Help buying French mobile phone

[Piglet]

Can someone help me out with info about buying a French pay as you go mobile?    Keithk is out in Le Mans at the moment and he wants to buy a (possibly 2) French PAYG mobiles to avoid some of the huge phone bills that we generate out there.

He’s been into the local Carphone Warehouse but couldn’t find anyone who spoke any English and his French is not good enough to work out what he wants.

What should he be looking at? We want cheap and cheapful PAYG phones (pref. Nokia) and Sims – something that we can top up fairly easily.  Is there anything about call costs etc that we should be aware of?

Also is this something that he can do in Carrefour – I seem to remember them having phones?  
 
Cheers

Piglet

[Neal]

Could you just by a sim card Piglet? I know you can in Spain. Sounds like a job for Gilles to me

[Piglet]

Could you just by a sim card Piglet? I know you can in Spain. Sounds like a job for Gilles to me

I think you probably can but we need to keep running our UK phones as well as French phones and it seems easier to just buy cheap mobiles complete with sim cards and not have any problems with our UK phone's being locked to UK networks etc.  

Where's Gilles when you need him!

[jpchenet]

You can email Gilles on  belair-gilles@wanadoo.fr

[Gilles]

Could you just by a sim card Piglet? I know you can in Spain. Sounds like a job for Gilles to me

I've already a job !!!

And I ready don't know what you need.

There's tons of mobile phone stores here in Le Mans and you can ask advice at Carrefour.

[Kpy]

Gilles is, of course, right. He does have a job to do to earn a living, and the closer the race gets, the busier he is.
Stroll into Carrefour, find the phone section - normally near the entrance, but it's near all the computers etc. you need a portable sans abonnement - if you cant say it, write it down.
As a guide, I bought a Motorola with an SFR prepaid card 5 years ago for 500FF - 50 quid. It still works fine. You can re-chip the card back in the UK.

[Piglet]

you need a portable sans abonnement - if you cant say it, write it down.
As a guide, I bought a Motorola with an SFR prepaid card 5 years ago for 500FF - 50 quid. It still works fine. You can re-chip the card back in the UK.

Wonderful, thanks Kpy that's what I was looking for - I'll send Keithk off to have a go at it tomorrow.

Thanks again all.  

[Gilles]

Thanks a lot Christopher...
... so you didn't come for PQ ?

When will you arrive at Lm? Can we plan a drink or a meal?

I begin to be really busy, first by my job, second by all the stuff I'm sourcing (Fridges, BBQ, pools, camping gear, bicycles,..., hostess bars,...)  

[Kpy]

Thanks a lot Christopher...
... so you didn't come for PQ ?

You have PM !!

[garystout]

Get your existing phone "unlocked" in the UK, then you can use a French payg sim card, about 25 Euros. Saves having to buy a whole new package.

[jpchenet]

As using a UK phone overseas, and making calls to overseas from the UK can be expensive, it may be worth contacting iyr existing provider. As I phone to overseas, and call back to the UK from overseas quite a bit, I have  adeal with Vodafone which I believe is something called "International Call Option" or something like that. I get a huge discount off standard tariffs for overseas calls and receiving/making calls overseas!

[Chris24]

OK, so how did you manage then before the mobile phone was invented ? I am sure you managed then, so why not now, still its your money I guess.

[Steve Pyro]

OK, so how did you manage then before the mobile phone was invented ? I am sure you managed then, so why not now, still its your money I guess.

By using a land line and a BT chargecard.

When abroad, it's generally courteous and endearing to chat to one's wife once in a while!

[Lorry]

When abroad, it's generally courteous and endearing to chat to one's wife once in a while!

This is setting a dangerous precedent.

[Robspot]

When abroad, it's generally courteous and endearing to chat to one's wife once in a while!

This is setting a dangerous precedent.

Not so much a dangerous precedent as a necessary evil. It makes future Le Mans negotiations much easier if she believes that you are thinking about her all weekend. Personally the only way I can achieve this image is by putting an appointment in my phone reminding me to ring her at a sensible hour (i.e. the ten minute gap between one night's drinking ending and the next days drinking beginning).