Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

phil09

Today, after telling Three I didn't want to upgrade to a new 12 month sim-only contract, and that I wanted the price they quoted last month, they stated that there was a price hike on 3rd March for sim-only contracts on all customers; new and existing. In response, after asking for my PAC code, they said they will ask their supervisor now to see what they can offer.
They offered me an upgrade, changed from a 12 month sim only contract at £11 per month, to a 1 month rolling contract for £10 per month, for 1 GB data, unlimited texts, 600 minutes and 300 Three-Three minutes

ImPriceless

Followed your advice, as i was at the end of my contract, and pretty much decided, due to TERRIBLE customer service, I wasleaving Vodafone.

Spoke to retentions,who came up with a tarriff offer in an attempt to keep my custom. After sleeping on it, i decided to go with this offer....only to be told it wasnt available to me, and shouldnt have been offered!

Am now waiting for a call from a manager in retentions. Apperently it can take up to 72 hours to get a return call. Im still waiting for a 72 hour call back, promised last October!

Is this usual treatment of customers by Vodafone?

mobilejunkie

Can't leave just one word, but it's a very simple one; yes.

CerealKiller

Just contacted Three about getting an early upgrade as my phone is on its last legs.
My contract runs out on the 16/11/2015 and was told It will cost me just over £180 to upgrade now or £90 if I upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy s6 or s6 Edge. I asked if they had any deals for the HTC M9 and was told I can get the phone for free (normally £19 upfront) at £49 a month with unlimited Data and Texts but the half price early termination fee only applies for the Samsung phones! I told them I will sleep on it but will wait until the end of the month for pay day to hopefully bring early upgrade fee down and try and haggle them down from the £49 a month they want (I currently pay £30pm)
Would I have any luck in bringing down the price if I were to say i dont need unlimited texts (I only really use 200pm as I use WhatsApp and Facebook) and reduce minutes (Not sure how many minutes were on the offer but I only have 100mins now and very rarely go over)?

phillw

Today I was looking forward to haggling with o2.


24 months ago I had a very productive call where after asking for a PAC code I was offered a discount to £10 a month (for which I received 300 minutes, 200 meg of data & unlimited land line calls which two years ago wasn't that bad) PLUS £150 credit towards my bill.


I was locked in for two years and in that time the monthly fee increased, but the credit on my bill still made it pretty unbeatable without dropping to pay as you go. It would have averaged out to 3.75 a month if it had stayed at £10. Plus I got the free mothers/fathers day cards, calendar, dictionary, diary, wrapping paper from Whsmith on O2 priority. Admittedly in the years prior to two years ago I hadn't always been on top of it, so over the years they still made a reasonable amount of money out of me (the classic buying phones and not contacting them when the contract ends).

This time it was different, I asked about closing my account, they asked what deal I was going to. I mentioned the Virgin Media £5 a month, she said that is a great deal, will you be wanting to take your phone number as I can send a PAC code. It took all the fun out of the process, I was hoping they'd at least try to make a deal. I didn't even get a chance to say actually wanted to stay an O2 customer because of O2 priority.


I wonder if Three buying O2 has made them less hungry for customers. My PAC code arrived by text within minutes. Although I can't do anything with it until I receive the SIM card.

My experience of leaving EE on the other hand is not going so smooth. I told them I was thinking of cancelling with ee and moving to plusnet, they tried to sell me a more expensive package and because I hadn't said the magic word "MAC code" they were going to charge me to cancel. A few minutes of me explaining that I was never told I would have to pay a cancellation fee, he told me that I should have read the terms and conditions when I signed up. Fine I thought, I want to leave now. So I asked whether I needed a MAC code, at which point he said "if you ask for a MAC code then there isn't a cancellation fee". I was taken back, I had asked what I needed to do & didn't realise their advice would be to my detriment. I have a date next month where my contract ends, but I have no idea what that means. There is no cancellation fee now as far as I am aware. There is also an earlier date where my broadband discount ends and an even closer date when my 12 months line rental ends. PlusNet switch the broadband and phone line at different times too, so there will undoubtedly be a complex situation in a years time.

My MAC code hasn't arrived yet and plus net have already sent me a text asking for it & I want to get away from EE as quickly as possible before they start charging me full price.

p.s. A friend called Tesco for a PAC code because they were switching to Virgin Media and the person at Tesco told them that the prices Virgin Media have on their web site doesn't include VAT. I believe this was a lie to persuade them to renew their contract. Which can't be legal.

CerealKiller wrote: »

Would I have any luck in bringing down the price if I were to say i dont need unlimited texts (I only really use 200pm as I use WhatsApp and Facebook) and reduce minutes (Not sure how many minutes were on the offer but I only have 100mins now and very rarely go over)?

Offering unlimited text messages doesn't really cost them much, each text message is practically free. I wouldn't buy such an expensive phone, but if you want then according to:


http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/htc-one-m9-release-date-where-can-i-get-it--1286561


You could buy one for 579.99. If you bought one sim free and then cancelled your contract in November and switched to Virgin for £5 a month for 18 months (250 minutes, 250mb data, unlimited texts) then it would bring the cost to 849.99 over two years. You don't say what your data usage is, so I don't know if 250mb is enough. If it isn't then you can pay £12 a month to virgin and get unlimited phone calls and data for a total of 975.99 over two years. Assuming the £49 is for 24 months the contract they offered will cost £1374 (24*49+19+180).

Essentially by buying the phone from your mobile operator you're giving them an extra £400-£500. If you buy the phone SIM free but switched to Threes SIM only for £22 a month (which is £10 a month more than Virgin) then it would still save you around £250.


You might not have 579.99 today, but a 0% on new purchases credit card will allow you to spread that out. However if you don't have the cash and can't get cheap borrowing on credit cards then a phone that expensive is probably not the best idea. You could probably buy a sim free android handset for less than the £180 early termination fee. I wouldn't terminate the contract, but I wouldn't sign up for another one either.

lbh

I have just phoned O2 to discuss my upgrade as I have found the same deal elsewhere at a much cheaper price. I don't want to leave O2 as I have been with them for many years so just wanted them to at least match the offer.
However I was told that O2 are no longer doing any deals other than what is shown on the website or instore - she informed me that this is a new policy at O2 and she is not allowed to offer anything else and would be happy to give me my PAC.
I told her that I can get exactly the same deal elsewhere but cheaper - again she was 'unable to do anything'.
I am stunned that they are happy to lose business like this

dauwalder

We have had 2 phones with Vodafone for 9 & 12 years respectively and over the years renegotiated amicably. One of our phones is now out of contract and we applied for a PAC code a couple of weeks ago, but thought we would look at the competition. We saw a good deal with 3 but it's was a bit more expensive than our current deal. Then this morning 3 called me and offered £8 pcm off a sim only deal for 12 months or £6 off a with phone deal. I went back to Vodafone retentions and they beat it by £2.50 pcm. The only exception was that 3 don't charge extra for use in Spain and Vodafone charge £3 per day to get normal inclusive allowances.
We spend around 30 days a year in Spain so the saving of £2.50 pcm/£30 pa wouldn't beat then £3 per day or £90 per year to use the phone in Spain. Ironically 3 piggy back on Vodafone Spain in the part of Spain we go to. For the sake of £60 per year Vodafone are clearly happy to lose us as a long standing client. We are off to sign over to 3 now. When the second phone comes up for renewal in less than a year we will take that one with us too.:rotfl:

handbagsatdawn

I am having a lot of problems getting Tesco mobile to offer me something better for an iPhone 6. I have been a customer for several years, currently on a rolling contract. I rang up and followed all the pro forma to negotiate successfully but they said they really wish they could do a better deal but they can't. They lowered the price a little, and I asked as I won't use up all those minutes or texts, could that be reduced along with the price but was told no.
I do want to stay but I know there are so many better deals out there. Has anyone had a similar experience with Tesco and if so how did you get round them?
Just fyi, I was told I was speaking to the retentions dept even though ringing the sales line initially - I couldn't even be transferred!
Thanks!!

mikeybob

I'm half way through my 2 year contract with Orange (£21.99/mth). Gave them a quick call, they reduced it to £14.99/mth with the same allowances.

markj78uk

Just spoke to EE regarding upgrading my Orange account to EE and 4G. Explained that I have been an Orange customer since 1997 and my current contract expired in 2010. Therefore have been paying over the odds for over five and a half years on a contract in which the phone was paid off in 2010.

The guy I spoke to advised that EE only discount the handsets and not packages anymore as this works out to be a better deal than "phoney" contract discounts. The price tariffs they offered me in "retentions" were the same as appeared on the website for everyone else.

Better deals for EE can be obtained through third party companies such a Carphone Warehouse or one of the many online companies.

As along standing customer (18+years) of Orange/EE I can now see myself moving to another provider.

My questions
1) Has anyone been through EE rententions lately? If so did they manage to obtain a discount on contract and handset?
2) Is there a "best time" to call retentions?
3) Do EE care about trying to retain loyal customers anymore? My experience does not seem to indicate this.