Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

mart007

Yes my contract ends in two weeks.

Yes I have asked for my PAC code as part of the letter and asked for it when I was on the phone with them. I was told I would need to put it in writing if I wanted it.

Todays deal on the vodafone website for the same amount of money I'm paying is now, is up to 750 min and unlimited texts plus the F490 for free.

Timbolla

Good idea for those who need a lot of minutes only -long post
T-mobile have been receiving my money for the last 18 months, but when they wanted £120 upgrade costs and £70 per month and didn't budge no matter how hard I tried I have decided to move to O2.
The contract I have just signed up to was on O2 business contract I have the XDA Stellar for me and a Samsung G600 for the wife (company secretary). This would have set me back £145 on O2 website, but with a bit of dealing I got both for £65 in an O2 shop. Note this was a franchise not O2 owned so a bit more leaway in the phone prices just look for the sign on the wall inside that says it is a franchise.
The contract is 500mins and 50 txts shared and the cost works out
£35 per month my phone
£15 per month for 2nd phone
£50 total less 20% discount for signing a 2 year contract which equals £40
£40 add VAT at 17.5% (business contracts have no VAT added when they quote the price)
Add data bolt on for XDA at £7.50 per month
Total contract £54.50 / month

This may seem expensive for 2 phones contract, but we get Unlimited O2 to O2 calls, Unlimited Landline calls to 10 numbers, Unlimited calls to voicemail and extra 200mins and 400txts which gives me 700mins (for those who aren't on O2 and not in my 10 landline bundle) and 450 txts .

With this I definitely won't be using my landline much except for those 0800 and the rare 0845 calls. Oh yes one thing I forgot as a business customer I get to change my phone every 12 months even though I am on a 24 month contract.:cool:

This will definitely work out a good deal for those out there who run a business or who are a contractor with their own limited company, but O2 may allow this for Joe Public as well, you just need to try and persuade those in the shop that you are a business / sole trader. They do cheaper business tariffs and will give free phones if you don't want one like the all singing and dancing one I have.

For those who think ahead if you go into the shop they have a trade in of £30 per new contract phone, but the phones have to be with you at the time. As I didn't have any have any old phones I went into Asda bought two £9 phones and then traded them in. Outlay £18 money back £60 so I am £42 in profit.:j Anybody want two spare chargers?

One note for businesses HMRC will allow personal calls on business phones and not count them as a benefit in kind, so my business phone is a tax deductable expense with free personal calls :beer: .

phebe3

Just got an O2 contract for 18 months, £5 a month for 500 texts and 500 minutes. Customer loyalty rocks! (though I was quite prepared to change companies if need be...I am total tart like that!)

Been with O2/Carphone Warehouse for 3 years or so on various chequeback contracts and never had any trouble whatsoever claiming back money. Theres no limited period to claim back and they even text e when they have received cheque back claim and when they send it off to me.

HOWEVER...its not as good as my last years contract which was NIL...yes that's ZILCH..a month after cheque back...for 200 texts and 500 minutes! Think they made a mistake with that one?!

Admittedly I didn't have a new mobile with my contract, but then my old one is a good one and still works fine and I don't need to have a new mobile every year. Would be nice...but not at the expense of my pocket..I'd rather spend my money on other things!

gundo

Vodafone 225mins/100txts plus "stop the clock" £10 monthly for 12mths NO new phone.

I've been on 4 different 12mth cashback contracts in the past 4 years but the scare stories about cashback schemes have put me off this year and none of the "big players" like BT/CPW/Phones4U seem to offer them now (mine have been BT, followed by CPW, then CPW again and finally Phones4U). So this time rather than cancel and get yet another new number and yet another new network and new phone I decided to haggle.

I never used up all my minutes and I hardly text so I hope the tariff will be suitable. It's not as fantastic a deal as I've seen some others on this site manage to get but I'm pleased to be rid of the worry of forgetting to send redemption forms in and watching £40 a month disappear from my bank account..

christopher

I renegotiated in March for a new deal after ringing up first at the end of February and unfortunately getting a bloke in retentions who clearly was fed up and wanted to go home - aggressive and almost immediately asked if I'd like a PAC code. Gave it a month, rang back and (fortuitously!) got a really nice woman. Haggled for about half an hour and she wouldn't budge until I explained my reasons for wanting to stay but needing just that little bit more incentive - ended up with an upgrade to Flext 30 and £12 discount in total (important to note though that this is including the £5 discount everybody gets when they sign up for a Flext tariff as a new customer, so in reality it was £7 discount). Even so, I still think it was a good deal considering the state of the market and the fact that most mobile ops don't seem to be dead keen on keeping their churn down. It was a far better offer than I was ever offered by O2 (which is why I migrated from them in the first place).

Unfortunately they wouldn't like-for-like their SIM-only deals, because otherwise I would've gone for one of those (they wouldn't add in Web 'n Walk for free even though I referenced O2's free web bolt-on quite a few times) - but in the end, the 18 month contract isn't too bad considering the price is slightly lower.

I also received an upgrade to Web 'n Walk Plus, which is due to become active on my next billing cycle - that was due to unrelated matters however (but it was the complaint to customer relations which finally resulted in a call from someone in CR who made me the offer - and I couldn't refuse!)


Now, I might be stating the blindingly obvious here, but I think the tip as always is to treat the CSR as someone you're speaking to face to face, and be cheerful and understanding. Some cajoling will go a long way but being metered in your requests and not making them sound like all-out demands can go a long way. A bit of give and take and a little gentle 'persuasion' as to why it'd make sense for them to reward your continued loyalty, explaining how (if like me you were happy with your handset) the network would be making a higher overall profit due to them not subsidising a new phone... All those things can help provided you don't over-egg the pudding.

Being appreciative of their efforts is always a solid recommendation too. If you got a good deal, and were treated well over the phone, that service should be rewarded. The first thing I did in my email to Customer Relations was pass on my thanks and appreciation of the CSRs who dealt with my renewals and other queries I had - naming them also so they could receive the appropriate pat on the back (or maybe even a bonus!) Credit where credit is due, and I think if the rep at the company you're a customer of can see that you're a good customer to deal with, they'll be more inclined to offer you a better service in future dealings with you. And it's not like a compliment costs anything, is it?

I emphasise this because in my own past, I've worked in the retail sector as a frontline representative and it's a bloody grueling, thankless task. The rare few times I was thanked for doing something it definitely made my day.

Anyway, that's my recent experience - hope it comes in useful for some people. Martin's tips are very useful, but as always you must take them with a pinch of salt and gauge the situation as it happens (because no two people are the same to deal with). Don't be afraid to cut and run if a crap deal is offered the first time, I did just that and received a much better person (and a better deal) on my second attempt. I know people who have rung up at least 7 or 8 times! Of course there's going to be a healthy dollop of chance involved, but I guess the key is to be gentle, affable and cordial but persistent - I was on the phone the second time for a good half an hour receiving the same responses ("that's as much as I can offer you") until she either was given the thumbs-up from someone listening in or I ticked the right boxes for her, and that little bit of extra loyalty discount - although it was only a couple of quid - made all the difference for me. As a university student the finances are always tight, so it was a result - but the absolutely sterling customer support I received on several occasions entirely justified my staying with T-Mobile as opposed to just flitting back to O2.

In fact in retrospect, I think I would've had buyer's remorse had I cut all ties with the network I'd spent the past year and a half with! There's a lot to be said for developing a long-term relationship with a company if they've proved to be good at after-sales, and I'm appreciating companies who offer a slightly more personal touch more and more these days.

Khimaros

Follow advice on this website I've saved a total of £470 over 30 months.

Last year I got the Sony K800i with 750 minutes 100 texts @ £17.50 for 9 months, £35 for 3 months and £60 credit to my account. Saving £217.50

Today I got the Sony K850i with 750 minutes, 200 texts, 50 minutes video and £5 of online content a month for £21 and £10 credit to my account over 18 months. Saving = £252.50

My advice is to be polite, find the phone you want, find the best tarriff online and get them to match it. If the phone has an rare colour or online deals mention free memory cards or a hands free kit, wait until the end of the conversation and ask for these too. Odds are the won't have them and you can use this as a further bargaining tool, it's worked 2 years running for me and has saved me an extra £70!

p.s. Three's customer service is excellent and they have always tried really hard to give me exactly what i want. I've been with them since 2005.

squeezi

Thank you Martin

I knew my 18mth contract with O2 was up and so I called to check my status. I had been paying £25 a month for 200 mins / 500 texts but regularly going over my minutes and often paying £50 a month.

I was offered £30 a month for 400 mins / 1000 texts and a new handset for another 18mth contract.

I told the nice lady I was happy to keep my handset and she volunteered £20 a month for 400 mins / 1000 texts on a 30 day rolling contract that I could upgrade anytime I wanted. Plus unlimited O2 to O2 calls for free.
I took it!
If I had not read your website and blindly kept on with my old contract I could have ended up paying over £500 more than necessary over the next 18months!

Thank you!:rotfl: :T

uncle_monty_2

Just renegotiated with O2 for:

Nokia N95 8GB
600 mins
1000 texts
Unlimited data

Which was good, but decided to hang back. Called back a few days later and said that 'a friend' had been offered the equivalent deal, but with other incentives. Within 30 seconds they had offered me a year's free home broadband too!

That's the whole lot at £20 a month for 18 months, with the option to renegotiate anytime within the final three months of contract. What a superb service. I signed on the spot, and the phone was on my desk within 12 hours.

nalyo

ADVICE...........DONT ALL CALL TODAY FOR RETENTIONS.......they will twig on and remember on the other end of the phone are normal people and they are less likely to give you a good deal if they have 1000 mse's haggling all in one day!!! (:

Chuffy

Been trying to get somewhere with Three a little while now - they are useless when it comes to retention.
They will only offer what you can as a new customer, and even suggest the current offer for £7 off the mix-and-match 1100 is a bonus just for you. No chance of a 12 month contract either.
I'm off to O2 (via Dialaphone) on a 12 month plan as they seem the best for price plans and retentions at the mo (used to rate Voda but they've dropped the ball of late).