Phone contracts

[chloej92]

Hi

Just wondering what do you pay for phone contracts per month and which provider. I used to have the full contract but started buying the phone outright and just having a SIM contract but it's now got to a point where I'm paying £30 for a SIM only with about 50GB data but even reducing the data won't reduce the price much after a phone call with EE so want to look at my options as all networks work well where I live.

I also wanted abit of advice regarding children having phones, DS is asking for a phone contract now he is 14 and has always looked after his phones up to now but I just wonder what other parents views on it are. He's always been on a pay as you go but says using a network like Giffgaff and Smarty is embarrassing because "they aren't proper networks" I do worry about him running up a bill but I also want him to always have the ability to call someone for safety reasons when he is out

I would get your DS a sim only deal with unlimited minutes and texts and a locked amount of data so he can't go over. For safety reasons mainly, if his PAYG runs out he can't contact you.
My DW found 3 to be the best for coverage, data allowance and cheapest for a newish phone. I'm in the same boat as you, currently sim only but my phone is broke, can't decide whether to buy outright again or get a contract this time x

Talkmobile less than £10 a month for SIM only and I think it's 50GB but it may well be more, I never reach the limit of my data.

Me and my eldest are on Voxi. It's Vodafone's youth brand. A tenner every 30 days for more data than I can ever use.

I have unlimited calls and texts with 50gig data for £15 with giffgaff but they have lots of different plans, or try going on moneysavingexpert for their latest deals or uswitch type websites.

Edit - you can block the data from topping up until the monthly renewal but your son will still be able to call. Since when do children compare phone carriers btw, I thought it was android v iPhone?

We have pay as you go sims - Vodafone. All 4 of us with phones, me, dh and two teens.

£10 a month for a big value bundle - unlimited calls and texts and 7gb of data.

The teens know that once their data is gone, it's gone until the 1st of the month.

Gifgaff sim only £10 20gb data unlimited calls and texts 50gb is £15. It's cheaper if you sign up for 18 months but I prefer rolling month to month.
I'm going to upgrade my phone in the next few months to a pixel 10 and will just buy one from Google and chop in my old handset

£50 sim only is AWFUL!!
My kids are on Smarty and no gives a monkeys what network they’re on. They get 80gb for no more than a tenner. I’m on Three, I’m similar cost. HDUK is a good place to find latest phone deals.

I got the iPhone 16 when it came out, and over two years it was cheaper to have on contract than buy outright and get a sim only deal. So really do your research and check.

I pay £29pm for phone and contract, which is unlimited everything. With talkmobile

That's what I thought but apparently "it's the voicemail greeting that is embarrassing"

It's £30 not £50

Giffgaff is O2 and they have some good value sim only packages. I go by coverage for provider as we are in a dead zone for mobile.

Ah, I wouldn't know as I never leave voicemails 😂. Do kids do that? I thought they were more into texting via WhatsApp or Snapchat. Ignore me then.

£1.10 / month for 100GB with lebara. After the intro offer runs out I will switch to another similarly cheap deal. Check martin lewis for offers.

Still blinking awful! My husband pays less for his iphone and sim. These companies don’t half take the pee

Well I didn't realise anyone under about 30 ever used a phone to call anyone, but there you go. I thought it was all rambling WhatsApp voice notes these days.

As it happens, I've just looked to change my SIM and I wanted to try the EE Network because they have the best coverage in the areas I go to (in reality, if you don't go anywhere particularly unpopulated or with inconvenient hills I think they're all much of a muchness). I found there was less choice of cheaper deals with EE or the secondary networks that use their coverage (although I need it to work in the Isle of Man, which is a particular difficulty as many don't include there in the roaming allowance) so it would probably be worth trying another network. You can check their coverage at:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/mobile-coverage-checker

So providing that you're moving in mostly urban/suburban environments, just try a 30 day rolling SIM from anywhere in case the coverage isn't good where you are. I've swapped several times to look for better coverage, it's really easy to do. TBH I don't know why anyone has a full contract these days and PAYG seems fairly unnecessary unless you never use your phone as the cheapest SIM only deals start at under £2 per month.

Moneysaving Expert lets you search for all the deals, by allowance and what network is used. They all have unlimited calls and texts these days, because most people use hardly any, it's all about the data allowance, I don't understand why you're paying so much for so little to EE because you can get 50 Gb for well under a tenner, not that most people would need that amount unless they're literally watching videos 24/7 so maybe they do.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheap-mobile-finder/sim-only/

But if this is a sign that your DS is influenced by peer pressure and branding such that he wants things that are more expensive, this is a good lesson in 'expensive network is £15 pm, we can save £10 a month by getting exactly the same thing from Lebara/iD Mobile/Smarty. You can either have the expensive network or the cheaper one and £10 a month to spend on something else, which would you prefer'.

Or is voicemail now 'in' in some sort of weird retro look what we've discovered TikTok thing so we can judge each others network provider?

He could just solve the Giffgaff voicemail issue by recording his own voicemail greeting.

I use Tesco sim only contract and it is around £11 per month. Not sure why you are paying £30 a month for sim only.

We're all on Smarty paying £5 per person. 5 GB seems to be fine for us but there is the option to add more. I like the way I can just add people to my group. My teens were just grateful they were no longer PAYG!! I did that for ages partly to discourage phone use while away from the home wifi.

£14 a month for sim only with 100gb data - tesco mobile.

Both my DC are on tesco as they allow you to cap any over use to £5 per month (means they cant go over their data allowance by more than £5 a month) which means I know how much their bill will be.

Lebara or Three do excellent sim only offers. Take a look at Money Saving Expert for latest offers.

We are all on VOXI for £10 a month sim only with 60gb. It is basically Vodaphone.

Their deal at the minute is £12 for 75gb, plus unlimited calls/texts and social, music and video meaning you can watch Netflix without it eating your data.

www.voxi.co.uk/sim-only-plans

Another vote for Lebara, less than £5 a month for 5GB of data and all calls and texts. Go through MSE website or app for reduced price for the first six months.
Lebara use Vodafone network, so network coverage is great.

I think the OP's son needs a dose of reality.

Providers like Giff Gaff or my own Lyca piggy back on the big neworks like EE or 3. My phone actually shows the network as EE even though mt monthly Direct Debit is to Lyca. I pay something around £10/month for unlimited calls and far more data than I can possibly use even with my laptop hot spotted to it for days at a time when away from home.

EU roaming included which was the red line that EE crossed when I was paying them direct.

I agree the Giff Gaff voicemail is toe curling. I had a job for a while where I made a dozen or so outgoing calls every working day; I could quote the big providers messages off pat.

But surely you can record your own.

I'd work out what he needs then find a choice of deals at best price for that offer and let him choose.

Mine- £15/month unlimited texts, calls, 100gb data, sim only Tesco Mobile
DD- £7/month, unlimited texts, calls, 50gb data, sim only, ID Mobile