pay as you go phones

[Polremy]

We have a french mobile phone which is for emergency use and for whenever we are in transit to and from England.

originally this was Orange but the short time limit for the cards was frustrating. Having read advice on this forum we unlocked it and changed to nrj which had no time limit. However, that is no longer the case. Just wondered if there was an English provider (I seem to remember relatives using Tescos ) which we could change to. Neither of us know much about mobile phones - in fact we often forget which buttons to press because we use ours so rarely. Could someone tell us first of all if it would be easy to change over to an english sim card - i mean really foolproof! and then if there is a provider with a really log time allowed before the credit is unusable.

Thanks

[cooperlola]

If your phone is unlocked, anybody's card (French or English) will work, no probs.  Tesco overseas charges have recently got quite cheap and there's no time limit (no - maybe it's one call a year but certainly not much more than that.)  Just buy a sim only package from them in any Tesco - cheap to post so a relative or friend could pick one up and send it to you.

[Polremy]

Thanks for that. My brother is posting me one - £10 for the Tesco sim card which includes £20 worth of credit! Can't see any catch except the 40p per minute charge for calls in France which we wouldnt mind since we only use the phone in emergencies. Thanks again.

Let's hope I manage to insert it ok!!

[Maxine]

Hi Polremy.

Very interested in your mail and we are in the same situation. We do not chat on mobiles or wish to send text messages. But on a cold and rainy day on the motorway, to travel without a phone on board is a very frightening prospect. Like yourselves, we only would need a mobile in case of emergencies!

So please could you relate your experience of the Tesco card, if you have one posted to you; inserted and working.Would like to know!

Maxine.

[cooperlola]

I already use my Tesco PAYG phone over here.  Works fine - better in fact than the French phone I had as it hunts for the best available network - whereas the dedicated ones have to be able to receive a signal from the network which they are linked to.  Topping up's the only slight snag so I get £20 worth when I return to the UK once a year on the relative visit - that lasts me 12 months easily.  A snip when compared to the enforced minimum 10 euros a month to keep a French phone topped up and working.  I think it's a great option for people who don't use their phone much.  I know you say you don't text but it really does keep costs down so it's worth getting in the habit if you ever do want to use your UK mobile to communicate with people over here.

[Danny]

This might be a useful link www.oneroam.co.uk

They seem to do a good value sim card for use overseas

I haven't personally used them but it sounds interesting 

Danny

[Polremy]

It's arrived. It's inserted. It works. It seems too good to be true. Of course, we now have a new mobile phone number but that needn't be a problem. It cost £10 and came with £21 of credit. Cant see any catch at the moment.

[Pierre ZFP]

So presumably it's better value to keep buying new SIM cards than credit if you're not bothered about the number,  and as you say, it need not be a problem.  Gotta be a catch somewhere, but I hope there isn't ! Tesco's sometimes do drop clangers like this, remember the banana fiasco?