Sim only

[Anonymous]

Well, I am completely stumped here. On 1st September 2014, I called O2 because my son was starting secondary school and I wanted him to be able to call if the bus was late etc. he had been in Pay as you Go but I wanted more security for both of us. The geezer at O2 said he had the perfect option. £10 a month for 300 mins talk time plus 1000 texts. To be paid monthly. Perfect, I thought. Set monthly bill that he couldn't exceed plus he is eleven so this made me happy. So I called 02 today to check this. They said he was still on P&g and there would be charges if he went over his limit. Then I spoke to someone else and they wouldn't speak to me because I didn't have the phone with me. Durr, it is at school with my son. Which bit if 'he is 11 years old' don't they understand. I am completely confused. No-one seems to know what is going on. We all are with 02 but that may not last at this rate. Anyone know whether sim only actually exists and how can I limit my son's expenditure?

[Anonymous]

Hi

I'd speak to O2 further via 202 about this.

Also O2 don't put allowance caps on texts or minutes on contracts im afraid.

If he uses his data up then that just stops.

To be honest you may be better keeping him on payg to stop accidental use of going over his allowances.

A payg tariff called O2 unlimited exists.

O2 Unlimited ; A Tariff where you get some allowances and also keep your top up credit. http://www.o2.co.uk/tariffs/payandgo

[Cleoriff]

I also can't understand why O2 could not speak to you? You are obviously the account holder as age 11 he couldn't possibly be

[Anonymous]

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@Cleoriff wrote:

I also can't understand why O2 could not speak to you? You are obviously the account holder as age 11 he couldn't possibly be

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To confirm the account holder is who they say they are ,and are in possession of the phone / sim they sometimes text a security code to the phone which you then repeat over the phone to them. 

Although i I agree if you know the account password / account details and are the account holder then they should deal with them. 

[Anonymous]

Not strictly the account holder! It was his brother's phone then we moved from Vodafone to 02 (with difficulty) and in actuality there is no account holder!

[MI5]

If you want a capped contract (to prevent any overspend), have a look at Tesco. They run on O2 so you get the same signal level but will stop usage in a monthly period if a certain spend limit is reached.

[jonsie]

It's possible because you weren't actually calling from the phone but in 17 years I have never been asked if I had the phone with me when calling them even if calling from a landline. As long as you can pass security questions they will speak to you.

Check in My O2 for the exact tariff you have been put on and to see what out of allowance charges are. As said, data will just stop once allowance is reached so the only likely charges would be sending picture messages or overlong texts and going over the minutes allowance.

You can also monitor his usage and the numbers called in My O2. I don't think this constitutes an invasion of privacy as he is only 11 and you have to weigh that up against parental responsibility.

[Anonymous]

Hi

Did you request the payg O2 account to be upgraded to a Sim only.

Is this payg account in his brothers name ?

[Anonymous]

Heehee, the password was his name so managed to get past security. Have now got all the answers I wanted! Sim only is Pay as you Go not contract. Jeez, I actually rated 02 customer service but at least it is better than Vodafone still!

[Anonymous]

02 weren't happy when I mentioned that! But I know from other mums that Tesco have great coverage round here. And so do 02.