PAYG Sim that doesn't expire?

beauf · 02-01-2021 5:00am #1

I know some PAYG Sims credit expire if the credit isn't used in 6 months etc. Which is kinda useless for a backup or emergency phone which rarely gets used. Are there any that don't expire or take a really long time to expire?

fritzelly · 02-01-2021 5:21am

Six months of non use/top-up is the standard for all networks (tho Tesco seem to be fairly lax about it going by a friend who tops up on it maybe once a year tho that is probably reliant on their systems not parsing the numbers that often)

No network is going to keep a number available to you indefinitely - numbers need to be recycled

Just top up a fiver every 6 months

beauf · 02-01-2021 11:18am

They used to. Three only changed this rule last year.

Personally I think there's something not right about them expiring credit after only 6 months.

Drifter50 · 02-01-2021 11:27am

Vodafone are back to 3 months now

Just lodge a ready to go €5 voucher every 3 months and all is good

beauf · 02-01-2021 11:36am

I'm amazed people don't have a problem with a phone company taking your money for no reason. Is it normal in other countries. It pushes you to a bill phone so numbers in emergency phone or similar.

Obviously another money grab.

TheDriver · 02-01-2021 11:51am

beauf wrote: »

I'm amazed people don't have a problem with a phone company taking your money for no reason. Is it normal in other countries. It pushes you to a bill phone so numbers in emergency phone or similar.

Obviously another money grab.

It's because of a new rule that means you can claim your credit back as cash so they don't want your credit 5 years later being claimed.

beauf · 02-01-2021 11:56am

TheDriver wrote: »

It's because of a new rule that means you can claim your credit back as cash so they don't want your credit 5 years later being claimed.

Ah that explains it.

GarIT · 02-01-2021 11:59am

beauf wrote: »

I'm amazed people don't have a problem with a phone company taking your money for no reason. Is it normal in other countries. It pushes you to a bill phone so numbers in emergency phone or similar.

Obviously another money grab.

They do have to provide a signal even if you don't use it to for outgoing calls or texts so it's not for nothing.

beauf · 02-01-2021 12:01pm

I can see removing a number if it's not used in 12 months.. But every 3 months? Or 6 months?

Also is not always been like this. So its a change in terms of conditions.

If shortage of numbers it's a problem. Fix that problem add more numbers. Don't kludge it.

Ten Pin · 02-01-2021 1:35pm

Vodafone are back to 3 months now

Where does it say that?

This page says 6 months...
https://n.vodafone.ie/support/pay-as-you-go-hub/pay-as-you-go/account.html

GarIT · 02-01-2021 1:49pm

beauf wrote: »

I can see removing a number if it's not used in 12 months.. But every 3 months? Or 6 months?

Also is not always been like this. So its a change in terms of conditions.

If shortage of numbers it's a problem. Fix that problem add more numbers. Don't kludge it.

No point in spending money fixing something for non paying customers.

Masts can only have a limited number of phones connected to them and they aren't cheap either.

Sheep Shagger · 02-01-2021 1:52pm

Ten Pin wrote: »

Where does it say that?

This page says 6 months...
https://n.vodafone.ie/support/pay-as-you-go-hub/pay-as-you-go/account.html

We have a VF sim for a kids tracker watch, and it dies every 3 months unless you top it up by €10

The data sim only costs €3 per month so a quarterly top up of €10 keeps it going.

hurleronditch · 02-01-2021 1:57pm

beauf wrote: »

I'm amazed people don't have a problem with a phone company taking your money for no reason. Is it normal in other countries. It pushes you to a bill phone so numbers in emergency phone or similar.

Obviously another money grab.

By having a phone connected to their network, able to receive calls and texts, and use WhatsApp connected to the number whilst using WiFi, the phone company is very much providing you with a service that is not at all without cost to them.

If you buy €5 credit every 6 months, the phone company is essentially providing you with your emergency phone connection for €10 a year, and you can still use that €10 on services. That sounds like a very fair deal to me.

Ten Pin · 02-01-2021 1:59pm

We have a VF sim for a kids tracker watch, and it dies every 3 months unless you top it up by €10

The data sim only costs €3 per month so a quarterly top up of €10 keeps it going.

Is that a V SIM or a PAYG phone SIM?

Sheep Shagger · 02-01-2021 2:08pm

Ten Pin wrote: »

Is that a V SIM or a PAYG phone SIM?

Its a PAYG SIM that is linked to a V SIM.

beauf · 03-01-2021 1:45am

hurleronditch wrote: »

By having a phone connected to their network, able to receive calls and texts, and use WhatsApp connected to the number whilst using WiFi, the phone company is very much providing you with a service that is not at all without cost to them.

If you buy €5 credit every 6 months, the phone company is essentially providing you with your emergency phone connection for €10 a year, and you can still use that €10 on services. That sounds like a very fair deal to me.

Which sim allows top ups of €5 that you can keep the credit, for 6 months?

Tesco?

beauf · 03-01-2021 1:47am

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Its a PAYG SIM that is linked to a V SIM.

So you need a V sim to buy this 2nd sim. I'm not sure what it is. Do you have a link?

beauf · 03-01-2021 1:49am

hurleronditch wrote: »

By having a phone connected to their network, able to receive calls and texts, and use WhatsApp connected to the number whilst using WiFi, the phone company is very much providing you with a service that is not at all without cost to them.

If you buy €5 credit every 6 months, the phone company is essentially providing you with your emergency phone connection for €10 a year, and you can still use that €10 on services. That sounds like a very fair deal to me.

Fine I'm just looking for the cheapest one.

Sheep Shagger · 03-01-2021 12:40pm

beauf wrote: »

So you need a V sim to buy this 2nd sim. I'm not sure what it is. Do you have a link?

As we were not a VF customer before we bought the watch that has a V SIM, you need a VF SIM card to 'feed' the V SIM that has a €3 charge each month (you can't top up the V SIM directly).

Maybe ask VF on twitter incase their website is put lf date, they should be ablevto give you a definitive answer?

beauf · 03-01-2021 12:53pm

Cheers. I'm only looking for calls no data though. Usually I have to get a regular SIM then block the data. Otherwise it eats the credit. No idea why. Which was fine until someone needed the phone and it had no credit. Then I found about they had changed the plan to 6 month expiry. Now I have to set a reminder to make a chargeable call on them.

I need another payg one now and was just wondering are they all still the same. If I could top up 5 euro instead of 10 that wouldn't be so bad.

beauf · 03-01-2021 1:00pm

hurleronditch wrote: »

By having a phone connected to their network, able to receive calls and texts, and use WhatsApp connected to the number whilst using WiFi, the phone company is very much providing you with a service that is not at all without cost to them.

If you buy €5 credit every 6 months, the phone company is essentially providing you with your emergency phone connection for €10 a year, and you can still use that €10 on services. That sounds like a very fair deal to me.

Incidentally the phone has no WiFi, no data is a dumb phone and is usually turned off to save battery.

I was wondering why a lot of teens seem to have mobiles with no credit and don't use WhatsApp it's all discord and such. They can't ring each other or message without WiFi. I know a lot do have mobile data and Sims I've just notice quite a few who don't.

Ten Pin · 03-01-2021 1:03pm

Which sim allows top ups of €5 that you can keep the credit, for 6 months?

Tesco?

Vodafone is probably the best option at 5e every 6 months, 8 months for incoming calls text.

Tesco credit expires after 6 months, AFAIK the SIM stays active for up to 2 years.

Three credit expires after 6 months, their latest terms say they MAY deactivate SIMs after a year.

AIUI, V SIMs are a type of subscription SIM that lose connection when the linked VF SIM runs out of credit. The 'parent' SIM is just a normal SIM and stays active up to 8 months without credit. A V SIM is not suitable for the use described in first post.

48 SIMs can be topped up by just 1 euro but it needs an active plan to use any spare credit, it might be suitable for incoming calls if needed but their 2G coverage isn't great.

MBSnr · 03-01-2021 1:04pm

beauf wrote: »

Which sim allows top ups of €5 that you can keep the credit, for 6 months?

Tesco?

Vodafone should. I believe Tesco do but for us the TM SIM didn't work in our electric gates correctly but the VF SIM did (If people are using it for that).

Even with a calendar reminder, I forgot to top it up by a fiver on the web top up page (handy they do that amount) and noticed the day after it had been disconnected cos it didn't ring. (Looking at the T&Cs it would appear to have been at 8 months and 7 days which ties up about right). I managed to get onto Online chat in India and they reactivated it giving a 14 day grace period for a top up. I stuck a fiver back on it and as far as I know I'm back on the same T&Cs of the 6 months top up. I was concerned they might have changed it but seemingly not.

Normally you can tell you are over the 6 months as the SIM account webpage will not show the credit after you login. However they must have changed things as even after the 6 months I was seeing the credit listed and wrongly assumed it was still good.......

So as others say - 10 Euro for a years use. Can't really complain about that.

beauf · 03-01-2021 1:49pm

Thanks for all the info. Vodafone looks like a good option.

beauf · 05-01-2021 1:07pm

I'm still having problems with that. Vodafone shop had no sims. Said I had to do it online. I can't do that with out creating yet another dummy email address. But which plan rolls over credit? I suspect none.

None of three PAYG seem to roll over monthly credit. So its effectively a 30 day plan.

beauf · 05-01-2021 1:20pm

Vodafone couldn't tell me which plan rolls over credit. Eir Mobile told me to ring 1901 and hung up.

Three will move me to the old plan. But have to buy the sim for 20 then top up by 20 after than plan reverts to the legacy one. So 40 for 6 months credit, effectively.

Looking like it would be cheaper to move all phones in the family to 48s 7.99.

Ten Pin · 05-01-2021 1:21pm

Doesn't matter which VF plan you choose, just top up by 5, 10 or 15 euro and the plan doesn't activate. Credit will be usable up to 6 months.

Here is what the terms for Vodafone X say...

9. If you need to top up again during your 28-day offer period, it is recommended that you top up by less than the minimum
amount if you want to retain the Offer Allowance for your
existing 28-day Offer period. i.e. €5, €10 or €15 top up. A top up
by €20 or more within an existing 28-day offer period will
activate the Offer and a new 28-day Offer period will commence.
If you top up by €20 or more in one go before the expiry date,
your offer will reset and any remaining allowances will not carry
forward at the time of top up. If you top up by less than €20 in
one go; this credit will be added to your credit balance.

Three is similar, top up by less than plan price and credit is added to the balance.

AFAIK, with VF, the card details are just for address verification and no payment is taken, so the SIM is free.

beauf · 05-01-2021 1:55pm

Ok cheers for that. Thats much appreciated. The support agents didn't tell me that.

I generally top up 10 on these sims. Which is under the plan. 10 is the lowest I can do on the online banking. How do you do the €5

Ten Pin · 05-01-2021 2:02pm

https://topup.vodafone.ie/VodafoneIEExternalWeb/enter.do

Defaults to 20e.

5, 10, 15 option is there too.

beauf · 05-01-2021 2:05pm

Super

bronkobilly · 05-01-2021 3:13pm

have an old 02 sim have not put credit on past 4 years still on 086 number

PAYG Sim that doesn't expire?

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