PAYG mobile phones

I think you will find monthly contracts at less then that a month.
About £7 upwards?
Of course I don't know how long your £10 lasts...

I haven't checked this out but a "sim only" deal is quite affordable.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheap-mobile-finder/sim-only-all/

I have a £6.99 a monthly sim only deal with Lebara. It’s a 30 day rolling contract which can be cancelled at any time. They use the Vodafone network.

I have unlimited mins and texts. 15 GB data and 100 free international mins per month.

They do a £5 sim with all of the above but with 5GB data instead of 15GB. I’ve had 2 problem free years with them.

I switched to a monthly bundle as I felt it was wasteful to dump a perfectly good phone after two years. I think I pay £10 a month but anything I don’t use rolls over to the next month. My aim is to try and get three years out of a contract phone before replacing.

pably15

I have a PAYG mobile, £10 last me ages ,I tried to topup today, on line but couldn't and I couldn't understand because it's always so easy to do, I'm with Tesco and have found out that they've stopped PAYG now...they want you to take a bundle...you pay monthly, I don't know yet what it costs but I can imagine it will work out dearer then PAYG, just something else that folk have no control over, I'll have a look around other providers ...or maybe they're all getting rid of PAYG

You will have to download the Tesco app (yes, another flipping app). They've changed their system <<<sigh>>>

Like you, I didn't want a 'bundle' but was forced to, so I got the cheapest which is £5.

Once you've registered you can keep a check on your balance by texting the word "Balance" to 282 and it will ping the amount back to you.

Then you will have to top-up when necessary via the app.

It used to be so simple didn't it - but companies will always try to find ways to make more money from their customers... 's Capitalism, innit!

Cressy I find it cheaper overall not to have a phone on contract. I prefer to buy the phone on 2 years interest free credit and use a cheap 30 day rolling sim. My current phone is almost 3 years old and I bought it in the Apple Store on 2 years interest free instalments. So it’s fully paid up and my only expense is the £6.99 sim which I’m about to downgrade to £5 as 5GB of data is more than enough because I’m mostly on WiFi.

At the time Currys were also doing 2 years interest free on a variety of phones.

I did the same with my previous phone which lasted over 5 years and hopefully this one will last another few years.

Try 1p, Lebara or GiffGaff.

I'm using 1p and £10 has lasted me 3 months so far. Admittedly I'm not a massive browser when I'm away from the house so I think it depends how and where you use your phone.

I pay a mere £5 a month for Smarty on a rolling contract. For that I get unlimited calls, texts and WhatsApp plus anything else on the internet at home. Using the internet when out of the house would take the cost up a couple of pounds I imagine.

They do Pay As You Go and it's currently £10 for 80 Gb.
Smarty Pay As You Go

Dickens

pably15

I have a PAYG mobile, £10 last me ages ,I tried to topup today, on line but couldn't and I couldn't understand because it's always so easy to do, I'm with Tesco and have found out that they've stopped PAYG now...they want you to take a bundle...you pay monthly, I don't know yet what it costs but I can imagine it will work out dearer then PAYG, just something else that folk have no control over, I'll have a look around other providers ...or maybe they're all getting rid of PAYG

You will have to download the Tesco app (yes, another flipping app). They've changed their system <<<sigh>>>

Like you, I didn't want a 'bundle' but was forced to, so I got the cheapest which is £5.

Once you've registered you can keep a check on your balance by texting the word "Balance" to 282 and it will ping the amount back to you.

Then you will have to top-up when necessary via the app.

It used to be so simple didn't it - but companies will always try to find ways to make more money from their customers... 's Capitalism, innit!

I've tried to download the app, but I don't have a smart phone, so it won't download,I've called the number and the voice said,I could pay online if I download the app....eeee...can't win

pably15

I've tried to download the app, but I don't have a smart phone, so it won't download,I've called the number and the voice said,I could pay online if I download the app....eeee...can't win

It is, I agree. I have a smart phone so have (reluctantly) downloaded the app.

However, I have just consulted ChatGPT - and this is what they say...

"Buy a Tesco Mobile top-up voucher (e.g., £5, £10, £20) from a Tesco store or many newsagents/supermarkets.

On your Tesco phone, dial 4488 (free).

Follow the automated instructions.

Enter the 16-digit code printed on the voucher.

Your credit is added immediately"

... it's still a PITA though because it means you have to purchase a flippin' voucher.

To thicko me this is all really a foreign language. What on earth is a 'bundle'? Wool? Legal documents? I also have a Tesco PAYG phone. Suits me fine. Why are we all being forced to engage in and pay for things which we don't want? It is verging on the criminal. Usury. I also don't know the difference between a megabyte and a dog bite. Seriously no idea. And, frankly, I am disinterested. All I want to do is pick up the phone, dial a number and speak to someone. That luxury is being removed from our lives.

Smart phones are flipping heavy, the connections invariably don't work ("no network connection available") and, if you do actually manage to speak to someone, you can't hear each other as the lines are scrambled. But 90% of the time you get an inanimate bot, which can't answer the question, as it does not fit the tick box. This is progress, apparently.

Alexander Graham Bell must be turning in his grave. Or weeping!

Smart phones are flipping heavy, the connections invariably don't work ("no network connection available") and, if you do actually manage to speak to someone, you can't hear each other as the lines are scrambled.

You must live somewhere which has poor network availability. I never have any trouble making calls, sending texts or WhatsApps.

Enter your postcode here and scroll down to see what the signals are like in your area. You may need to change provider.
www.signalchecker.co.uk/

Dickens

pably15

I've tried to download the app, but I don't have a smart phone, so it won't download,I've called the number and the voice said,I could pay online if I download the app....eeee...can't win

It is, I agree. I have a smart phone so have (reluctantly) downloaded the app.

However, I have just consulted ChatGPT - and this is what they say...

"Buy a Tesco Mobile top-up voucher (e.g., £5, £10, £20) from a Tesco store or many newsagents/supermarkets.

On your Tesco phone, dial 4488 (free).

Follow the automated instructions.

Enter the 16-digit code printed on the voucher.

Your credit is added immediately"

... it's still a PITA though because it means you have to purchase a flippin' voucher.

Thanks, I think that might be the easiest thing for me...I only bought this phone months ago as my old one was 3g, so I had to upgrade to a 4G...

dalrymple23

To thicko me this is all really a foreign language. What on earth is a 'bundle'? Wool? Legal documents? I also have a Tesco PAYG phone. Suits me fine. Why are we all being forced to engage in and pay for things which we don't want? It is verging on the criminal. Usury. I also don't know the difference between a megabyte and a dog bite. Seriously no idea. And, frankly, I am disinterested. All I want to do is pick up the phone, dial a number and speak to someone. That luxury is being removed from our lives.

Smart phones are flipping heavy, the connections invariably don't work ("no network connection available") and, if you do actually manage to speak to someone, you can't hear each other as the lines are scrambled. But 90% of the time you get an inanimate bot, which can't answer the question, as it does not fit the tick box. This is progress, apparently.

Alexander Graham Bell must be turning in his grave. Or weeping!

Dalrymple , I'm the same...never had a bundle although I've been offered some, but I always refused as I don't use the mobile that often, originaly got it to have in the car incase it broke down, but now we're being forced into accepting things we don't want.

"Bundles" are just allowances of data/texts/call-minutes for a set £amount - a bundle lasts for 30 days then renews automatically, if you have sufficient credit.

It's basically for those who have moderate to heavy mobile use or as I, ever a cynic, believe, just another way to increase profits.

Here's the thing... if you only use your phone as an emergency tool and the odd call, it's not worth subscribing to a bloomin' bundle because you'll never use it up.

But of course, Tesco's never going to make much money from people like you, and to some extent, me - so you can be sure that at some point. the standard rate will increase so you'll be compelled to purchase a bundle basically. What's more, by that time, the current cheapest bundle - £5 - will no longer be available, it will be £10.

We're encouraged, as responsible individuals, to be thrifty/not spend beyond our means/budget sensibly, etc, etc - which is what you appear to be doing pably15, but the reality is that Capitalism does not thrive through people being thrifty. I'm not a raging Leftie, this is how it works!

BTW... Websites like Recharge.com, Dundle, and Mobiletopup.co.uk sell Tesco vouchers that are delivered instantly via email. That might be another option which will save you having to physically purchase them.

I pay in about £30 and it lasts me about 4 months - I’m with Tescomobile

dalrymple23

To thicko me this is all really a foreign language.

You're not a thicko . More likely you're simply one of those people who want to use technology to make seamless transactions as quickly and efficiently as possible without having to wade through reams of FAQs and explanations and spend hours absorbing a language that, by the time you've mastered it, will have morphed into a new name or description.

"Bundles" will, inevitably, undergo further changes at some point and could easily be re-branded with another silly name. The end result will, as always, be that the user has to shell out more money - regardless.

I use technology on a strictly 'need-to-know' basis. Life's too short!

dalrymple23

To thicko me this is all really a foreign language. What on earth is a 'bundle'? Wool? Legal documents? I also have a Tesco PAYG phone. Suits me fine. Why are we all being forced to engage in and pay for things which we don't want? It is verging on the criminal. Usury. I also don't know the difference between a megabyte and a dog bite. Seriously no idea. And, frankly, I am disinterested. All I want to do is pick up the phone, dial a number and speak to someone. That luxury is being removed from our lives.

Smart phones are flipping heavy, the connections invariably don't work ("no network connection available") and, if you do actually manage to speak to someone, you can't hear each other as the lines are scrambled. But 90% of the time you get an inanimate bot, which can't answer the question, as it does not fit the tick box. This is progress, apparently.

Alexander Graham Bell must be turning in his grave. Or weeping!

Nobody is forcing us to do anything. They will do their worst to get you to buy but nobody’s twisting your arm up your back.
Just say no.

I'm with Spusu, cheap and more than enough data for me

I use GifGaf, refurbed phones, had 3 in 15 years and a Sim only card

Tesco tried to pull this number on me a couple of months. I've had emergency back up pay as you go mobile with them for years.

I rarely use it and have had about £8 on it for years. I rang them and they said l could carry on and keep topping it up .

But l think it would ringing them again and checking.

This may have changed.

I would not get even a really cheap monthly payment deal from them or any other company.

You don't need it and would be wasting your money.

Don't take any bull shit from .
Be really firm.

Hope you get it sorted

🤞📱💰

I use Voxy as everything you do on Social Media is free! They piggyback off the Vodafone network. Before them I used Lebara who were very good and were the only one I could find where you could get a good deal on roaming further away than Europe. They piggyback off 02.

My main phone is a Doro 6530 and 02 is good around here, for years I was On 02, then swapped to Tesco, again years. The only reason I left is after Covid, they decided my £4.50 a month pay monthly was no longer justified for 150 min, 100 texts, though I usually used 10 minutes and 20 texts max! They wanted me to pay £7.50 a.month, they withdrew my deal! They had actually contacted me about 10 years ago and asked me if I was happy with the contract, I told them no, too much for my usage, so that was how I got the £4.50 deal. I.thought, go payg, so I switched to their service, coincided with dog being ill and other issues...... Phone bill for a couple of months was around £20 a month! I left and went to Lyca is it? Also on O2 at the time......... Then a couple of months later they switched to EE which has poor coverage in the house and around the house! They let me out of contract penalty free as O2, at that time were offering £5 a month pay monthly! I stayed with them just over a year as then they declared ALL contracts going up, alot!

Reluctantly I switched to Lebara due to the cost only, in my Doro, Lebara isn't as good reception as 02, probably because it lives down my bra and my boobs block reception! Down the yard, I have no signal either on Vodafone, probably to do with the steel framed buildings and dips, but EE is fabulous! Just not in the house.

Last year, Sky offered a £1 a month sum pay monthly, I'm now on that until October then I'll be worrying again as to what to do!

Now, I also have a backup dual SIM smartphone, 1 sim is Spusu, £4.50 per month, which is based on EE, perfect for down the yard, sat nav in car, chatting to relatives on WhatsApp etc, the 2nd SIM is Asda (Vodafone) PAYG, that is hardly used and topped up twice a year by £5 a time, I dread them pulling it.

We're in an area where I can put my phone's next to my mum's and barely any signal on them. My dad has a dual SIM dumb Phone, Tesco and EE, even he struggles to get signal some days, yet according to the experts he should have full coverage. He scrapped his landline 20+ years ago due to lack of use. Ours went last year, same reason.

I LIKE Payg, it has its uses, unfortunately when they say you MUST top up monthly it goes against the idea of PAYG, the whole idea was you topped up when you NEEDED not when they wanted you too. My Spusu number was originally a 1p mobile number and I topped up £10 every 4 months as that was the rule. Only reason I left was that rule ended up getting too expensive.

Sorry for waffling, but I really do understand your issue. When I left Lebara, they asked me why, if there were problems. I told them the truth, I have always been On an 02 based network, ever since my 1st phone in the 90's as it works perfectly here for me. But, I also told them that if my deal goes sky high next year, (this year) id probably end up going back to them.

I’ve just changed to Giff Gaff. It’s very cheap and just perfect for me.

I have a £7 monthly contract with Tesco; have for years. It gives me all my calls and sufficient data for my needs, but I know they do cheaper if you don't use it that much. We have switched off our house phone which cost far more as it is going networked soon anyway and I can link my phone through to get a better signal anyway.
I do use whatsapp quite a bit, so it makes sense