Free giffgaff SIMs offer viable alternative to fixed-length contracts
Using your mobile phone to its full potential needn’t be expensive, but in many cases it is. On average, people overpay for services that they don’t end up using to the tune of around £195 per year, according to a 2011 survey conducted by the Oxford-based BillMonitor. And even if they realise they are doing it, there is nothing that they can do about it until their contract is up for renewal.
giffgaff, a UK mobile operator that makes use of O2’s network, offers an interesting alternative to this model, in the form of SIM-only deals that don’t tie you in for any length of time. This means that you can change your tariff on a month to month basis, and that there is no charge if you want to stop using the network. To order one of their SIMs for free today, and find out all about their great value monthly bundles, visit the giffgaff website.
With a giffgaff SIM in your phone, you can make UK calls for as little as 10p per minute – that’s 15p cheaper than the nearest competitor – and send texts for just 6p each. In addition, you can also access the mobile internet for just 20p a day, which is a lot cheaper than an Americano at your nearest Wi-Fi café.
While this puts them ahead of the pay-as-you-go pack, it is really the inexpensive monthly bundles that offer the best value. For just £5 a month, you can enjoy unlimited texts and free calls to other giffgaff mobiles. And for £12, they’ll give you unlimited internet and texts along with 250 free UK minutes. For those that use their phone to make a lot of outgoing calls, you can get versions of this same deal with more free minutes, with the premium £25 bundle giving a colossal 25 hours worth of free voice calls to UK numbers per month.
If you find that you need to upgrade your package, then you can simply switch to a more expensive tariff next month, and if you think that you are paying for more than you need, then you could just cut down to a cheaper tariff. With automatic payments set up, and an inclusive bundle in place, your phone will behave exactly as if it were on a contract, which means that you can use it whenever you want to. The upshot of all this is that you don’t need to lock yourself into a restrictive contract to enjoy the savings and convenience of a contract phone.
