Please reduce Call Rates to Philippines

[Anonymous]

My wife and I have been a very loyal PAYG O2 customers for almost 6 years now. Most (99.9%) of our 3rd party calls are international calls to mobiles in the Philippines. We feel that the people calling the countries like India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Indonesia  are very lucky because they are charged much cheaper than us who are calling the Philippines most. I think it was 3 years ago when O2 reduced the call rates to Philippine mobiles from 12p/min to 10p/min. We were very happy about it even though the rate was still much higher than those countries I mentioned. After 3 years, the call rate to Philippines mobiles remains the same.

I think it's time for O2 to review and reduce the call rate to Philippine mobiles and make it near the rate if it can't be made the same rate as those in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. My wife and I are spending more than £60/month on PAYG topups for international calls to Philippines and we are looking for competitions' offers to get more value for our money. If O2 doesn't make any move soon, it will surely lose two very loyal cutomers. 

On the other hand, if O2 reduces its call rate to Philippine mobiles, I will be one of the free agents for O2 to convince other Filipinos (more than 40,000 in UK) to use the O2 International Sim.

[Anonymous]

Hi and Welcome to the forum.

We are all customers here like you too.

Loyalty is a thing of the past im afraid.

Of course as PAYG customers you do have the freedom to check out other networks for their call charges as long as your phone is unlocked to all networks you can use any sim card in it. If it is not then £15 paid to o2 can have it unlocked. T&C Apply.

Possible help link : http://international.o2.co.uk/internationaltariffs/calling_abroad_from_uk#

Possibly a bolt on may help.

Look in the above link for further costs and options.

[MI5]

It would appear the OP already has an International sim ??
We cannot comment on O2's pricing policy I'm afraid which will also be tied into what the foreign network charge to handle the calls.

[Bambino · Accepted solution]

Try Skype:

http://www.skype.com/en/rates/

[Anonymous]

International Sim is the best option that O2 can offer to people calling the Philippines. I actually visit that link almost every month to check if there are changes. Unfortunately, the call/text rates to Philippines remained the same whilst the rest keep on going down 

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

International Sim is the best option that O2 can offer to people calling the Philippines. I actually visit that link almost every month to check if there are changes. Unfortunately, the call/text rates to Philippines remained the same whilst the rest keep on going down 

---

A reason why i inserted it just in case as its a sure way to see if any changes to charges occur.

Have you checked out the alternative Networks.

Ive since looked at a few and o2 does seem competative.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. Skype subscription rates to Philippines are NOW cheaper than O2. Skype used to be a little bit higher. I'll now consider Skype as an option. Thanks for sharing. 

[Bambino]

If your friends in the Philippines also get Skype you can talk to each other for free if you both use WiFi.

[Anonymous]

GiffGaff which is owned by O2 is actually cheaper:

O2 International SIM - 10p/min and 10p/text to Philippines (call to UK mobiles is 25p/min

GG International SIM - 10p/min and 8p/text to PHilippines (call to UK mobiles is 10p/min).

The reason why I stayed in O2 rather than move to GiffGaff is the convinience of topping up through non-smart mobile using the registered credit card. Another reason is O2 roaming. GiffGaff has no roaming to Philippines despite it being owned by O2. I've used GiffGaff for 3 months before I gave up.

[MI5]

Have you looked at Tesco?
They also run on O2 network.....