I can't answer for Vodafone but Movistar advise you well before the 6 months is up that you must make a topup. If after 6 months you don't then the phone is blocked for sending. After 9 months the card expires and you lose any credit. If you top up before 9 months is up you don't lose your existing balance. The min topup is only €5 and can be done online.

That seems pretty fair to me.

If you leave your phone switched off in a drawer and don't bother to read the massages you only have yourself to blame if you get cut off.

Why? If you have paid for the phone and card why is it fair to block you and make you buy another sim card. If I buy a dishwasher and don´t use it for six months should it then be taken away from me! The phone has been used just not topped up.

As someone else said - read the small print. They all do the same both in the UK and in Spain and have done so for as long as I can remember.

They sell you cheap subsided, locked phones at a low price on the assumption that you will make calls on them which they charge you for. They often include some free calls on sign up to encourage you to use the phone.

It costs them money to administer all these phone numbers and if they aren't used it seems pretty logical business practice to switch them off.

As I said they give you loads of warnings - when mine is getting near the 6 months I seem to get a message every day.

If you don't like the deal then don't use a PAYG phone.

I have a Hits PAYG (had it about 3 years). They piggyback off the Vodafone network 😄 so coverage is no problem. As posted earlier you have to top up ( min €5) every 3 months ( they send you a text). You have 60 to top up ( think you can receive but not make calls until you top up) and after 6 months you lose the credit. This seems to be pretty standard procedure in Spain.

If a cheap Nokia then you can normally find a free unlock code on the internet. Just google " free unlock code Nokia xxxx". I've unlocked a number of phones in this way. It depends on the model.

If the phone is locked to vodaphone and hits use vodafone for signal you should just be able to put the hits sim in and it should work.

As Fred say's my understanding is that all Spanish PAYG work on similar basis I think wit Eroski you only need to make a minimum 5 Euro top up every 6 months to make an receive calls they also use vodafone for signal so exactly same coverage etc. I have had no problem with them top up in store or on line.

I don´t think this phone has been subsidised it is the cheapest naffest one I could get. As for reading the small print.....bad enough in English but in Spanish!! Just because they can do it doesn´t mean to say it is right.

Thanks a useful post.

Going to Carrefour tomorrow so will see what they have if not will go for the Hits. Thanks.

Just one point re Carrefour they use Orange as provider so you will not just be able to swap the sim card unless it the phone is unlocked or you get it unlocked. In case you were not aware of that

How surprising - you didn't expect it to be in English surely?

You may not think it's right but tens of millions of other people have been happy to accept it in most countries for the last 20 years.

Stop moaning about it, learn from it and move on.