mobile phone contracts - international student in the uk

does anyone have any experience with signing up for a pay monthly contract (for example, 18 or 24 months) as an international student in the uk?

i have been browsing from this side of the pond and i'd probably like to sign up with either orange or t-mobile when i arrive in leeds. however, i have heard from two friends that they were unable to attain pay monthly contracts from orange and were forced to purchase pay-as-you-go plans (phone and monthly fee more expensive). they were international students as well and apparently they won't allow you to get a pay monthly plan without being able to check your credit rating, which an international student wouldn't have.

from what i read on the orange website, i only need proof of address (which i have in the uk, and can also offer statements of cell phone bills from canada) as well as a bank account, which i'll also have.

can anyone share their experience? i would appreciate it very much!

Ah this is stressing me out - I didn't even think about what getting a mobile in London would entail! Callum9999, you mention the monthly fee contracts; do you need to buy a phone or can you just buy the sim? I definitely don't want pay-as-you go if I can avoid it, so this option sounds promising.

haha, i hear you about stressing out... seems everyday there is something new to think about when relocating!

from what i've researched (3, O2, orange, t-mobile, vodafone) you either get a pay-monthly plan which usually gives you a free or heavily discounted phone (this doesn't seem to be an available option for us), or you get a new SIM card and put it in your existing or new phone. after getting the SIM card, you can do pay-monthly (again, not an option for us) or pay-as-you-go.

long story short i think your cheapest (and only) option is getting a new SIM (costs only a pound) and using your existing phone on a pay-as-you-go service. i didn't look too much into 3, but with orange 10 pounds a month will get you 50 minutes, 300 texts, unlimited internet, and 3 numbers which you can call/receive from basically for free.

Thank you so much! This is endlessly helpful. A bit difficult to accept, however, as my pay-as-you-go phone that I used on trips to London ran out so quickly before I had to top up! Not looking forward to that...

Are you going to go with Orange? I'm still tempted by 3 because of the Skype offer - it's free to use Skype-to-Skype and if you have a Skype account, you can put money in it and dial any land line or cell in the world at no charge from 3. It's helpful because you can top up your account in CAD or USD if you want, as the North American site can still be accessed from the UK. Do let me know what you end up picking! I won't be there until mid-September, so I suppose I have time to figure these things out...

Ah this is stressing me out - I didn't even think about what getting a mobile in London would entail! Callum9999, you mention the monthly fee contracts; do you need to buy a phone or can you just buy the sim? I definitely don't want pay-as-you go if I can avoid it, so this option sounds promising.

Anyone have experience with Three (3) Mobile? It seems they offer Skype service, which would be extremely helpful when calling home.

as i mentioned, the 10 pounds on orange ("dolphin 10", if anyone is wondering) gets you the equivalent of 50 minutes (20 pence per minute), and also includes 300 texts and free internet. texts are 10 pence but only if you use over the 300 texts.

biggest reason i'm going with orange is because of the "magic numbers" - you get to designate three UK numbers (must be on orange) and each hour of calling with those numbers only charges you one minute. this is big because i'll be in leeds and my girlfriend in birmingham. pretty much 50 minutes becomes the equivalent of 3,000 minutes (i expect a minimal amount of incoming calls from friends... i'll tell them just to text me or use blackberry messenger, or just not answer haha).

i found that this pay-as-you-go scheme was the best budget deal offered by any of the major companies. it's not too far off the value of a pay monthly. i do remember seeing the skype offering on 3. if it works for you, by all means you should do that. i don't use skype that much but i can see how it would be very useful for someone that did. also there are obviously better plans if you're willing to pay more, but i'm trying not to!

i'll be there in mid-september as well. are you going to school in london?

Why wouldn't you accept incoming calls ? You know the UK isn't like the US where you're charged for receiving.

Thank you so much! This is endlessly helpful. A bit difficult to accept, however, as my pay-as-you-go phone that I used on trips to London ran out so quickly before I had to top up! Not looking forward to that...

Are you going to go with Orange? I'm still tempted by 3 because of the Skype offer - it's free to use Skype-to-Skype and if you have a Skype account, you can put money in it and dial any land line or cell in the world at no charge from 3. It's helpful because you can top up your account in CAD or USD if you want, as the North American site can still be accessed from the UK. Do let me know what you end up picking! I won't be there until mid-September, so I suppose I have time to figure these things out...

Why wouldn't you accept incoming calls ? You know the UK isn't like the US where you're charged for receiving.

wow, are you serious? i am actually from canada, but our minutes are charged for both incoming and outgoing. weird how i didn't see this on their websites, but i guess if it's a standard in the UK they wouldn't have in plastered everywhere.

thank you for this info. probably the best and most practical news i have received on this forum. can anyone corroborate this, or send me to a website which explains this clearly?

To be honest, I think pretty much any European would find the concept of paying for incoming calls very strange. It just isn't in our systems, to the point that we'd never even ask the question.

thanks, just got a friend in the uk to confirm this. this is very good news for me! however, do you get charged for incoming calls coming from outside of the uk?