Just lost £20

[#1]

Perhaps I am the only person in the country who hates mobile phones, no problem with others using them but never really wanted one, a month ago I purchased a cheap one to keep in the car in case of an emergency and purchased a card to go with the thing clearly explaining to the shop assistant I had no interests in texts, the internet or anything else but simply wanted to make phone calls.

Imagine my surprise when I came to use it yesterday for the first time......' You have no credit left do you want to top it up '

Seems I had either been given the wrong card or you need to select some option on the phone ?

So £ 20 down the drain.....I hate these things even more now.

On the positive side I did find a very helpful young chap who explained what the issue was supplied a different card so will have to see how my next £ 20 goes.

Assuming he is correct and based on the number of calls I make that £ 20 should last a long time, I think there is a time limit of a year on it

[#2]

Did you have a  "use it or lose it within a month"  card ?

[#3]

I keep a PAYG one given to me by my one of my daughters (she bought a posh new one) in the car for those emergencies as well along with a USB/Lighter connector - it's surprising how long the charge lasts, and I've had that £10 top up (now down to about £6) for a year at least. 

Other than that I don't have a mobile although the Mrs does as she finds it cheap if not 'free' to keep in touch with our kids  'mobile to mobile' plus those text messages.

Don't see the youngsters without 'em these days. Record to date, four next to each on a park bench all using their mobiles!   

[#4]

There were 2 girls on the bus this morning, about 12 years old. Sat next to each other...and texting each other. Annoyed the heck out of me.

[#5]

When I was a kid all we had were two empty baked bean cans joined by a piece of coconut string. 

[#6]

When I was a kid, we just talked to each other...

Then we got walkie talkies, and broke them...

[#7]

@gleneagles

I don't use my mobile phone much either, so a PAYG tariff which I find to be good value is 3-2-1 from Three. Charges are 3p per minute for calls (no setup fee but rounded up to the minute), 2p per text, 1p per MB for data.  A couple of things you might like are that the minimum top-up is £5 and your credit doesn't expire.

Horses for courses of course, and coverage will vary I guess.

[#8]

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@Champnet wrote:

Did you have a  "use it or lose it within a month"  card ?

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Well knowing nothing about mobile phones I clearly explained to the chap I was not interested in texts or the internet and assumed incorrectly he would give me a card that would last until the money ran out.

[#9]

My big (and only) mistake was using that PAYG mobile on the internet just after I was given it, so maybe you did not actually need a smart phone?

I didn't, but talk about wipe out!

[#10]

SHMBO was the same, had/s a Vodaphone phone circa 2004, had £20 on it, but she forgot the pin number and now it is useless. Tried contacting V but they want you to phone them using your V phone (how?) or an expensive number. Tried contacting them via chat and email and heard nowt.
Personally I have a Tesco PAYG that I put £10 on when I bought it in 2006 still got money on it! These days I use a Freedom pop sim (200/200/200Mb free) only issue is they switch it off if you don't use it for a few months, but you can reactivate via the webpage (or just switch it on monthly)

[#11]

Yes I don’t use PAYG but my dad liked them, and he got times when they took money from then he got annoyed (that happened more than once).

Usually the SIM got disconnected and got moaned at that he had money stolen from him.

[#12]

I keep a spare PAYG phone in the car.

One thing to remember with most PAYG deals you have to make a call or text every 180 days or the credit is lost.

Brain A

[#13]

Just found this which is helpful I use 3 which is very good for a spare phone and its on it own network not the best but may be working when EE is off.

I have two 3 sim card with quite good numbers both ending in 777 if anyone wants one for free send me a private message and I will post it to them.

Brian   A

https://www.cable.co.uk/guides/payg-sims-no-monthly-top-up-long-expiry/

[#14]

@8BKA

Lose credit after 180 days? Never realized that, but what a swizz.

Best check mine out pronto. 

[#15]

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@8BKA wrote:

... you have to make a call or text every 180 days or the credit is lost.

Brain A

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So far as I'm concerned it's not lost, but stolen by the phone company.

Orange did that to me once for £25 on one of their PAYG phones and were unrepentant when I complained. A couple of years later I turned down a substantial proposal for a trading floor phone system from a French company called Etralit.  The salesman took me out for a meal to ask why they'd not succeeded. I told him the competitor's systems were better matched to the requirement, but dropped in the conversation that I didn't like the business practices of the company who owned Etralit. Namely - Orange. What goes around....