Essential Plan
Our low-cost mobile plan – for when you need it
What is the Essential Plan?
Whether it’s for texting friends, streaming tunes on the train or staying in the loop on the latest news, everyone deserves a mobile plan they can afford.
That’s why our Essential Plan is there when you need it. At £10 a month for 10GB of data and unlimited calls and texts, you can keep doing the stuff you love for a low monthly cost – with no long-term contract, upfront costs or price rises.
Who can get an Essential Plan?
You can apply for one Essential Plan if you’re the account holder receiving certain support payments – including Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and income-based Employment Support Allowance. Before we set you up, we’ll just need a few details to confirm you’re eligible.
What do you get?
10GB
DATA
Unlimited UK Minutes
Unlimited UK Texts
30 Day Airtime Plan
£10 month
No price rises. No long-term contracts. Roam freely in the EU. Only on O2. Up to 10GB.
Ready to get started?
Get an Essential Plan in three easy steps:
1. Contact us
If you’re already with O2 and eligible to upgrade, start a live chat with us or call us on 202 from your O2 mobile. If you’re a new customer, you'll need to call us on 03448 090 202.
2. A quick check
We’ll ask for some details like your name, post code and date of birth. We’ll use this information to check with the Department for Work and Pensions that you’re eligible for the Essential Plan.
3. Get your SIM
Once you’ve completed the check, we will get you up and running with your Essential Plan SIM.
You may also be eligible for low-cost home broadband from Virgin Media. Find out more about Essential Broadband.
FAQs
Essential Plan is a Pay Monthly SIM Only plan.
You can apply for Essential Plan if you're the account holder receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or income-based Employment Support Allowance. You'll just need to give us a few details so we can check you're eligible.
We'll need details like your full name, date of birth and postcode, along with your consent, to check with the Department for Work and Pensions that you're getting Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or income-based Employment and Support Allowance. Please make sure the name and address you give us are the same as on your O2 account.
We'll check your eligibility again after 18 months and then every 12 months after that. We'll let you know what the result is and take you through which options are available if you're no longer eligible.
If you're already with us, you'll need to wait until you’re eligible to upgrade before you can move to Essential Plan.
You have a few options when it comes to paying your O2 bill. Find out more about bill payments.
We’ll do everything we can to keep you connected, so speak to us as soon as possible if you’re having trouble paying your bill. Once you get in touch, we can discuss your options. Find out more on our Payment Support help pages.
When you’ve had your Essential Plan for 18 months, we’ll check you’re still eligible, and we’ll check again every 12 months after that.
Each time we run a check, we’ll keep you in the loop on the result. If you’re still eligible, you’ll continue to be charged £10 a month. If you no longer receive support payments or if your eligibility check fails, we’ll be in touch about your options.
If you want to cancel your Essential Plan, just let us know on our live chat or give us a call on 0344 8090 202 or 202, free from your O2 Mobile.
You can only have one Essential Plan per account, and you'll also need to pass our eligibility check. Other eligible household members can apply too, as long as they have their own account.
You can switch to any of our other plans whenever you like. Or, you can cancel anytime without being charged.
If you're new with us and applying for the Essential Plan, we'll run a standard credit check. If you're already with us and moving to Essential Plan, we won't need to run a full credit check, but an affordability check will be completed.
Sorry – Essential Plan isn’t eligible for Volt benefits. But if you’ve got an Essential Plan, you may also be eligible for Virgin Media’s Essential home broadband.
Unfortunately, additional discounts can't be applied to Essential Plan.