Buying Pay as You Go Mobile Phones

Pay as you go mobile phones are available for customers to purchase off-the-shelf in various retail stores and supermarkets based across the UK. There are thousands of pay as you go phones available on the market with different styles, functions, colours, brands and prices. The prices of pay as you go mobile phones can range from as little as £10 to the more expensive phones costing several hundred pounds.

With a majority of pay monthly mobile phone contracts being available to customers that are aged 18 or over, pay as you go mobile phones are the only option for people under 18 years of age.

Pay as you go mobile phones can differ between SIM free and service provider locked mobile phones. Regardless of whether the mobile phone is SIM free or locked, the customer is required to pay for credit in order to use the phone. The top-up credits are available from £5 and are usually available in increments of £5 e.g. £10, £15, £20 and so on, it does however, depend on the service provider and what they offer.

The advantages of pay as you go mobile phones:
• No contracts to tie into
• The pay as you go phone can be purchased in various stores
• Easier budgeting – for the mobile users who tend to have high bills and need to cut down are better off with a pay as you go mobile phones because they can actually see how much they are using and not relying on online bills or direct debits
• No paper bills or statements to worry about
• No cancellation fees
• Freedom to change providers as and whenever necessary
• By topping up a certain amount each week/month, the customer can benefit from free minutes/text (depending on the service provider)
• Anyone can purchase the phone without the need for credit checks, proof of address or ID checks etc
• There are various shops across the UK offering top-up services, also the service providers will have the option for the customer to top-up their phone online or over the phone as well.

The disadvantages of pay as you go mobile phones:
• Unlike the pay monthly mobile phone contracts, pay as you go phones choices are quite limited in the latest handset sense.
• The need to top-up whenever credits are running low
• Calls and text messages usually works out more expensive than pay monthly phone contracts
• Certain functions may be blocked e.g. roaming, making/receiving international calls
• Getting the latest and most stylish handset on the market will be costly for the individual and there are no financing options available either, so the customer would have to pay the total amount for the pay as you go mobile phone upfront.

A lot of service providers are slowly turning their heads away from pay as you go services and providing SIM only contracts which last for 30 days or more. After the 30 days, there is no obligation to continue however, the customer would need to contact the service provider to cancel their contract or at least let them know that they will no longer be extending it. Overall, pay as you go mobile phones are still launched into the market and will continue for some time.