UK RMRKers - GiffGaff mobile network

This is aimed at those of you who prefer pay as you go. You probably haven't heard of giffgaff, but they're a network owned by O2 (like O2 owns the much better Be* broadband) that is pay as you go only. The good stuff:

SMS: 4p
Calls: 8p (to like anything, landline or mobile)
0800: Actually free =o
Calls or SMS to somebody else who is also on giffgaff: Free & unlimited

Plus they have these packs you buy that give you perks for a month. The £5 one gives you unlimited texts, the £10 one gives you 250 mins, unlimited texts & internet before any money starts to come from your balance.

I'm posting this cause if I had heard of giffgaff a few years ago I would have moved then. I always thought what networks charged was ridiculous. I'm guessing most of you UK people havent heard of it either =o

This is their site, you can order a SIM for free. If you order a SIM through a friend's page, you get an extra £5 on your balance when you start, and so does the friend who referred you =o so if you want to do that, you can order a SIM through here instead . I just followed a link to a friend page of some random guy on their forum since I don't know anyone else who's on giffgaff =o

To use a giffgaff SIM your phone needs to be unlocked. Or a phone locked to O2, since it runs on their network. It's pretty easy to unlock a phone. I unlocked my Orange Miami for nothing

That sounds damn fine- makes me wish I was a UK'r.

I'm still surprised you guys pay to receive messages. And you lack pay as you go plans. That shit would just not fly here.

I'm still surprised you guys pay to receive messages. And you lack pay as you go plans. That shit would just not fly here.

We do, sorta, have pay as you go plans. They all are pieces of crap though.

I already told him we have pay as you go. Doesn't listen.

Prices are still crap in the US.

We have all inclusive packages. I pay like $50 a month for unlimited texting, free mobile to mobile, and network to network pics and vids. That's all I really need.

Pay as you go is seen as trashy in the US, and mostly used by drug dealers.

Reminds me of Fresh which was owned by T-mobile and similarly was much better and cheaper.

Ok, I am a supreme noob when it comes to cell phones.  I have just recently started searching for one.  From my chats with Roph, and my understanding, he never pays for texts he receives, only for ones he sends.  And he can top up one time and it will last for months..

Can someone please tell me one "pay as you go" plan in the US that will allow me to do that?  So far everything I have found I have to pay to receive as well as send texts.  I'll also have to top it off every 30 days or whatever the money is left on the phone is just gone.   

We don't have that here, as far as I know. Sorry Jules.

I am using Virgin Mobile for my prepaid. Its alright. Their customer server is crap. However, $15 a month for unlimited texting, 300 call mins, and 'unlimited' internet. It is cheap, and works so..

Unlimited texting beats pay-as-you-go everytime.

We have all inclusive packages. I pay like $50 a month for unlimited texting, free mobile to mobile, and network to network pics and vids. That's all I really need.

Pay as you go is seen as trashy in the US, and mostly used by drug dealers.

I'm on pay as you go, and after buying a similar package (that costs £5) I have the same unlimited texts and unlimited data (!). $50 a month sounds insane, even after taking the currency conversion into consideration.

I have £10 extra on my balance. If I don't want to pay them a penny for 2 years, I don't have to. I can then start making calls in 2013 using the balance I put on yesterday. If I want unlimited texts and so on for a month, I just drop some money on a package (which still costs less than you're paying for a contract) and away I go. Consider it like america's standard contracts, but you can change, pause or completely stop on a whim.

I'm still amazed that americans seem to take the notion of paying to receive as ok. An operator trying that here would be comitting suicide.

But you also have to understand something, and I'm not saying this to be a dick, just as a fact:
I have a job, a girlfriend, and a lot of friends who call me and text me all the time. Trust me when I say that its cheaper for me to do it this way.

I tried to join but I can't afford the ten pound activation fee so I guess unless they can offer me a £5 one, I'm fucked for then next month or three. Or more :/
Sorry Roph </3

Also remember small networks like this are likely to be gone this time next year just like any smaller company, so don't top up hundreds (not that you would anyway).

Lol, I lasted three years on my first topup which I think was a tenner.

Giffgaff is a subsidiary of O2 (like Be* Broadband, which is much better than O2 broadband).