It looks as if the various U.K. banks and other companies are increasingly requiring a U.K. phone number for things like OTP and other security measures.

 

Since I hope to be in the U.K. in a while I would appreciate information on the cheapest company to maintain a prepaid U.K. number. I guess that there will be TopUps required and I have a U.K. bank for that

 

Any feedback will be welcome.

 

jerome

I use Giffgaff.  It has worked well for about two years.

 

No charge for incoming SMS.  Check account status and add credit online.

Lebara...........fiver a month.

 

Giffgaff, they will post the free SIM anywhere in the world. You need to send 1 SMS every 6 months to keep it active. 10 pounds credit lasts years.

Look at Lyca Mobile.

 

Giffgaff.  Works perfectly.  If it is the absolute cheapest who knows but at less than £1/year who cares.  And if/when you go to the UK it's very easy to buy the data/call time you need for the trip

Can you port an existing number to Giffgaff?

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

Can you port an existing number to Giffgaff?

Yes.

I've used Lebara for 4 yrs. While in Thailand you don't need to pay for a monthly plan if you're not making calls/texts. OTPs are free and to keep my sim active I send myself a text once every 3 months (49p), minimum topup is 5GBP. For the minimal cost I think it's smart thinking to keep a home country sim for things like banking OTPs.

Asda PAYG is another option and has cheaper cost vs Giff Gaff for standard calls in the UK without a package. I have not bothered with a package.

To maintain the number you need to make a chargeable event every 180 days - I send myself a text to my Thai number which costs 20p. 

 

Touch wood I have not had any issues with OTPs and I have been using for I think 10 years.

 

Giff Gaff gets good press however.

 

https://mobile.asda.com/help/bundles-and-pricing/standard-tariff

 

https://www.giffgaff.com/pricing 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobiles/best-pay-as-you-go-sim-cards/

Just following up so you know that responses are being read.

 

Since it’s zero cost to get I have a Giffgaff SIM on the way that I can activate near the time of our trip, all going well.

the Giffgaff bundles seems to be extremely well priced if we are in the U.K. 

 

That doesn’t mean that I will not follow up on other suggestions 

On 2/17/2024 at 7:10 PM, BritManToo said:

Giffgaff, they will post the free SIM anywhere in the world. You need to send 1 SMS every 6 months to keep it active. 10 pounds credit lasts years.

Just had mine delivered today. Very simple setup and topup and nice to know I'll have a UK sim in my phone when I next touchdown at Heathrow.