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From: Stephen on 4 Aug 2010 16:24
Hi,

Many years ago (2002ish?) in the days of nokia 3320s, there were some
pay upfront for life phones that combined the best bits of PAYG and
the best bits of contracts. There is no monthly rental, so its like
PAYG in that you only pay for the alls you make but its like a
contract in that you get a monthly bill, so there's no hassle of
having to top-up halfway through a call. The only "catch" was that you
had to pay extra for the handset, which wasn't subsidised like the
contract offering s were.

I had one on O2; my sister had one on orange. I think the only thing
like it now is the 3 zero offering.

I was just wondering if anyone still uses these? Whilst it has the
convenience of the advantages listed above, because it is such an old
tariff, the problem is that calls to another network cost 40ppm, ouch!
And they even consider tesco a different network to o2 ;(

As far as I can tell because this was pre-mms and pre-internet
technology, there is no way I can get online or send/receive photo
messages. Is that right, or am I doing something wrong?

I wonder whether it is time to upgrade? I don't use the phone enough
to make a contract worthwhile but I'm not so keen on having to keep
topping-up at inconvenient times.

Thanks in advance.
From: Theo Markettos on 4 Aug 2010 16:47
Stephen <stephen(a)nowhere.com.invalid> wrote:
> I had one on O2; my sister had one on orange. I think the only thing
> like it now is the 3 zero offering.

There's also Virgin pay by direct debit (also poor value as a regular
tariff).

> I was just wondering if anyone still uses these? Whilst it has the
> convenience of the advantages listed above, because it is such an old
> tariff, the problem is that calls to another network cost 40ppm, ouch!
> And they even consider tesco a different network to o2 ;(

The other useful thing is for use abroad, so that you can roam without
topping up a huge balance in advance. In that case the call rates are
mostly the same as PAYG (ie still extortionate) so there's no disadvantage
to having a £0pm contract SIM.

> As far as I can tell because this was pre-mms and pre-internet
> technology, there is no way I can get online or send/receive photo
> messages. Is that right, or am I doing something wrong?

Unless they've actively blocked it you should be able to, though you might
need a replacement SIM. Have you tried setting up your phone to do it?

> I wonder whether it is time to upgrade? I don't use the phone enough
> to make a contract worthwhile but I'm not so keen on having to keep
> topping-up at inconvenient times.

Does anyone do automatic topup? So if your balance gets low it does an
automatic direct debit or credit card payment. The same principle works for
Oyster cards. I think Giffgaff mentioned they were implementing this, but
it might not be active yet.

Theo
From: Paulg0 on 4 Aug 2010 18:54
"Stephen" <stephen(a)nowhere.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:glij56dhrdobmrfgsbr33ue7md7gbrlhvn(a)4ax.com...
> Hi,
>
> Many years ago (2002ish?) in the days of nokia 3320s, there were some
> pay upfront for life phones that combined the best bits of PAYG and
> the best bits of contracts. There is no monthly rental, so its like
> PAYG in that you only pay for the alls you make but its like a
> contract in that you get a monthly bill, so there's no hassle of
> having to top-up halfway through a call. The only "catch" was that you
> had to pay extra for the handset, which wasn't subsidised like the
> contract offering s were.
>
> I had one on O2; my sister had one on orange. I think the only thing
> like it now is the 3 zero offering.
>
> I was just wondering if anyone still uses these? Whilst it has the
> convenience of the advantages listed above, because it is such an old
> tariff, the problem is that calls to another network cost 40ppm, ouch!
> And they even consider tesco a different network to o2 ;(
>
> As far as I can tell because this was pre-mms and pre-internet
> technology, there is no way I can get online or send/receive photo
> messages. Is that right, or am I doing something wrong?
>
> I wonder whether it is time to upgrade? I don't use the phone enough
> to make a contract worthwhile but I'm not so keen on having to keep
> topping-up at inconvenient times.
>

Giffgaff pay as you go is very good value at 8ppm and has an auto topup
facility

Paul

From: Steve Terry on 4 Aug 2010 20:40
"Stephen" <stephen(a)nowhere.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:glij56dhrdobmrfgsbr33ue7md7gbrlhvn(a)4ax.com...
> Hi,
> Many years ago (2002ish?) in the days of nokia 3320s, there were some
> pay upfront for life phones that combined the best bits of PAYG and
> the best bits of contracts. There is no monthly rental, so its like
> PAYG in that you only pay for the alls you make but its like a
> contract in that you get a monthly bill, so there's no hassle of
> having to top-up halfway through a call. The only "catch" was that you
> had to pay extra for the handset, which wasn't subsidised like the
> contract offering s were.
>
> I had one on O2; my sister had one on orange. I think the only thing
> like it now is the 3 zero offering.
>
>
I still have a Orange OVP Virgin, its free voicemail is handy for calling
the voicemail on my other Orange phones.
and if you have a pair you can send voicemail deposits for free into
each others phone.

3 Zero is handy for its free Skype and being Three contract
still has free voicemail.

Not sure if the shortcode callthrough 3510200 which will give
you calls to UK landlines and some intenational for 2p per min
which does work on Three PAYG will work on Three contract?

Steve Terry
--
Welcome Sign-up Bonus of �1 when you signup free at:
http://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/G4WWK


From: John Kenyon on 5 Aug 2010 05:31
Stephen wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Many years ago (2002ish?) in the days of nokia 3320s, there were some
> pay upfront for life phones that combined the best bits of PAYG and
> the best bits of contracts. There is no monthly rental, so its like
> PAYG in that you only pay for the alls you make but its like a
> contract in that you get a monthly bill, so there's no hassle of
> having to top-up halfway through a call. The only "catch" was that you
> had to pay extra for the handset, which wasn't subsidised like the
> contract offering s were.
>
> I had one on O2; my sister had one on orange. I think the only thing
> like it now is the 3 zero offering.
>
> I was just wondering if anyone still uses these? Whilst it has the
> convenience of the advantages listed above, because it is such an old
> tariff, the problem is that calls to another network cost 40ppm, ouch!
> And they even consider tesco a different network to o2 ;(
>
> As far as I can tell because this was pre-mms and pre-internet
> technology, there is no way I can get online or send/receive photo
> messages. Is that right, or am I doing something wrong?
>
> I wonder whether it is time to upgrade? I don't use the phone enough
> to make a contract worthwhile but I'm not so keen on having to keep
> topping-up at inconvenient times.
>

Still got an O2 PUFFL 200 offpeak minutes to other O2 and landlines.
No MMS or internet added, but it does get me �5 a month off my O2 home
broadband

It currently functions as my personal number, along side the work
provided phone.
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