au pair telephone question

[GCOakley]

Our newly arrived au pair has been told by Carphone Warehouse that she won't be able to get a phone contract until she's been here for 3 months. Can anyone shed any light on this? She really wants to get her phone sorted so she can chat etc and I don't really know what to advise...being a bit too old for this phone malarky...

[nikki73]

It's for credit check reasons i think and possibly also because i think you need 3 months in the country before being able to open a bank account. it's a big headache. i think i managed a way around it by giving a deposit of a couple + hundred pounds. but she can always get a pay as you go phone. there a good deals out there and cheap handsets. also to call home skype is great or just phone cards she can use from your landline. talk home usually works ok.

[JBoylen]

We had the same issue when we came here from the states. We were able to pay lump sum up front for 3 months which then counted towards our monthly plan to get a phone. We have Vodaphone and went directly to one of their stores.

Good luck!

[GCOakley]

she has a bank account from our house here via an international account scheme that lloyds do, but she's not been here that long. they did mention the deposit, but to be honest i really don't want to do that as i never trust them that i would get it back again....

[birnehelene]

If she has a phone already, you could try a SIM only contract (e.g. Orange online). This worked for a friend of mine who couldn't take a full contract out when he arrived as a student. Not sure if that has changed now, but worth a try?