giffgaff to increase PAYG rates from 26th February 2020 - Alternatives available

andy69

Another cheaper alternative is to get a Tesco calling card and use a 0800 access number.

wagstaffes

giffgaff are increasing their basic PAYG rates to 25p per minute and 10p per text, data now confirmed to be unchanged at 5p per MB.
https://community.giffgaff.com/d/33064069-we-re-adding-more-to-some-goodybags-in-february

I would just like to remind those who operate their SIM on a basic PAYG basis, and, who will be adversely affected by this increase, that there are still lower cost alternatives available.

1pMobile charge only 1p per minute, text, and, MB data, and, operate on EE's network. Minimum top up requirement is £10 every 120 days (4 months) i.e. £30 per year, otherwise you lose your number. UK based customer support, fully itemised usage, and, excellent feedback ratings. Can buy data boosts from £6. Can currently use same 1p tariff abroad in 46 EU destinations. I use 1p Mobile myself. Cashback is possible via Quidco/Topcashback, or, I can let you have a referral code for £5 free credit.
P.s. 1pMobile have now set up a dedicated page on their website with relevant information, https://www.1pmobile.com/giffgaff/

Three PAYG - EDIT From 12th March 2020 Three have changed their PAYG rates to 10p per minute, 10p per text message and 5p per MB. Existing customers retain previous 321 tariff of 3p per minute, 2p per text, and, 1p per MB data. Does not work with 2G devices. Once SIM is activated you can top up by just £5 online. Use phone, chargeable, at least once every 180 days to keep SIM active. Can currently use 321 tariff abroad in over 70 destinations, including, USA, Australia, and, New Zealand. Add-ons of mins/texts/data starting at £10 can also be purchased, should you ever need one e.g. travelling where there is no WiFi.

Asda Mobile charge 8p per minute, 4p per text and 5p per MB data. They operate on EE's network. And, taken from their FAQs, "As long as you use your phone at least once every 180 days your credit will never expire and your account will always remain open." You can also buy bundles if you need to, and, you can currently Roam in 50 EU destinations on this tariff.

Tesco Mobile Lite tariff charge 8p per minute, 4p per text and 10p per MB data. They operate on O2's network. I have confirmed with their chat service that you just buy a normal payg SIM and then switch to the Lite tariff, info here, https://www.tescomobile.com/help-and-support/pay-as-you-go/getting-started/pay-as-you-go-lite-call-charges. You need to use your phone at least once every 6 months to keep your SIM active. Can currently use in 48 European destinations at same tariff.

The Phone Co-op Mobile never heard of these before. They operate on EE's network and charge 8p per minute, 4p per text and 10p per MB data. However, charges for calls/texts to other Co-op mobile customers are half price at 4p/minute and 2p/text. Bundles are also available starting from £5. (Edit: they have no 4g coverage)

And, although O2 have withdrawn their Classic PAYG 321 tariff for new users, until stocks run out, you can still purchase SIM cards/SIM cards preloaded with credit on eBay, on this tariff. Just double check with the seller that it's definitely the Classic PAYG tariff before you purchase.

Please feel free to add more.

Thank you to andy69 who has suggested
"Another cheaper alternative is to get a Tesco calling card and use a 0800 access number."

And autobox who has suggested a Three data reward SIM which gives the 321 tariff and 200mb data every month. Minimum top up is £2. If you travel abroad you can use the normal 321 tariff in over 70 destinations, including USA, Australia, and, New Zealand. You can also buy a data add-on with this SIM. Read about it here https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/three-data-reward-sim
You can order a Three data SIM for free, here, https://www.three.co.uk/free_sim_mbb/order
NB see edit above regarding Three PAYG price change from 12th March. This apparently may not affect the data reward SIM, although I can't confirm

P.S.
There is some useful information on comparison of rates, keeping your SIM active, and top up methods, available on this website,
https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/compare-pay-as-you-go-networks
https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/payg-inactivity-account-termination-and-credit-expiry
https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/payg-top-ups

bigjack57

andy69 Hi there, yes, or "18185" which has freefone access and very competitive call rates (eg 1.7/min to UK landlines and 10p/min to UK mobiles plus very reasonable international rates)

haridus

peterhall0012 my mother is 78 she wouldn't be bothered about paying 25p pm

peterhall0012 just asked my mother if she would like to move to another network.she said only if you give her£15 for the unlock code.as here Doro phones locked to O2

Here you go no need to unlock the phone and only 3p per min

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Sealed-O2-Sim-Card-Only-20p-Classic-O2-Pay-As-You-Go-02-3p-2p-1p/323873641211?epid=9031178764&hash=item4b685f92fb:g:0yUAAOSwqcNdb32t

😉

peterhall0012

haridus my mother has said she is happy with giffgaff and doesn't want to move and can't understand all the fuss over 10p more per minute

uphios

peterhall0012 Get your mum to get in touch with me please! I can supply her with anything she wants at only 4 or 5 times the price she can get it elsewhere.

kath72

peterhall0012
its free to unlock an 02 phone
https://www.o2.co.uk/help/phones-sims-and-devices/unlocking-an-o2-mobile-to-use-on-a-different-network

however she sounds like my mother who continues to get gas and electric from different providers and pay by cheque quarterly even though we have shown her she could save £20 per month by switching
some people irrationally seem to like spending more than they have to 🙄

peterhall0012

kath72 my mother bought the phone from Argos a lot of years ago and it's to old to get unlocked.the £15 unlock code I mentioned to you before mother never told me that was years ago.

m0dcm

peterhall0012 My late Mom was the same, but used a Goodybag as it actually worked out cheaper, and add for the well, elderly and vulnerable that @kath72 keeps mentioning, just the fact I know 11 over 65 that use £10 or more Goodybags and are still happy to carry on using them... Stereotyping isn't my thing, it seems some on here like to do it.
My Dad and 3 others that I've spoken to are all happy with the Unlimited minutes and 2 use the £20 Goodybag as they use video calling rather than phone to chat, it's a little more personal 😉

Anyway, I'm crawling back under my tin roof ready for the flak... Ration card and book are all stamped to 😂

Dave

kath72

m0dcm

Anyway, I'm crawling back under my tin roof ready for the flak... Ration card and book are all stamped to 😂

no need ... no one is stereotyping here, There are people in every demographic affected positively or negatively with these changes ... what I’m saying is that these changes are detrimental to those who only use payg credit or haven’t been given the data boosts that those paying more have. Reality is many of these people will be those who cannot afford a bigger bag or don’t use enough to buy a bag at sll (I’ve been in that place so speak from experience),
I’ll be honest and say the ONLY reason I still use giffgaff is because I can cover the previous price hikes by gaining payback to zero rate my usage! Others cannot do so (for whatever reason) which is why my son is no longer here.

my issue is with people saying it’s fine for giffgaff to massively increase payg rates to pay for massive data increases for other users and not accept that this will affect some people negatively. giffgaff means mutual giving but they seem to be (yet again) penalising the lower spenders and giving more to the higher ... and Robin Hood would have something to say about that 😉

anmerkungen

m0dcm Why anyone pays for video calling I don't know, unless they have no internet service. Otherwis use skype, duo, messenger, etc.

m0dcm

kath72 I agree with you, but then there are others suggesting moving to other providers that charge 50p per Mb even if you fall into the "Low user" side this makes it more than giffgaff straightaway.
I'm registered blind, and my partner @daweski1981 suffers with depression and anxiety, but the £20 Goodybag is great for the kids here especially when we're out and about and I take a lot of photos and upload them to both my home media server, giffgaff and Google Photos, and we both watch stuff to and listen to podcasts, so I'm investing in 2 high capacity powerbanks next month so streaming etc can be done without running out of battery 😂
Ah, I've enjoyed giffgaff since 3012 and I then bought both my parents, my sister over 18 months later from O2, and till Mom passed away she loved it, my Dad enjoys the £10 Goodybag and my little sister (36) enjoys the £15 one but she's thinking of going for the £20 as she's using more dat a than age realised. I then bought my partner @daweski1981 over last year, and then she got my ex-wife and her partner over in November! It's a definite family affair here 😂
I'll be tethering to my Tablet PC when I go into Hospital in 6-10 weeks time for my operation, so the new data limit on the £20 bag will be used to the hilt.
Ah, there's always going to be winners and losers, but I do have a feeling the lower bags will see an update later in the summer as they did around the same time as last year, I'm even being precious body parts on it!

Anyway, I best get my 13 month old daughter to sleep, she's currently watching Tellytubbies and it's lullaby time along with a book....

Let's see what's in store on giffgaff as a community and not get frustrated, I know easier said than done eh?

Dave

wagstaffes

m0dcm can you please clarify which provider you are referring to that charges 50p per MB and I'll highlight it so that folks are aware?

Can I also politely remind folks that the purpose of this thread is to suggest possible alternatives for the basic PAYG users, those who do not generally use goodybags. Can we please try to stay on topic i.e. basic PAYG, rather than getting into a debate on goodybags? Thank you all.

m0dcm

wagstaffes I'll hunt it down for you, but there's a few that are £2 a day, at that price for lower users, they're better off with giffgaff!

Dave

wagstaffes

m0dcm at £2 per day, sounds like Virgin, they'd be better off with anyone else. We're suggesting low cost alternatives to giffgaff's soon to be increased rates here, anyone charging that would not be recommended.

garybo

I've just joined giffgaff and using credit and it's cheap at 25p when it goes up as I was paying 40p pm on Vodafone

kath72

garybo
I’m curious, can I ask why you chose giffgaff for payg when there are many other cheaper payg providers (as little as 1p per minute)

gajbotp

Sorry to see giffgaff moving to ditch its less profitable customers. For some years I used them as a good value PAYG tariff and when my needs changed I started using the £20 goodybag. Seven of my existing numbers still use that service but I will have to move them to another provider (PITA) but of their requirements ever change and need goodybag type services then it'll be too late for giffgaff because they'll already have lost those users. This is shortsighted but I suppose like many big outfits they've smell the money and there's nothing that can be done. Shame it's not a network run by us ;-)

ianwh

We have a giffgaff PAYG only for emergencies. Therefore the cost to us is low and not the main reason I feel the price hike is too high and underhand. If giffgaff were to honestly say " we are making the change because we want to get rid of low usage customers and focus on those who will spend more i.e. Goodybag users" then we could at least give them credit for being up front.
How else do they justify 100% price increase for texts and 66% incease in call charges? Their costs for these services cannot have gone up that much. Therefore it is profiteering probably affecting a lot of elderly and less well off members of our society.

I really need O2 service due to coverage where I live but does anyone know who else is cheap and runs on O2?

wagstaffes

ianwh even though O2 have withdrawn their Classic PAYG tariff to new customers you can still buy preloaded SIM cards from eBay on this tariff. I bought one myself about a month ago. Just double check with the seller that it's definitely on the O2 Classic PAYG tariff before you buy.
P.S. Other providers operating on O2 are Lycamobile, Sky and Tesco.
Tesco Mobile have a Lite tariff of 8p/minute, 4p/text, 10p/MB.

andy69

ianwh get a Tesco calling card and use their 0800 access number from your giffgaff SIM for cheap calls to UK numbers. That way you keep your giffgaff number and get cheap UK calls. It's absurd that routing calls via a third party is a fraction of the cost of giffgaff PAYG.

egontoast

ianwh. Tesco.

mickhumphrys

I totally agree. Such a price increase is a rip-off and so I will be looking for a new mobile provider when my current credit runs out. A lot of us use calls and texts rather than data so the new charges are punitive. Never mind, there are plenty of alternatives out there.

ianwh

wagstaffes Thanks for the input. I'll have a look when used up current credit.

gh69

Thanks for listing the alternatives, will have to see where to move to after over 8 years with giffgaff 🙁
I can only assume the free giffgaff to giffgaff calls will be disappearing soon too, and at some point in the future only the top rate Goodybag will exist.
All good things must come to an end unfortunately ...

kath72

solvbb

Putting things another way, if a low user is going to go over 24 minutes per month on calls a goodybag is now cheaper.

PAYG is only cheaper if you use it less than 24 minutes / month

exactly ... use it for 25 minutes and pay £6 at giffgaff or move to Three and pay 75p .... or Tesco mobile and pay £2 or 1p mobile and pay 25p hmmm choices choices 😂😂😂