Am I missing something?

calmspirit

First post so please be patient with me (esp if I have posted in wrong area!)


Am I completely missing the point about buying a mobile phone through the 'cash back' offers I see on here?

Looked at them and seems that if I order one of these, I pay the monthly contract and claim it back every few months or so......so I am getting a phone and calls and texts for free??? I must have missed something?

My son desp wants a decent phone for christmas and there was no way I could afford to get a contract phone.....so please be gentle and any help would be gratefully received.........

am I right in what I have said?

Do we get the phone at end of contract?

Is it for real? Do i really get my money back? who gives me the money? the cashback sites such as e2save or the phone company ie if I order o2 contract phone do o2 give me cash back?

sorry if I have gone over old ground but it does seem too good to be true!

thanks
Jaki

David88_2

Basically, how I understand it is:

Sometimes you can get phone deals with cashback equal to the total line rental over the course of the contract. (Be careful it doesn't say 12 months free but only on an 18 month contract as you will end up paying full whack for the final 6 months)

Obviously you will be charged for any phone useage outside your inclusive minutes/texts

The phone is yours to keep at the end of the contract.

The cashback generally comes from the sites/companies you order through, e.g. e2save.

The catch is how you have to claim the cashback. You have to pay the full monthly line rental upfront, so if for some reason you dont manage to get the cashback then you can be seriously out of pocket.

It varies according to the deal but to claim the cashback you normally have to send off certain monthly bills to the company you bought the phone through. You normally have a set period in which they have to recieve the bill otherwise you forfeit the cashback, so if you forget you won't end up getting it.

Also less scrupulous companies "lose" your bills or claim they never recieved them. Also the instructions for claiming your cashback can sometimes be deliberately vague. Often people have trouble getting their cashback, and have to invest large amounts of time into chasing it up. Also if the company goes bust before you have recieved your cashback then most likely you won't get any.

Basically the companies make money off people who don't manage to claim cashback so they make it as hard as possible for you.

In conclusion they are great deals, but there are also many horror stories about people never recieving cashback. If you are very careful about following the T+Cs to the letter and stick with a reputable company then you should probably be alright but be aware that there are many out there who will try and rip you off.

smcicr

it is true (kinda)

go for a reputable (ie: likley to be around in 12 months) name - e2save seem to be ok - have a search through the forum here for others

make sure you have read, re-read and then had someone read you the t's and c's for getting your money back. then set several different alarms in several different places to remind you to send off whatever it is you have to send off at the right time.

basically they rely on people forgetting to send the bills off to get the cash back and also from what i've read they will use any technicality they can to avoid paying out.

i'll never touch them personally but there are many reports of people very happy with the deals on here.

oh and yes - the phone is yours at the end of it.

sonnyflyer

I have used Dialaphone for a number of years now without any problems re: cashback. And with 3 if one doesn't use any more than the free minutes, or dial 0870/0845, premium or overseas numbers, then yes....it's all FREE! Amazing I know...but true. Not sure about other "cashback" companies but a quick trawl of the forums should let you know of the respectable ones.

Only thing you must remember is to send in your bills for your cashback/redemption at the times stated on your contract (keep copies and use recorded delivery) otherwise you end up losing the redemption amount.

Good luck!