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Looking at sorting a mobile for 16 year old daughter. Intention is to re-use an old phone and just get a sim card.
From my initial research it seems that with Giff gaff and the like the credit it expires if not used.
I don't want to be putting credit on it for it to be wasted as the phone will just be for emergency use really.
Are there any sim-only deals where it doesn't expire?
My old riding phone has a 3 PAYG SIM in it that doesn't expire as long as you use a bit of credit once every 6 months.
I'm with Giff Gaff and pay £5 or £7.50 a month goody bag which automatically renews each month. I think paying for discreet amount of data (calls and texts are usually free anyway) is a bit of an old fashioned way of looking at it....you pay for a limit like your broadband...you buy 40Gb or whatever of broadband but rarely if ever achieve that speed. Not sure you can get up front credit sims anymore can you? If so why would you want that for your daughter...suppose she blows all her credit then has to call you in an emergency? DOn't you want the piece of mind that you're on some form of plan that means she'll always be able to call?
I use Giff Gaff but just top up when I need it. I rarely make calls, maybe 3-4 texts a month and a bit of data. £10 top up lasts about 6 months. (I guess I'm not typical!)
I've used 3 before, I think it's called 321 and is true PAYG as you're requesting. The 321 relates to how much you pay for each service (data/calls/text).
Giffgaff. Highly recommend it.
If you do go with them get a link from one of us and you get £5 credit and we get the same.
I pay £10 a month but that's because I use my data. The Mrs just tops up when she runs out.
Free calls and text to other giffgaff users.
For the low use phones in our household we have Three PAYG were the credit doesn't expire or need topping up regularly, just use it every few (6?) months, and also have 1p mobile which requires £10 top up every 120 days minimum, and credit doesn't expire. 1p mobile is cheaper to run for slightly higher usage than the 321 deal on Three. Daughter uses 1p and my spare riding / navigation phones have Three.
My o2 sim doesn’t expire. Just need to use every 6 months or so. Has worked fine for the last 10 years or so...
No data though. Not seen any data package that rolls over.
Three 321 sim here too.
Not quite the OP's original question, but:
I use Plusnet for me and my boys: £6/mo for 1Gb data, calls, texts etc but capped so that you don't get any nasty bills when they go over their usage limit (as happened with a friend's daughter when she chatted to a boyfriend for an hour one evening). The cap can also be unlocked in an emergency.
I have switched from PAYG to a monthly contract for SIM only with ID mobile. Despite my not using the phone much it still works out cheaper over the course of a year. I pay £3.99 a month for 150 mins calls (used 7 mins last month!), unlimited texts, and 500MB of data (I used 50mb last month). The data rolls over so I have almost a GB this month. The contract is for a month so can cancel at any time. It is also possible to set a cap so you won't accidentally go over your limits by more than a fiver. However, it it only available online. If you go direct to Carphone Warehouse you pay more and only get a 12 month contract for the same things.
Thanks all. I'll have a look at those.
Another recommendation for Giff Gaff. I use one of their sims in an old phone I take when out on the bike. Provided it is used once every six months the credit lasts until it's spent.