[andy]

Orange CallAbroad is 5p to USA, Mobile World is 5p, T-mobile has the 4p option mentioned, so Virgin is not the cheapest from the UK, or indeed for a UK SIM roaming in Europe either; it's useful for small amounts of data though.

I called T-mobile CS and asked about this, like did the SIM need to be active here before being exported, which a sealed packet sold on eBay would not be, or should I maybe send another one free which I'd opened first. They said actually they couldn't understand why this wouldn't work. It was suggested that you call them with the voucher code and they will apply it. I said that if the SIM still did not register on the network, then the person doing it might be upset about it.

Try calling them and discussing it again, as the man I spoke to referred to another and answer quite all the questions I asked.

150 is free to call once you get here, but doesn't work from abroad. From abroad they said use +447953966150, but this is a mobile number and will cost more. I'd suggest you call +441707315000, UK office hours, then ask to be transferred to the call centre.

The new but unused SIMs do have a limited shelf life of something like six months or a year, so I'm just wondering if that one has a problem. I had 3 old ones here that I called to check and they said two were expired. I bought a voucher to apply to the other one, but it didn't register on the network; CS applied the credit for me but it still didn't work. In the end they made a note on the account, and we later transferred the credit to a new SIM I received.

So I'm just wondering if the one you have is a bit similar; ask them how old it is, and if it's a problem, I can send you another one free