Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

babyuk30

hi, oh my god! o2 are so helpfull, after not getting very far with the first person i spoke to, they put my through to (someone who can help you get better deals) i just explained that the phone, and package deal i wanted,and i could get with an other company for £25 a month and the phone is free , the one that i wanted 02 was going to charge me £89! i said i wasn't going to pay for the phone. so she gave me the phone i wanted free, 600 minutes, 1000 text and UNLIMITED broadband on my phone, all for £20 a month. i am very pleased with this new deal. and i didn't even have to push for it, all i can say to people, have a go i'm not that pushy but with martins words ringing in my ears i got what i wanted......


thanx martin xx :money: :rotfl:

iandv

Do Orange take into account your monthly spending with them before they decide which deals to offer you?

My 18 month contract with Orange is up and contacted them (cancellations dept - and said I was going pay as you go) to see if they could match my brothers deal which he had from the Orange cancellations dept last week.

My brothers monthly bills were around £40 per month where as mine are around £25. On his deal he got a new Samsung Soul phone for free, and the Dolphin 35 deal (600 mins and unlimited texts) with a £15 discount per month but tied into another 18 month contract. So in total with his insurance was £21 per month.

When I asked for this deal I was told I was not spending enough and the system would not allow them to match the deal?

Is this correct or a they just fobbing me off?

FYI - I was offered a Samsung Soul phone for free, and 350 mins and 250 texts for £25 with free insurance on a new 18 month contract.

Tripledrop

I have just called Orange to upgrade. I have been with them for 10 years, and always been on the top band (although they now say they have got rid of the bands). I am out of my 12 month contract by a couple of months, and currently pay £25 per month for 500 any-time, any-network mins (they matched an old '3' tarrif years ago). I pay an extra £5 for 100 texts, and my bills normally hit just under £45 per month.

The only phone I want is the N95 8Gb (as the N96 shows no sign of release!). I went in armed with Martins T-Mobile tip (£30, 1400 mins, unlimited texts, no contract).

The best they could offer me was 600 mins per month, free n95 8gb, plus unlimited texts, on an 18 month contract. I said I only wanted 12 months, and they said best was free phone but on my current tarrif. I was very nice to the guy, but he seemed very happy to get me my PAK code, and not negotiate.

Any ideas on my next move?

cha_ching81

I managed to talk vodafone into reducing my £30 tariff to £12 with some hard negotiation. It took about 45 mins but was well worth it. My contract was due to end and I said that I had no real need for a contract phone any more. I managed to get an upgrade with this also. Be cheeky and stubborn, if you have the right person talking to you it can really work. Chutzpah is the way forward :-)

bunsmum

I had a contract with CPW/02. On 16th May I was able to look around.

I called them and eventually haggled to:

new samsung tocco (F480)
500mins
1000 texts
unlimited internet

for £30 a month with £150 cash back, this makes it around £22 a month, a great deal.

As others have said, make sure you have enough time to make a long call, paper to take a note and preferably are sitting in front of a pc at the time so that you can check things on the net. Also don't be scared to say something isn't what you want, or to go off and think, there's no rush to decide. I'm really pleased with my result.

Cheers Martin!

bargainhunt1983

I've been with O2 for the past 8 years and they deserve my custom!

I was with them when they originally switched from Genie to O2 and the service I received was appalling- I wrote a 5+ page letter to the Chairman complaining about the ridiculous 50p/min customer service line, being overcharged and not receving my handset on time etc. But they've improved everything nowadays!

Anyway, I was on a £15 a month contract with 500 texts and 500 off peak mins. This has continued until last year, then I was due for renewal this month and thought I'd go for broke. I rang 'retentions' and told them Orange had offered me an amazing deal and I was going to leave- I didn't even bother to haggle- this way they knew I was serious. When they asked me why I was leaving, I just said, I got such a good deal, you guys couldn't possibly match it.

In a nutshell, the guy offered me the best deal he could. I explicitly said I didn't not want to leave £15/month so what was the best he could do at that price. He gave me an offer and I told him I'd have to go away and think about it I looked around and realised the deal he offered me was above and beyond what anyone else could do!

I then rang back and asked to speak to him specifically (they get paid commission, so I figured if he put in the work for me, then he should get paid for it. He seemed very appreciative when I told him I wanted him to get commission).

So, the deal I got was an 18 month contract with:

• 2000 free texts
• Unlimited O2 to O2 calls
• 400 Anytime mins to any network (plus an extra 20 mins as an O2 treat)
• And £150 cashback!!!!
• ALL FOR £15 A MONTH!!! (with the cashback- this virtually pays for my contract! :T )

For me, I knew I was going to stay with O2 no matter what- even on my old contract, I limited my usage so I wouldn't pay much more that £15, so an 18 or even 24 month contract didn't phase me (and that actually gave me more power, as they can offer more with a longer contract!).

I didn't want a handset which meant I could get more money back.

Know your market and what types of deals are out there- this will give you more bargaining knowledge and you can pounce when you know you're getting a good deal. DO NOT BOTHER GOING THROUGH THEIR UPGRADES DEPT- they either don't have the power or they can't be bothered- as I've only had unhelpfulness from this dept!

I'm sooo happy with this deal as I know there's no way I could possibly go over the usage- the texts are more than enough and with the unlimited O2 mins it covers my 400 to other networks. And it's virtually paid for with the money back!!!!

I LOVE O2!!!! If you know how to talk to them and 'work' them, they offer great deals and their customer service is amazing! So is their reception!!!

Rock on good customer service!

Good luck to all who are renewing!! :rotfl:
(And let me know if you need help!

j_m_2

cha_ching81 wrote: »

I managed to talk vodafone into reducing my £30 tariff to £12 with some hard negotiation. It took about 45 mins but was well worth it. My contract was due to end and I said that I had no real need for a contract phone any more. I managed to get an upgrade with this also. Be cheeky and stubborn, if you have the right person talking to you it can really work. Chutzpah is the way forward :-)

Wow. How many minutes/texts are you getting for that? What about stop the clock?

Ellen44

Hi

Had to share this, as thought it was pretty good, please let me know waht you think.

My 3 contract comes up for renewal on 25th July, and at the moment I have a Nokia N80 (awful phone, literally freezes for 2minutes, before I can use it again), but i think the contract is quite good. £17.50 1000texts 300mins.Plus the last 6 months have been free as they mucked my contract up, bargain!

I use on average about 200mins and 400texts and there is a t-mobile contract for exactly that for £20. But obviously on limited phones. There is also a 2000texts and 1000 mins for £22.50. And also tempted by the Dolphin 15 but only 100 mins with unlimited texts, and thought that I would go over the mins allowance.

I rang up and spoke to retentions who wasn't having any of it,even though I had done my research, and was giving me the same deals as any new customer would get. He said ring back when I know what phone I want, as though I was wasting his time! (rude I thought)..

Anyway, had looked at the phone I wanted in a store,Sony Ericcsson C902i, brand new out and supposed to be really good. So I rang back and went straight in and said "I know I won't be able to get it, but I would love to, whats the best you can do?". So for new customers they do 500mins unlimited texts for £25 18month contract, but have to pay £99 for phone.

I didn't want to pay more than £20 and probably have got more minutes than I needed. But finally got 500mins, unlimited texts, free C902i, 18months(didn't want but cant be 2 choosey!). All for £22 a month, it comes on monday. I saw another thread on here where they got the same for £20 but a nokia 6500 slide, thought that was really good but then the sony ericcson has only just come out and the guy on the phone hasn't even seen it! :j

I think that is pretty good myself, considering its my first haggling challenge.

Ellen

topcorner0

Hey all, I hope I've posted this in the right area...

I'm in month 16 of an 18-month flext35 contract with t-mobile. When I renewed my contract all that time ago I was given a big discount, from £25.99 down to £12.50, plus upgrade. I thought that was too good to be true so I phoned up to confirm and by (I think) an admin error, I was given a further discount. My monthly bill is only £7. What a stroke of luck!

This price and package suits me perfectly. I'm totally happy.

I'm about to renew my contract. Really I just want a phone upgrade - should I push my luck and ask for a better price per month too or should I be happy with my good fortune at £7 per month?

Thanks in advance...

sicull

Hi Topcorner,

That's a great deal. I'm with t-mobile too and actually on the same tariff (month 17 of 18) paying £18 (and I thought I got a good deal).

In response to your question, you will probably need to renew as the ludicrous discounts you have are likely to expire at the same time as your contract. As soon as you hit month 19 it'll probably shoot up to £35. I got stung on this the last time I forgot to renew. I lost my additional minutes and my loyalty discounts and so I my bills tripled until I got around to sorting it out.

You might be lucky. If you can stay at £7 then I reckon you should pat yourself on the back and be happy with that. you could cross your fingers and let it roll over and hope that the admin 'error' continues but keep a close eye on it and be ready to make that phone call as soon as you receive bill 19 (or even before if you check your current month online).

I'll be renewing this month so I'll post what I manage to squeeze out of them. You've set the standard pretty high, though.