[HDCriticalFan]

I want to give an old UK phone handset to an ex-pat relative who has retired and now lives in Spain.

It's really just for occasional usage so that she can call someone in the UK. She won't be using it on a daily basis (or sending text or browsing the internet either !!!). I would expect that it would only be used no more than once a month for calls to the UK and possibly once or twice a week for calls to her new friends in Spain to arrange to meet for coffee etc (nice life, eh ?).

I have an old O2 handset and I thought about getting one of these "simplicity" SIM only tariffs. It would cost about a tenner a month - but I'm worried about the possible high cost of any calls to and from the UK.

How does pay-as-you-go work (I've never experienced it) ? Can I track the status of the card from the UK and make top-ups from here ? How long are top-up payments valid for ? (i.e. can I load it up with £100 and just forget about it for months). Is the cost of International calls different for PAYG v Monthly ?


Is there some other option I am unaware of that would make more financial sense ?




Many Thanks in Advance

[Adam792]

I wouldn't bother with putting them on a UK network, it's just a waste of money with roaming charges all the time.

She'd be better on a local network, the main networks in spain are Movistar (Same owner as O2 - Spanish Telefónica), vodafone España and Orange España.

www.movistar.es

www.orange.es

www.vodafone.es

It's worth looking at the offers on their with someone who can speak Spanish obviously, but I'd imagine there'll be a PAYG tariff that will allow for cheap-ish calls to the UK and also obviously, local calls within Spain will be at a standard cheap rate; a lot cheaper than if you sent across a UK SIM card, which would charge the same roaming rate as it would to contact UK phones.

You can still send the phone across, provided it's unlocked, and just get a Spanish SIM card on one of the above networks.

Looking at the Orange site there, you would be able to manage the account online for her, but I don't know how top ups would work, they may require a Spanish credit or debit card, however she could be set up to top it up there with a Spanish top up card.

[prking]

Its going to be quite expensive to use any UK sim for a protracted period in another country. You would be better off getting an international SIM that offers good value for calls around the world.

[Adam792]

Just had a quick look and on Orange Spain it would cost no more than about 0.20€ per minute for calls in Spain, and 0.48€ per minute for calls to the UK.

There's also an option where topping up 10€ gives you 5€ free call time for international calls the next month (so calls to the UK would be free with the top up).

[Appleseed]

All good advice.

There's no point at all in getting a UK contract and then going to Spain with it as none of the monthly allowances can be used over there, and as someone has said, you'd just end up with a whole load of roaming charges every month.

A SIM on the local network is a much better bet.

[HDCriticalFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Appleseed

There's no point at all in getting a UK contract and then going to Spain with it as none of the monthly allowances can be used over there, and as someone has said, you'd just end up with a whole load of roaming charges every month.

A SIM on the local network is a much better bet.

Thanks for all the replies guys.

The thing is, I'm not going to Spain and we have no Spanish speakers to fall back on.

I need a solution that "works" for me here in the UK.

The number of calls per month will be very low (literally one call - or less - per month for only a few minutes). I don't expect this to cost much more than a fiver.

My plan to get a £10pcm SIM tariff and pay for the odd £5 of calls will come to less than £200 each year. Would the alternative of getting a PAYG SIM and loading it up with £200 of credit work for the three years or so of calls ? Or are PAYG call charges higher ? Will the credit last three years - or will it expire ? Can I recharge it in the UK "remotely" ? Can I monitor the level of credit (e.g. on the Internet) ?





Regards

[Appleseed]

I'm very confused!
If you are going to use a mobile in a foreign country it will be cheaper to get a SIM card for that country because there are then no roaming charges, plus calls will almost certainly be cheaper.

It can be topped up just the same.

[Adam792]

You will be able to manage a Spanish pay as you go account online too.

Why don't you get her to go in store to Orange, vodafone, or Movistar and speak to someone about what they can give her and for how much? I'm sure there'll be some English speaking staff there. And it'll work out much more cost effective than using a UK SIM in roaming mode permenantly.

[HDCriticalFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam792

Why don't you get her to go in store ... it'll work out much more cost effective than using a UK SIM in roaming mode permenantly.

Well firstly, I'm here and she's there.

Secondly, I'm sure that there wil be a problem setting up a Spanish phone a/c with an English bank a/c ! (Can you imagine walking into a UK shop and trying to set up a phone a/c with a Spanish bank a/c !)

Thirdly, being in the UK, I won't be able to pop back into a Spanish shop to sort out any problems. She's well into her eighties and isn't too well up on any sort of techno speak about new-fangled mobile phones in English, let alone Spanish !





Regards

[chris20]

you could use vodafone they do a 75p charge then you can use your phone like normal http://www.abroad.vodafone.co.uk/ind...u=1&le=1&sn=s7

[TheBigM]

Go to sim4travel.com and buy her one of their simcards. Then she will use her credit for calling her spanish friends. You can call her number just lke a UK number so you will get yourself more minutes and call her instead of her calling you.

The advice given by the poster is all correct but given your requirements, this may be a way to do it.

A SIM only tariff from the UK will be pointless.

You can pick up a PAYG sim in Spain anywhere.
Just make sure the phone is unlocked for all networks