Which mobile phone/tariff for an 11 year old ?

[Kayleigh]

It's been a while since I posted on here - but I always come back when I need good advice
My son is off to secondary school in September and he will be getting a mobile phone.
Have done a little bit of research and I think he would be better off with a cheaper contract rather than PAYG.

Has anyone out there already done their homework on this ?!!!

I have been told to go for a 30 day contract rather than get tied in to a 12 or 18 month one. Can anyone comment.

Any other useful tips or suggestions ????

i have 2 secondary school age dds. i would never, ever, ever get them a contract phone. Esp one to take to school. it will get lost, stolen, there will be bills run up with comments like i lent it to my best friend, it must have been them etc etc. or, as one of my dds friends did, had the phone stolen, didnt admit it because scared of being told off until the 200 quid bill arrived.

i honestly think you are far better off starting off with a cheap PAYG and doing as i did, get a free orange sim. Each time you top with £10 you get a couple of hundred free texts on Dolphin. Also, if they run out of credit, they can phone a number and get an advance of £2.50, enough to call you or whatever. and each £10 you spend, they earn £1 towards a new phone.

if he can show you that the phone remains intact etc for a year, tell him you will reconsider.

I agree with ringstar. However sensible and trustworthy they are, texting and chatting on the phone just doesn't register as an expense to them.

My DN ran up a £300 bill on her first phone.

PAYG is just as convenient.

I've always had contracts for my two older children (now 19 and nearly 17) - originally they had a T-Mobile U-Fix/Mix-it contract which gave them so many minutes/texts per month and when that allowance was used up they had the option to top up or wait until next billing cycle. As they got older I switched to Flext and we have only had two hiccups along the way, both genuine mistakes (dodgy text thing and dialling an 09 number, argh). Obviously if they abused the privilege they would have to pay for it.

I'd much rather run the risk and know that they can always call me than have them stuck somewhere without credit. I also think trust works wonders, extend it to them and they tend to respect it.