Petro Canada Mobile - any downside?

[Ann Dennick]

http://retail.petro-canada.ca/en/mobility/2310.aspx

I've seen this provider mentioned here quite a bit. What has people's experience been with them (good or bad?). They seem to be an inexpensive pay as you go option. They only offer 4 basic phones - are these quality phones? I don't know it just seems weird buying a cell phone from a gas station. Do you have any customer service support if you have technical issues?

Thanks!

[Keas]

if they are like 7/11 then they are good and right now better priced unless you buy 75-100$ cards from 7/11. i should say that the lower cards at petro are good for 6 months and the higher cards for 1 year. i have questions about the 2760 for myself but i havent had any issues with the nokia i bought over a year ago - just that it is too dang small for my big head and made me decide i wanted a flip phone.

only problem i have had with petro is the service when asking about the phones in store. it was like i was putting them out so if i go petro i will be buying from a different location than that one.

[rivet]

I also want to know this. Can we use unlocked phones for Petro-Canada mobility, their FAQ says only the phone they provided can be used?
Their price is really good.

[mark_in_2k]

They operate on Rogers GSM towers so you should be able to use an unlocked phone. Just take out the Petro SIM and put it into your unlocked phone.

[rivet]

Can anyone confirm that you can use unlocked phone with petro sim card, did any one actualy do that? That is very important to decide whether to use PC mobility or Rogers pay as go services. Thanks.

They operate on Rogers GSM towers so you should be able to use an unlocked phone. Just take out the Petro SIM and put it into your unlocked phone.

[rivet]

I just got one new Nokia 1208 phone from petro canada, for $50+tax. I have activated it. I switched the sim card with my friends's blackberry Roger's phone and it works in both ways. So you can use Rogers phone in PC mobility and you can use PC mobility phones for Rogers.

Only hope PC sells sim card alone, so I don't have to buy their phones, but $50 for a phone is not much

[betasharp]

I just got one new Nokia 1208 phone from petro canada, for $50+tax. I have activated it. I switched the sim card with my friends's blackberry Roger's phone and it works in both ways. So you can use Rogers phone in PC mobility and you can use PC mobility phones for Rogers.

Only hope PC sells sim card alone, so I don't have to buy their phones, but $50 for a phone is not much

Do you have to setup an account with petro to use it such as the rogers or fido prepard accounts or is it ready to be used straight out of the box like the 7/11 service?

[rivet]

When you buy one of their new cellphone, it comes with an activation code, then you called their customer service, they will give you a phone number and you can use it after activation. Haven't used other pay as go services, so can't comment.

Do you have to setup an account with petro to use it such as the rogers or fido prepard accounts or is it ready to be used straight out of the box like the 7/11 service?