Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

jankes11

My contract was for £9.60, with unlimited calls and texts plus 40GB of data, doubled through VOLT.
The new contract I was offered on the website was £15.99 for the first year and £20 for the second year, for the exact same package.

I contacted O2, and they offered me a 2-year contract for £20.
I said that must be a joke and that we should either start respecting each other and have a serious conversation or just not waste each other’s time.

The result: £8 for unlimited calls and texts, 35GB of data doubled with VOLT, with a price increase to £10.50 from April 2026 and then £13 from April 2027.

realbread9

Haggling does work. My contract would have risen to £15.50 in April 26 and I’ve just got same deal via their virtual assistant chat for £6 a month till April 26 rising by £2.50 each of the 2 next 2 Aprils. So it will be £11 by April 26. Plus I’ve got the next 2 months free. I’ve stuck with O2 as I use Airtime and I’ve had over £200 off my bills using this app over 2 years. However, getting to this new deal was painful. Had to firstly swap to a ESIM then was swapped to a new number and then had to go back on line for them to return me to my old number. More than 3 hours off and off to do all this. I’m retired so I have the time. Others may not. Airtime support other providers but only the more expensive ones. I’ve checked overall using Airtime and this new deal works for me. As I’m also a virgin media customer I’m getting unlimited texts and uk calls plus 6GB and EU roaming. In a nutshell if you want to stay with O2 for specific reasons haggling is worth trying. Be aware that a straight forward move to another provider (like my son) may be easier.

brighto26

jankes11 said:

The result: £8 for unlimited calls and texts, 35GB of data doubled with VOLT, with a price increase to £10.50 from April 2026 and then £13 from April 2027.

Are you sure you retained VOLT benefits?

After 50mins on the phone, thinking I had secured the £8 35GB data deal I was informed that as it will be a new contract it will not retain VOLT benefits.  If I wanted them, then it would start at £13....

I questioned this, as still using both services, but they insisted it was the "best they could do"....

Please be sure to check

jo_key

brighto26 said:

jankes11 said:

The result: £8 for unlimited calls and texts, 35GB of data doubled with VOLT, with a price increase to £10.50 from April 2026 and then £13 from April 2027.

Are you sure you retained VOLT benefits?

After 50mins on the phone, thinking I had secured the £8 35GB data deal I was informed that as it will be a new contract it will not retain VOLT benefits.  If I wanted them, then it would start at £13....

I questioned this, as still using both services, but they insisted it was the "best they could do"....

Please be sure to check

Yes, I haggled and there wasn't even a question of NOT keeping VOLT benefits.  I now have 45GB data doubled to 90GB for £10/m.  The contract renewal offer on the app was £15.99 for 10GB (20GB).  I didn't accept their first offer over the phone, saying I was sure they could do better and quoting another provide - then he logged an 'official complaint' to be able to offer me a better deal and came back with 45GB for £10!

WCRM

My Airtime plan was £26 per month 125 GB and unlimited calls/texts (who even texts anymore?). And I got it down to £11 per month... just like that!

Just off the phone with O2, after 30 mins in the queue. Spoke a really nice call handler. I explained I wanted to terminate my contract due to price increase. They offered me all the things I need to shift to a new provider. I asked if there were any deals which are comparable to what I have been offered elsewhere and managed to reduce my Airtime plan by 60%- just like that. The handler mentioned that new deals are being released tomorrow (1st Nov 2025) due to so many people leaving O2 in the last few weeks since the increase was announced. 

JustGettingBy27

Just to balance out some of the positive reviews - I called O2  on the 4th of november to cancel and get my phone number code - but was open to staying for the right price and phone (I needed a new phone due to old one being broken and wanted a galaxy s25 ultra) - the best they could offer was £50 a month with a £10 phone cost - more expensive than £44 a month a deal on the comparinson tool here - it seemed close being £155 more but the monthly price increase adds about £75 to any 2 year contract right now, so saved £230 cancelling and grabbing a new deal.

Greevyk

I was entitled to end my O2 contract early because of the price changes. I decided to speak to O2 after sourcing a third party O2 deal of £6.99 for 12gb data and unlimited calls/texts as I was keen to stay with O2 and wanted to save the hassle of cancelling then going elsewhere. Managed to get an £8 per month deal with 35gb data on 24 month contract without much haggling at all! 

AudreyForbesHamilton

I'm on a SIM only contract (out of contract) and spent ages this morning via the Chat App (half an hour to connect to a human being).  The monthly price was reduced by 45% for a 24 month contract with better data allowance.  When I asked (it was not offered) there is the annual £2.50 increase from April.  I was then offered a 12 month contract for a higher price but again this is subject to the £2.50 increase.  They would not budge on this and kept extolling the extra benefits of O2 (which are of no value to me).  I think it is ridiculous that you sign up to a 12 month contract and get a 31% increase after 5 months so I shall be taking my business to Giffgaff probably as they seem to be offering no price increases on a contract deal.

laura31

Well I’m amazed at my success! I only took out a new contract with O2 in August, £31 for iPhone 16. After receiving the moneysavingexpert email I thought I’d see if I could cancel it, highly doubting I’d be able to. I asked o2 the question as to whether I had a device plan but it turns out I only had an airtime plan and could therefore cancel! Instead of cancelling I switched to a sim only contract for £8 per month. This saves me around £450 over the next 2 years!

mvk0016

Last July I tried to lower my O2 tariff but with no success. I tried again now, after I received the email about the £2.50 increase in April 2026, and I was a bit more successful, went from:

£9.44 per month (SIM only, currently out of contract) for 4 GB (unlimited calls & SMS) to 

£8 per month (24 month SIM only contract) for 35 GB (unlimited calls & SMS)

I really don't need more than 4 GB, as I don't use it, but they refused to budge, and said they can't offer me the £6.99 per month (12 GB) offer from the Moneysavingexpert price comparison, as this is only for new customers.

When I asked if I could cancel my current account and sign up for this offer as a new customer, they said that I would lose my number, as PAC codes are only for when you're changing to another mobile phone provider, and not when you're staying with the same one.

As per previous forum posters, they never mentioned if the price would go up in April, I had to ask about it (and yes, of course it goes up by £2.50).