@arcadian I think most networks hold on to some or all of your PAYG balance if you just walk away. If you just forget to use the phone for an extended period, and the number is disconnected, the balance is definitely lost.
However, if you have unwisely topped up by too much, then decide to give up your account, there are alternatives to leaving the money behind. One is to make charitable donations via JustTextGiving. You can donate by this route to any charity which is registered with JustGiving, although you do have to do a bit of work to get it set up correctly; alternatively, there is a small range of options already set up here, if any of them are of interest. Another option is to contact Live Chat, and ask them to arrange to transfer your balance to the account of a family member; I did this recently for a phone that was returned to me after being on loan to an elderly relative - I didn't need a spare account, so I got the balance transferred to my main account. Of course, it comes as a straight transfer, and doesn't trigger any Rewards points or a Freebie, but it's still a lot better than just letting it go.
Annie
