Keeping Connected
A few years back now I purchased a £10 Nokia mobile phone from EE complete with £1 per week package. The package was fairly basic, to start - a few texts, a few minutes of calls and (ridiculously) small amount of data access.
This appeared to be a bargain, considering I wanted to use the phone primarily for texting, plus the odd phonecall. I wasn't going to use the 'data' allowance as the screen is a mere 3x3.7cm. I've seen, on H's Smartphone, how some web pages download (too small to read), and when we're out together he has the data access anyhow. This has worked well.
Every 3 months I've been given the option to BOOST either the number of texts I can send, or the minutes of calls, or the data access per week - still for £1. So I'd built up to 150 texts, 105 minutes, which is very reasonable, I find.
All I have to remember to do is top up the phone credit. We were away last week. That was ok, I was in credit by £1.93, so that covered last Saturday's update. I'm not about to top up by more than £10 at a time, preferably £5 as I don't see why EE should be earning the interest the money could be earning if it remained in our bank account.
I had been topping up the credit when I got out money from certain cash points. Some had the option to top up phones by £10. Then the banks stopped that service - without telling us first! Yay Big Banks!
Fortunately Poundland, or maybe Poundworld, started the option of buying mobile phone credit, for as little as £5 a time. The first time I took the receipt to a nice young man at the nearby EE shop and asked him to do the top up v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y so I could see how he was doing it. He duly obliged and I was fine for the next 5 weeks.
I keep a track of my credit balance, so Thursday I bought a voucher for a £5 top up with EE, folded it neatly, put it in the phone sock with the phone and thought,
"It's a simple enough procedure. Even a grey-haired older woman like me can do it."
Then I forgot, until I got to bed last night.
"Aaaarrrggh!" I thought. "EE will be updating tomorrow morning. I must get that voucher registered."
I had to turn the bedside light up Really Bright to see the letters and figures, but I did it. I know I did. I received the usual
"Thank you. Your voucher payment of £5.00 has been credited. Your new balance is £5.93."
"Good" I thought. "That's that sorted." And settled to sleep.
* * *
'Dong-ong-ong' went my phone. 'Dong-ong-ong' Incoming text message. I checked it.
"Thanks for topping up £5.00. You now have £5.93 credit. To keep track of your credit or usage go to . . . "
* * *
Repeat three times more.
Over the next ten minutes.
Ah well, that looked pretty definite. I slept. That's nine nights in a row now!
This morning I received the following text -
"Hi, you need £1.00 credit for your next £1 Talk & Text Pack. Top up now and your pack will start automatically. Until then standard rates apply: 35p/min and 15p/text in the UK & EU."
Dur? I investigated further - fortunately txts to 150 are free. I am actually in credit to the tune of £5.78. Though apparently the right hand of the machine which sends the 'it's time to pay' texts doesn't know what it's left hand - which keeps account of how much credit I actually have (and sent me five, yes FIVE, texts to that effect last night to that effect) is doing! !! !!!
I finally managed to get sent a url to go look up online. Dear Reader, I'm sorta intarweb savvy but I find the EE website pretty useless for anything other than checking out what phone models are available and, presumably, buying them. It wouldn't even let me login to my account. Didn't recognise my email address, it said. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
I don't care if it is setting up to be the Hottest Day So Far This Year. I am off to the EE shop to find a Real Person and sort this whole thing out.
And, to keep my cool (among other reasons) I shall be singing the praises of Almighty God. He's always available. I'm never 'out of credit' with Him and His awesome left hand definitely knows what His mighty right hand is doing. Always!
"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3
"'Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good; His loving devotion endures forever.'" Jeremiah 33:11
Y'all have a good day now!
This appeared to be a bargain, considering I wanted to use the phone primarily for texting, plus the odd phonecall. I wasn't going to use the 'data' allowance as the screen is a mere 3x3.7cm. I've seen, on H's Smartphone, how some web pages download (too small to read), and when we're out together he has the data access anyhow. This has worked well.
Every 3 months I've been given the option to BOOST either the number of texts I can send, or the minutes of calls, or the data access per week - still for £1. So I'd built up to 150 texts, 105 minutes, which is very reasonable, I find.
All I have to remember to do is top up the phone credit. We were away last week. That was ok, I was in credit by £1.93, so that covered last Saturday's update. I'm not about to top up by more than £10 at a time, preferably £5 as I don't see why EE should be earning the interest the money could be earning if it remained in our bank account.
I had been topping up the credit when I got out money from certain cash points. Some had the option to top up phones by £10. Then the banks stopped that service - without telling us first! Yay Big Banks!
Fortunately Poundland, or maybe Poundworld, started the option of buying mobile phone credit, for as little as £5 a time. The first time I took the receipt to a nice young man at the nearby EE shop and asked him to do the top up v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y so I could see how he was doing it. He duly obliged and I was fine for the next 5 weeks.
I keep a track of my credit balance, so Thursday I bought a voucher for a £5 top up with EE, folded it neatly, put it in the phone sock with the phone and thought,
"It's a simple enough procedure. Even a grey-haired older woman like me can do it."
Then I forgot, until I got to bed last night.
"Aaaarrrggh!" I thought. "EE will be updating tomorrow morning. I must get that voucher registered."
I had to turn the bedside light up Really Bright to see the letters and figures, but I did it. I know I did. I received the usual
"Thank you. Your voucher payment of £5.00 has been credited. Your new balance is £5.93."
"Good" I thought. "That's that sorted." And settled to sleep.
* * *
'Dong-ong-ong' went my phone. 'Dong-ong-ong' Incoming text message. I checked it.
"Thanks for topping up £5.00. You now have £5.93 credit. To keep track of your credit or usage go to . . . "
* * *
Repeat three times more.
Over the next ten minutes.
Ah well, that looked pretty definite. I slept. That's nine nights in a row now!
This morning I received the following text -
"Hi, you need £1.00 credit for your next £1 Talk & Text Pack. Top up now and your pack will start automatically. Until then standard rates apply: 35p/min and 15p/text in the UK & EU."
Dur? I investigated further - fortunately txts to 150 are free. I am actually in credit to the tune of £5.78. Though apparently the right hand of the machine which sends the 'it's time to pay' texts doesn't know what it's left hand - which keeps account of how much credit I actually have (and sent me five, yes FIVE, texts to that effect last night to that effect) is doing! !! !!!
I finally managed to get sent a url to go look up online. Dear Reader, I'm sorta intarweb savvy but I find the EE website pretty useless for anything other than checking out what phone models are available and, presumably, buying them. It wouldn't even let me login to my account. Didn't recognise my email address, it said. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
I don't care if it is setting up to be the Hottest Day So Far This Year. I am off to the EE shop to find a Real Person and sort this whole thing out.
And, to keep my cool (among other reasons) I shall be singing the praises of Almighty God. He's always available. I'm never 'out of credit' with Him and His awesome left hand definitely knows what His mighty right hand is doing. Always!
"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3
"'Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good; His loving devotion endures forever.'" Jeremiah 33:11
Y'all have a good day now!