I recommend Virgin France - they use the Orange network so decent coverage.
I have their €19.99 /month forfait bloquees. 4 hours of any calls (to numbers in France that is), free sms (if anyone still likes this outdated method when an email can say so much more) and 3Gb of 3G internet access. This contract is without phone and there is no long term engagement.
I then use a PAYG whilst overseas. All on a SIM free smart phone.
Avoid 'Free' - they are oversubscribed and the service is poor (has been reported on the TV and online forums.
lol, I can't ask her to now, because I ordered a motorbike yesterday, and the Yamaha guy asked for a justif of domicile, and I called her up to blast her from a height because all the bills, and the rent is in her name, and she said "I can buy the bike in my name", and i told her we needed to start putting things in my name, because I feel like I don't exist when everytime someone asks for proof of address, I have to get an attestation from her.
it wuoldn't do, haha.
O2 still works on prepay, I use it. i love the fact that when you get home, you've free texts upon landing. lol.
Finn to the rescue, again! I've been to your website, so will pop back over and take a look. In Ireland, you can port your number, but I never make the assumption that things are the same in France! Big mistake. :-)
So far, Orange/France Telecom have treated me very well, including moving my number 3 times (as we are still renting). So I think I'll ring them and see if they are offering any decent offers, now that I have a yearly contract with them for landline and broadband.
Hi Zoe. Yes, I use webtexts a lot with my Irish O2 account. Presume it's still available now that I've switched to PAYG with O2. Must check. We have very weak reception here in the village. Lucky to get one bar. My French SP is Orange, SIM only. Don't think Orange offer free webtexts, and I'm fed up paying for credit which expires. Re your problem, could your OH not take out an account in her name for you?
Sheila, you know if you're with O2 you get something like 250 free webtexts a month, you send them from your computer, but they appear to be from your number, and all replies go directly to your phone.
Some other carriers might do it too, I think meteor did.
I use prepay also, with SFR, not because it's cheap, or handy (it isn't), but because I simply don't have time to change to billpay, they want a cheque barrée, and I have no chequebook, they want justif du domicile, and apart from my bank statement, all bills are addressed to my OH (because they all wanted a justif to have the bill in my name, and I had none)
in short, I don't have time to jump through hoops looking for bits of paper, so I pay about 35 euro a month....
Hi Finn. Good information. Do you know if you can keep your existing number? I rarely use my mobile, and I've kept my Irish mobile, but converted it from account to PAYG. I really just need a mobile for convenience if out in the car, breakdown, etc.
I suppose it depends on your usage. I don't use my mobile much, the odd text and very few calls. After loosing remaining credit I don't know how many times with Orange I switched to Le Clerc. There is a small monthly charge though. But its cheap for anyone with low usage. The transfer of my number was painless and efficient.
I reckon LECLERC supermarket have the best option as they have a Euros 10.00 pay-as-you-go which lasts a year (and then you keep topping it up whenever) + a monthly charge of Euros 1.50. This compares very favourably with most of the others where the p-a-y-g expires after 1 or 2 or 3 months and you loose what's left.
We keep our O2 UK mobile purely for use in UK + its handy in an emergency if you've forgotten to top up the french mobile.
I don't know James, would assume Free will take care when they swap the number to the Free line, but would prefer that someone who actually knows gives you this advice ;-D
I have ordered it and ticked the box for keeping my number, you just have to provide the RIO code which Orange texted me (dial 3179 from you mobile to get it). Am I meant to inform Orange now, or do Free take care of things?
Last time we changed providers we took our numbers with us, takes a little extra paperwork but they are obliged to do it and cannot charge for the service. (As far as I am aware)
Apparently so - although I have not tried to cancel it yet. Perhaps someone else can reply on that. I pay by monthly debit from my bank.
One thing I noticed from the online bill (and I hope it's this) my son racked up a couple of euros for an 0899 number - he assures me it was a missed call that he called back.
He has been given the warnings now about arnaques, scams etc now and it all seems to be running fine now.
This is an interesting read for me as i am looking for a new deal for my French sim. I have a dual sim phone with an English sim that my friends in England text and a French sim that i use as my day to day phone.
For the last 2 years i have been paying Orange 20 euro's a month for 60 minutes and unlimited text. Constantly peeved at how expensive it is compared to English mobiles, i really need a cheaper package for about the same amount of calls & texts.
Is there a cheaper package out there or should i just get PAYG, it's annoying that the credit only lasts so long though.
James, i'm going to have a look at your 'Free' link now.