checking credit

[billyprice]

I have a Vodafone payg SIM card in a dialler 30 foot up a barn wall.

Is there any way to check the credit on the SIM without climbing the wall and putting the card in a phone?

[AnnS · Accepted solution]

Hi @billyprice

If you have an online account, you can check your remaining credit from there or by calling 03333 048048.

Further information for you on the link below.

How can I check my balance?

[Annie_N]

@billyprice

It's possible that it might be worth your while climbing the wall just once, if you haven't already got an alternative number set up on your online account.

If there is an alternative number in the account, then the security code for accessing your account can be sent to that number rather than to the SIM in question. And being able to access the account does give you access to many more options than checking your balance via 03333 048048. So accessing the account using a code sent to the actual SIM might be worth it once, just to get another number added. Using an alternative UK mobile number (any network, it doesn't have to be Vodafone) is easier, as the code comes as a text, but you can give a landline, in which case the code comes as a slightly unnerving voice text. 

It may be different if you call 03333 048048 from a Vodafone PayM phone, but if you call it from a PAYG phone, it will only talk to you about the number from which you are calling; I've just tried it, and couldn't find any option for getting info on another number.

However, calling 03333 048048 from a landline worked fine. Having entered my PAYG number, I was given my balance, the option of hearing any remaining allowances, opting in or out of bundles or freebies, and (of course) topping up.

[Annie_N]

@billyprice

A different thread has reminded me of an additional aspect of having a PAYG SIM in a dialler - the need to ensure that you use the service sufficiently often to avoid the number being disconnected for non-use. 

The current requirements are set out in section 6 of the Ts&Cs, although you are unlikely to be aware of an incoming text to the dialler, and you would be wise to work on the basis that the requirement is use at least every 180 days. Using the service means making any chargeable outbound activity such as making an outbound call (excluding calls to 191), sending an SMS, using data or topping up your account.

Therefore your options, if you haven't had a genuine activation, are to have a test activation of your dialler from time to time, to top up your balance, or to retrieve the SIM from the dialler to send a text or make a call!