On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 18:13:22 +0000, Simon
wrote:

On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 15:42:25 +0000, Mike Mitchell
wrote:

On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 14:42:01 +0000, John Rumm
wrote:

Mike Mitchell wrote:

Even that doesn't sound cheap to me. What would the phone charges be,
roughly? Does one pay someone else for the usage? It's all so bloody
complicated!

OK this ought to be simple enough:

http://www.virginmobile.com/mobile/phones/SIE-STD-A50-1

40 quid will get you a phone and 10 quids worth of out going calls.
Since you wont be making many (any?) outgoing calls that will last you
many months!

What happens when I have used the £10 worth of calls? Okay, I know I
said I won't use it, but inevitably the agent or buyer will want
calling back sometimes. Can I top up the phone from anywhere or only
from Virgin?

The deal in the URL above is about as good as it gets. It is even a
very good brand of phone. It does not have all the features of
other phones but like any mobile it works just like you would expect
a phone to. It even includes £15 of calls if you buy online.

Virgin will (if you ask) send you a top-up card that you can use in
almost any supermarket or news agent. Alternatively you can call
Virgin and give your CC number, or DD as has been said by John.

Receiving calls or text messages is free.

Receiving voicemail is free.

Someone else said that you should check coverage (ask your
neighbours who already have phones). Each network has its blind
spots but voice mail will kick in then.

[...]
Fair enough. It's not as bad as I thought. Thanks a lot for this very
straightforward elucidation.

MM

Well you won't mind if I start asking Destroy-It-Yourself questions
here will you I am new to this DIY stuff. It is always easy
when you know how, most of the time I don't.

Fire away with your first free fifteen minutes! (Sorry, this phone
malarkey is getting me carried away with the fairies a bit.) I've just
refurbished my 3-bed semi: stripped wallpaper and paint, repaired
cracks, used expanded foam (excellent stuff) in some, wallpapering,
plastering, fitted new plasterboard to ceiling, wiring spurs, new
sockets, ceiling roses, switches, painting (all kinds), fitted new
front door, rehung all remaining doors, replaced two wooden window
frames, stripped and repainted all windows inside and out, ceramic
tiles in kitchen and hall, laminate flooring in bedrooms, part of
kitchen, and sitting room, partially boarded loft, removed tree in
back garden, redid entire back garden and lawn and laid down areas of
Cumberland chippings, rebuilt cracked drain, and generally tidied up
front and rear of property. And also a lot of little jobs. I started
working life as a motor mechanic in 1961, so I am of a practical bent.
If you are new to the DIY lark, TAKE CARE! Very many novices injure
themselves very severely. ALWAYS use eye protection when doing
ANYTHING that risks sending something into the eye. Too many builders
are casual with their own safety, which means that the A & E wards are
often full with weekenders who have drilled a hole in their leg or
slipped with the carpet knife and have gone straight through the
femoral artery.

MM