Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

grumbler

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/telecoms/

I think you have two pointssss to complain about:
Billing and charges.
Customer service.

CISAS is the ombudsman you need.

Firemunchkin

I was really surprised by O2 - they didn't even try and keep me as a customer. I told them what I had been quoted elsewhere (see below) and they said they wouldn't be able to price match. Which is mental really. On top of that, when I phoned to get my PAC code I was on hold for 45 minutes - ok so it was a free call but still, 45 minutes is a LONG time to be on hold.

So I took the decision that if O2 weren't going to offer me what I wanted then I was going to leave - my husband is still with them so I can still use the Priority Moments!! And when I eventually got through to the disconnections department I was offered my PAC code immediately, no attempt to discuss at all.

I asked a lot of friends about what Orange/3/Vodafone were like - Vodafone appeared to come out top in our areas for signal and internet coverage. For me that's key.

I then found the phone I want (HTC One X) for free on dial-a-phone, with a contract price of £25 per month for 600 mins, unltd texts, 500mg data and 500mg wi-fi. Plus there's a deal of £95 cashback (via redemption, never done that before so fingers crossed!) and I am getting £70 cashback through Topcashback, and I'll sell my old phone for around £50.

So, in all I'm getting the contract and phone for £385 - which is pretty good.

I did research how much phones would cost on their own and then get a PAYG bundle but the HTC One X is around £300-£400, then for a comparable 2 year PAYG bundle it's around £15 a month anyway.

So with the contract I've ended up with I think it's even cheaper than having my own phone with the PAYG.

Yay! Just wish this process wasn't so damned painful and stressful!

Kite2010

Most likely you didn't fit the ideal O2 customer profile, not making them enough profits.

ScuzzieScuzz

Okay, 2 companies to report on: TMobile and 3.

My partner and I are both up for renewal on the 24th December. He is has an HTC model with TMobile, I have a LG Optimus One with 3.

My partner went in to the TMobile shop last week to ask about an early upgrade (he had 3 months remaining on current contract). His screen is smashed and as he uses the phone for running his company the handset is useless. The sales assistant could not offer anything as good as he already had (£23 a month for unlimited internet and texts, +1000 minutes) and repeatedly offered a more expensive deal that offered less with an outdated phone. He rejected the offer and walked out.

Yesterday, TMobile CS called. £21 a month, offering unlimited everything and the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2. No upgrade fee. (They bet the deal we were previously looking at - a lesser model - the Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus, unlimited everything for £23 from Virgin to Virgin TV Customers). We went in today to pick up the phone from our local shop. Sorted. Although not impressed with the shop assistants, the customer service advisor was great. Partner = Happy.

Now, I like shiny, new things. The reason we have the same renewal date is because 2 years ago he bought a new phone, seeing it - I wanted one too (my Blackberry was on it's last legs though!). So this time I'd thought I'd see what I could get too, since we were already in town. I'd been eyeing the Samsung Galaxy S II. Research revealed that TMobile were offering it for [£26per month/ no upfront cost for handset/unlimited internet/2000 mins any network/unlimited texts], Virgin were offering it at £36 and a similar package. 3 however were offering[£25per month/£29 upfront cost/unlimited internet/500 mins any network/5000 texts].

((To explain - I am keen to change my phone as it no longer receives any signal - a little mishap with a toilet I'm afraid. So I can't send/receive any texts or emails, although I can hook up to my WiFi. This is a fault with the handset, not with 3 reception. I've checked this))

In the 3 store they were asking for £25 a month for less value than TMobile, demanding an upfront cost of £29 for the handset when TMobile gave it 'free' and to early upgrade they wanted £55. Not pleased, for the privelage of upgrading to my preferred handset it would be £84 upfront and all for a package worse than what I could get elsewhere at a similar price. The assistant wouldn't budge. I said I'd go ahead with it if he could remove the upfront fee for the handset - I am comfortable with 3 and I'd rather not go through the hassle of cancelling and going elsewhere. He wouldn't budge by a penny. Now I was a little bit annoyed, I've been with them for 5 years and although I could understand the upgrade fee for my 3 months remaining I felt not budging on the handset was a little tight of them. I asked for the price of cancellation fee - of course, I'd have to find that out by phoning CS.


3 shop summary:
£25per month/£29 upfront cost/ £55 upgrade fee (£84 to upgrade to handset)
[unlimited internet/500 mins any network/5000 texts]

Got home. Phoned CS - went through to 'thinking of leaving us'. Explained the situation, about going into the 3 shop - it not being a good enough deal, my partner being offered an upgrade without an upgrade fee, and TMobile offering a better deal with a similar price and no upfront fee. He very politely told me he was sure we could do something about that - I told him i was interested in the £25 a month deal. Keeping that as a basis I told him I thought the upgrade fee was too high - he reduced it to £44.99 (saves £10). I then said I wasn't happy with the handset upfront fee, he said he could credit £10 to my account and it would effectively mean the upfront fee would be £19(saving of £10, £20 saving in total, £64 up front cost). I still wasn't too happy with this and asked him to remove it altogether - he said he could for [£27per month/unlimited internet/1000 mins any network/5000 texts]. Now I don't use that many minutes so I'd be paying an extra £2 a month for minutes I wouldn't be using, £48 over the two years which more than covers the upfront fee he was asking for previously. No, thank you.

To see if I could scare them up a bit I hummed and hahhed and asked for the cancellation price to be calculated. £59.99 and with 30 days notice another £25 on top of that - £84.99. That's without the cost of a new phone contract elsewhere at the same time.

Decided to ponder and run some figures - could CS call me back.

Phone call 1 summary:
Renew:
£25per month/£19 upfront cost/ £45 upgrade fee (£64 to upgrade to handset)
[unlimited internet/500 mins any network/5000 texts]

Cancel:
£59.99 disconnection fee, 30 day notice bill ~£25 - my current bill. (84.99 but not including cost of new deal at same time)


I had a little think and mulled over the figures - I figured I had four options. 1) Leave it as it was till I was up for renewal, then renew for a deal that wasn't competitive whilst dealing with a broken phone till then. 2) Leave now and take my business elsewhere, this was costly but an appealing prospect for my ego. 3) Wait till renewal and give 30 days notice, having to pay £25 to leave then as well have to deal with a broken phone till then. 4) Try to batter them down some more then decide (taking the current deal was unappealing compared to waiting a little longer and cutting the disconnection and early upgrade fees out of the question.). I opted for option 4.

Phoned up again - so as to get a different agent.
Didn't tell him I'd already called today (he most likely knew though) but told him same as I did to the previous agent. He offered me the handset at [£26per month/ unlimited net/ 2000 any network mins/ 5000 texts] but with no upfront cost. Better deal, no upfront cost (Matches the original TMobile deal I liked). This works out at an extra £24 for two years, doesn't cover the original up front cost of £29 and is only a few quid dearer than the reduced up front cost of £19, which is pittance a month split over the two years. He had my early renewal fee cut down to £39.99 as well.

Phone call 2 summary:
£26per month/no upfront cost/ £40 upgrade fee (£40 to upgrade to handset)
[unlimited internet/2000 mins any network/5000 texts]


I eventually went with the deal that resulted in the last call - I was getting a bit fed-up at this point and I'd managed to batter down the original deal of £84 upfront by more than half at £40. I was gettin the same tariff I'd seen with TMobile, and paying £40 to indulge my impatience and free me from a broken phone and 3 months remaining on my contract. Not tooooo bad a deal, but it was a small victory and it took ages. Still I got what I wanted, and for less than they originally wanted to rape me for.

Advice: call back multiple times to speak to different advisors if they aren't giving you what you want. Shop sales assistants seem to be relatively powerless, or else just don't care, so should only be consulted as a base for market research.

TMobile have excellent customer service and are well worth looking at - they never even mentioned an early upgrade fee to my partner although he had 3 months remaining.

I'm aware this post is really long :eek: but hopefully it helps someone.:o

darkido

That sounds like a hell of a journey ScuzzieScuzz. Well done. I haven't got enough patience to go play poker with them. I am on one of the lower end sim only and am thinking of getting a better deal or else leaving for payg..

Firemunchkin

New Question!! I've bought my phone through Dial-a-phone online, and now they're trying to charge me £20 every six months for handset support. Am I not entitled to support anyway during the warranty period??

mobilejunkie

Sounds like TMTI; nothing to do with the phone warranty. Cancel it.

Fallenangel152

Going to try Orange again at lunch. I've had my iphone 4 with them for 2 years. For the same as i pay now, new contracts have 3 times the minutes and internet, but they want to charge me £30 for the iphone 5. I want an updated contract and a free phone!

What are my chances? Last time they told me they couldn't do deals on the iphone 5 as it's too new. Bullpoo?

stefano

Don't bother with iphone 5. it overheats after 10 minutes of use

jtcowie

Just got to the end of a 12 month SIM only Simplicity contract with o2. £16.50 for 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 500Mb data. Orange are offering the same for £10.50 a month for a new 12 month contract. o2's Retention Department wouldn't make any offer, let alone match it!