Run out/Expiry time for "Top Up Vouchers"

[johnoooo]

I'm a very low usage user due to fact that I can't get a signal at home.

So when my initial "Big Value Bundle" expires on 6th April I intend to buy a £5 "Top up Voucher"

However I've been told differant usage rules for these, as follows:-

1 One person has said that the "Top up Voucher" expires after 90 days & I will have to buy another.

2 Another person has said that the "Top up Voucher" lasts until all money is spent, but I will have to make 1 phone call every 30 days to keep it active.

3 Another person has said that the "Top up Voucher" lasts until all money is spent, but I would have to make 1 phone call every 90 days to keep it active.

Which is correct??

[BandOfBrothers]

Credit applied to your payg account will remain until you use it either for a big value bundle or via making calls etc when any tariff allowances have been exhausted. 

A payg account can be terminated by Vodafone if no activity is carried out every 180 days ie making calls , sending texts , using data or topping up. 

Vodafone Payg Terms-and-Conditions.

[AnnS]

Hi @johnoooo

This is a very similar question to your first post on the forum when you enquired about your Big Value Bundle.

The voucher which you purchase may expire after 90 days but not the phone credit, this means adding the credit from the voucher to your phone and make the odd chargeable connection to keep the SIM active.  It is always preferable not to leave the chargeable connection until it reaches the maximum time for inactivity of 180 days and make sure this is done within 90 days as you have been correctly advised.

[johnoooo]

So to get it straight, the Pay as you go voucher lasts 180 days

Correct?

[AnnS]

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@johnoooowrote:

So to get it straight, the Pay as you go voucher lasts 180 days

Correct?

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No. Credit does not expire that will stay with your number until it has been fully used.

You need to keep the SIM (your number) active with a regular chargeable activity or it will be disconnected from the network for non use.

[johnoooo]

To me, this appears very complicated

1 The money on a PAYG Voucher lasts for ever until the money amount is used up

Correct

BUT ALSO

2

You need to keep the SIM (your number) active with a regular chargeable activity or it will be disconnected from the network for non use.

 So what is the definition of "a regular changeable activity"

Sorry to be a bit of a pain but I don't want to purchase a PAYG voucher & find after a time I have broken rules & lose money / be disconnected.

Thanks

[johnoooo]

You need to keep the SIM (your number) active with a regular chargeable activity or it will be disconnected from the network for non use.

 So what is the definition of "a regular changeable activity"

Sorry to be a bit of a pain but I don't want to purchase a PAYG voucher & find after a time I have broken rules & lose money / be disconnected.

Thanks

[ToniCa]

It seems complicated because you seem to be looking at it in such a complicated way! However you top up, via a voucher, or using a card online or using a card or voucher via the App, the money that you apply to your account will last until you have used it all up - by making calls, sending texts, or even using data, although that tends to be expensive unless you switch to PAYG1.

The only minor complication is that Ofcom requires that all PAYG numbers are active, and Vodafone's take on this is that you must make a chargeable call, send a chargeable text, or top up, at least once every 180 days, in order to keep the number active. If you top up the phone, then don't use it for the next year or so, you're likely to find that the number has been disconnected and your money forfeited.

So just put a note in your diary/calendar to make a short call or send a short text to a friend once every 3 or 4 months, don't forget to act on it when the time comes around, and you should be fine. I've been doing that for 20 years or so, haven't forfeited my top-ups, and my number is still active. I'm not the most organised of people, but I've managed it!

By the way, there's some useful advice on the relative merits of straight PAYG, PAYG1, and the Big Value Bundles, on https://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Pay-as-you-go/Basic-PAYG-vs-PAYG1-vs-Big-Value-Bundles/td-p/2584928

[johnoooo]

Many thanks, looks like it's PAYG1 & a Calender note!

[ToniCa]

Yes, PAYG1 does seem excellent for lighter users. There seems to be some additional info on https://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/bundles-and-sims/pay-as-you-go-plans/pay-as-you-go1/ since I last looked, including a phone number (41146) to call once you're ready to switch from your present bundle. I switched via my online account, but that sounds like a simpler option. Don't switch until your BVB is nearly at the end of its 30 days, or you'll lose the potential benefit of that. 

[johnoooo]

My only problem with phoning 41146 is that I can't get a mobile signal at home!

[ToniCa]

Well, no great rush! Once your BVB has expired, you'll be running in basic PAYG mode. Chargeable calls would be slightly cheaper on PAYG1, texts slightly more expensive, so for the one-off call or text to keep your number active, it's no big deal either way. But PAYG1 would be significantly cheaper if you needed to make a number of calls during a minor crisis, so worth switching ahead of any crises!

[johnoooo]

Are you inferring that when I move from BVB to PAYG1 my number will change?

[BandOfBrothers]

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@johnoooowrote:

Are you inferring that when I move from BVB to PAYG1 my number will change?

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Your mobile number will not change. 

Its just a tariff switch. 

[ToniCa]

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@johnoooo wrote:

Are you inferring that when I move from BVB to PAYG1 my number will change?

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@No, not at all! As @BandOfBrothers says, it's just a change of tariff.

[johnoooo]

Thank Samsung for that, or Vodafone!