Odd contract/tariff request

"Ed Chilada" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I need a mobile phone tariff for emergency situations. The details
> will be:
>
>
> * It will *never* make any calls (outgoing calls barred might even be
> useful).
>
> * It will probably receive and send text messages at the rate one or
> two a day.
>
> * It will receive a phone call once in a blue moon when the emergency
> situation arises.
>
> * Whilst the phone will need to be on all the time, it might not
> receive a phone call or in some circumstances even a text for weeks.
> It needs to not 'expire' during this time.
>
>
> Whilst I don't mind paying perhaps over-the-odds when I need to use it
> (in the emergency situation), I want to avoid too much ongoing costs
> from just running the mobile. On the face of it, PAYG would seem to
> make sense, but I believe there's a minimum spend each month these
> days?

Not at all. Some networks require you to make one call every 6 months, just
to confirm the phone still exists. This should cost you a few pence.

> Also, since I won't have access to the phone most of the time
> (it will be given to an elderly that won't really know much about
> mobiles), I won't be able to handle it regularly in order to keep it
> going (can PAYG top-ups be applied remotely? I've never had a PAYG
> phone..).

You can get a top up card, register the card with the provider and then you
can go to various newsagents etc and use the card to put credit onto the
phone. So you don't need to have the phone with you.

---

› See More: Odd contract/tariff request

You could get a free pay as you talk SIM from Vodafone's online store

https://www.v-store.co.uk/index.cfm?...ckout.freesims

If you don't actively use the SIM / phone (e.g. no chargeable outgoing
calls / SMS texts sent or successful TopUps are made) over a period of
180 consecutive days, the number is placed in a state known as
quarantine. Once in this state, you need to top up again in the next 90
days to be removed from quarantine, otherwise the number expires.

If you don't always have access to the phone, a solution could be to
take up one of Vodafone's top up methods, found here:
http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatc...ageID=PPP_0015

The best one for you, if you've got internet access, could be the Top
Up online choice, e.g. you register a credit card against the number,
you then log on to a secure webpage at some point during the six month
period and place a small amount of fresh credit onto the mobile. More
information here:
http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatc...ageID=PPP_0016

Ed Chilada wrote:

> On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 14:14:50 -0000, "Mark Hewitt" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >> Also, since I won't have access to the phone most of the time
> >> (it will be given to an elderly that won't really know much about
> >> mobiles), I won't be able to handle it regularly in order to keep it
> >> going (can PAYG top-ups be applied remotely? I've never had a PAYG
> >> phone..).
> >
> >You can get a top up card, register the card with the provider and then you
> >can go to various newsagents etc and use the card to put credit onto the
> >phone. So you don't need to have the phone with you.
>
> Cheers everyone for all your help. Sounds like PAYG is definitely the
> way to go, and I can make sure it makes a token call every now and
> again. Having thought about it some more, it could do with doing
> anyway, just to make sure it's still working.
>
> Thanks again everyone.