UKC

My daughter got a new mobile phone from her Dad for xmas but he didn't bother putting any credit on it and as it's pay as you go I don't have a scooby what to do!

She's on O2 with it but their website is a maze and I just can't find the info that I want.

She can get a monthy pay as you go tariff where £30 will get her unlimited texts and 500MB of internet on her phone. But when I try to get this tariff online it asks me to buy a phone! Obviously she already has a phone so that's no use and we can't skip this step!

I can also just buy £30 of credit online, or via credit card, voucher etc as per normal but is that not just going to get her credit and she won't be on any tariff then and won't get her free texts or web?

Finally, if I can figure this out and I pay the £30 for the texts and web, does that mean I have to put in extra credit if she needs to make a phone call from her mobile?

Anyone on O2 and can answer these questions?

In reply to Sonya Mc:

30 pounds sounds high, I pay 10 pounds and get the same deal.

To select a tariff you normally have to text a certain number with what tariff you want to do and then you remain on that as long as you make the minimum top ups, but it's a long time since I did it. Whatever tariff she has, she'll still have the credit you put on for making calls etc.

In reply to Sonya Mc:

This

http://www.o2.co.uk/topup

Says you can dial 248 and follow instructions for topping up

The phone should have come with a top-up card, by the looks of it

In reply to ebygomm: £10! Is it O2 that you are with also?

In reply to Dominion: It's a second hand Iphone her Dad got her so no top up card. And I think if you just top up as normal then all you will have is £30 credit, but not the tariff.

I'll phone up anyway and see if there is any instruction there about tariffs.

In reply to Sonya Mc:

Yes with O2, but looking at it online it looks like they've changed the tariffs.

You need to call 2202 to choose your tariff, or you can register on the website and do it from there

In reply to ebygomm:

Hmm, iphones might be subject to different tariffs

In reply to ebygomm: Yup, just found the number to phone. O2 seems ridiculously expensive! Will go and see what I can get her <grumble grumble>

In reply to Sonya Mc:

you'd be better going with giff gaff 250 minutes unlimited texts and unlimited internet for 10 pounds a month

You shouldn't need to unlock the phone if it's on O2, just order a free sim card

In reply to ebygomm: That sounds amazing! What's their coverage like do you know (up here in the back of beyond of Scotland?) Never heard of them!

In reply to Sonya Mc:

They're owned by O2 and run on the O2 network so should be the same coverage etc.

I think maybe that is why O2 themselves don't offer as good tariffs as they once did

In reply to ebygomm:
2nd vote for giffgaff. Theres a nice feature that gives credit to whoever recommends it to you.. which I guess Mr ebygomm should get?

O2 coverage is fine, was using the internet in ullapool the other day (gprs only there but fast enough for mwis, gmail etc)

In reply to Mike_Watson_99:

Miss ebygomm isn't on giff gaff so someone else can claim the recommendation...

In reply to ebygomm: Do you know how one can find out if her phone needs unlocked or not?

In reply to Sonya Mc:

If it's on O2 already it won't need unlocking

In reply to ebygomm: Och, I managed to get her an O2 tariff for cheaper (found an online advisor person on O2 chat to help me :oD I'll look into the giffgaff thing later (needs her phone just now being a teenager and all)

In reply to Sonya Mc:

If it's an iPhone that was originally bought on O2 then sometimes they do need unlocked when going to another provider (only iPhones have this bloody problem!) however I'm presuming the phone is over 12 months old if it's 2nd hand so O2 should be able to unlock it for free if needed. Although GiffGaff and Tesco Mobile carry on O2 they're still technically seperate networks. There's a link on the O2 website for the iPhone unlock service.

In reply to Sonya Mc:

Have you registered on the O2 website? It is quite good. It will report everything about your tariff and bolt-ons, show tariff options, allow topping up, show balance, provide webmail and much more.

ATMs are the often a good option for topping up. Put reminders for monthly top-ups in the phone calendar.

There is a system of 'rewards' for topping up on O2 and these can be channelled back into your balance.

It can sometimes be as hard to get an answer out of O2 as any other uk mobile provider but I do notice that several things are well sorted and predictable on O2. Although it's not as easy to get a good deal on internet stuff as it is on Vodafone, lots of other things are cheaper and one service I use is eleven times more expensive on Vodafone than O2.

In reply to Jim Fraser: Yeah, I got registered thanks and an online advisor sorted me with a better tariff for her.