The bill gets paid from my bank account
automatically, so I don't need to worry about topping up.

Chris

"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:28:40 +0100, "Victor Delta"
wrote:

I currently have an O2 phone with a contract which has been running for
years. It costs me about £120-150 per year but, as my needs have changed,
I
think I might be better off with a change to a PAYG now.

Nowadays I use the mobile very little - perhaps only one short call per
week, as it is basically only needed for emergency contact etc. The only
time it gets much use is for keeping in touch by text with the family if
we
are abroad on holiday etc.

With any change the only key things I would be concerned about are keeping
my existing number, and not having to top up regularly or losing credit if
it didn't use it in a specified period.

Perhaps I'm looking for the impossible but if anyone has any suggestions
I'd
be very interested to hear them.

I have a Virgin Mobile PAYG SIM with direct debit. I only use it when
I visit the UK a couple of times a year and just pay for the
calls/texts I need. The bill gets paid from my bank account
automatically, so I don't need to worry about topping up.

Chris

Many thanks for all these very helpful suggestions. I will follow up all of
them although I have to say that I didn't realise you could get what amounts
to a zero ponds per months PAYG or contract SIM.

V

On 17 Aug 2010, "Harry Stottle" wrote:

I am pretty sure you can transfer your number over. Credit does not expire
as long as you make at least one chargeable call every 6 months, (check ...

Plus the deal Martin posted about (pay 5 pounds, get 10 pounds of credit)
http://www.asdamobile.com/sim_pack.html still going so worth looking at.