Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

gbarlow

I wonder if some one might be able to provide me with some advice. My contract with T-Mobile is coming to it's end. I am currently on the Flex 35 package and i get it for £25 including VAT. I want a new phone - the LG Viewty Smart and would like to reduce the tariff if possible as well. Is this a reasonable request?
Also, does anyone know where i might be able to get the best deals for the HTC Touch Diamond 2 with a similar tariff to what i pay now for approx. 400 mins minimum and 200 texts?
Thanks Guys

Aboswell

Both via the retentions team......

I get 400 anytime/anynetwork minutes, 500 Texts, and 500mb or internet usage for £14 a month, 18 month contract started in Jan-09 and they gave me a free C902 which i sold on Fleabay for £150

My other half gets unlimited mins and 100 Texts for £8 a month, 18 month contract started in May-09, included a free 6300 classic.

Orange are soft!

Kai

Aboswell wrote: »

Both via the retentions team......

I get 400 anytime/anynetwork minutes, 500 Texts, and 500mb or internet usage for £14 a month, 18 month contract started in Jan-09 and they gave me a free C902 which i sold on Fleabay for £150

My other half gets unlimited mins and 100 Texts for £8 a month, 18 month contract started in May-09, included a free 6300 classic.

Orange are soft!

Wait.. so you negotiated midway through a contract? and are you sure about the second deal? Unlimited minutes for only £8 per month? What did you say to get that kind of deal?!

billdewar

Hi all

I just renegotiated my vodafone deal, it was at about £60 per month, for 1200 mins unlimited texts and no internet/email allowance (includes £7.50 for friends & family). This was on a silly 18 month contract (ie phone is knackered by the time 18 months drags by!) I am now going to get, on a 12 month contract, 1200 minutes, unlimited email & texts, vodafone passport, AND unlimited landline calls, and I am getting a super cool Sony Ericcson Xperia X1 smartphone for £40 a month! I think this is really good value. The person I spoke to told me to quote this code YEK2PVA45.

Happy talking!

Bill

Falcon878

I've posted this on the Orange Rentions forum as well, but thought it might fit well here as an eye opener for anyone updgrading on any network.

I've been on the phone to retentions twice todayy - the first time I did the "I want an iPhone routine" (except I really do!). The operator was trying to wow me with an HTC Hero which I already love, however her package was terrible. I turned it down and I said I would keep looking. After scouring the Orange website it appears she was basically offering me the same as they offer new customers, less a couple of pounds.

I've just come off the phone again and went straight in with a PAC code request. This operator tried a lot harder but they cannot match the TMobile HTC Hero package of:

800 mins, unlimited txts, unlimited internet (I know it's not!), free HTC Hero, 18 month contract - £36.50

The best she could do was:
1200mins, unlimited texts, unlimited internet, free HTC Hero, 24 month contact, £34.21
OR
Similar 18 month contracts - £45 a month free HTC Hero, £35 a month and pay about £77 for the phone.

Shocking! I thought they'd at least be able to match T-Mobile even if I was a new customer. For an existing customer with an average £44 a month spend over the last 18 months I would have expected more.

I requested my PAC code and I'm seriously considering using it. Orange have been great for the time I've been with them but it's a shame to see that they're clearly not competitive anymore.

I dont' know if it's any help or means anything to anyone (if it does let me know!) but apparently I am an IC3 when it comes to upgrade options?

targaid

After being with 02 from the early days when they were with Cellnet, I got fed-up with being constantly being short-changed on the offers they made me to keep my custom. They finally offered to match my new deal with 3 a week after I'd signed the new contract. However, 3 are terrible. I knew they piggy-backed their network on O2, but didn't know that this meant 3's traffic being restricted at busy times. So I've had more dropped calls, failed text-sending and the worst call quality I've ever had. They tend to offer some of the best deals around, but you lose in quality of service what you gain in savings.

However, since I was on a life-time deal and my phone is in poor shape I thought i'd see if i could improve my contract with them. when I threatened to move to another network they simply sent my PAC code. No argument, no forwarding to another department and absolutley no negotiation.

CaptainB_2

got o2 to give me a blackberry bold 9000 for £20 for 600mins 1000 texts and unlimited interent also unlimited o2 to o2 calls. BARGAIN. Although I had to pay £50 for the phone. I was up for renewal and told them vodaphone was offerieng me the same (600 mins unlimited texts and internet for £25) the retentions guy gave it to me cheaper and with all the stuff I wanted (more mins than texts) all in all its saving me £25 quid a month if i were a new customer.

glitterjunkie

I am SO disappointed with Orange! Been a customer of them for 7 years, first on pay as you go and then on contract for the last 5 years. My contract's coming to an end next month so I phoned up this morning and told them I was thinking of leaving, as I'd found some good deals with other companies. I don't really want to leave - I just hoped they'd offer me a good deal to renew. The man on the phone just said 'okay that's fine, your disconnection date is XXX and we'll send you a letter confirming it in the post. Thanks, bye!'. And that was that!

I must have paid them hundreds of pounds over the last few years and I can't believe they didn't even try and keep me - they have made me feel like the most UNvalued customer ever Really really annoyed actually, as it will be a real hassle to change providers and numbers etc - but what else can I do?

If I phone up and tell them I don't really want to move after all, will that blow all my chances of getting any good deals?

lucylockettx

If you don't get a good deal with the first guy wait a few days and call again. You SHOULD get someone different.

Tell them how he made you feel. If they don't offer you much ask them to store the info on thier computer and you'll have a think about it. I'd never agree right there and then.

My Orange plan is now costing me £15 a month including VAT for 1000 minutes, unlimited text and free data, not bad hey?

Good luck!

liyvdj

Last year, I had already switched from 02 to vodafone (to get a new phone as a gift) and simply kept both contracts running for a few months until the old 02 contract was up. When I phoned 02 they of course wanted to keep me on. But I did not want to - I explained I already had an 18 month vodafone contract and did not need 2 phone contracts! The guy was suprised and desparate - he threw everything at me - my line rental was £25 pm. So he instantly credited my account with £450 (i.e. 18 months free line rental), upgraded the minutes and texts and threw in free 02 broadband at my home for 2 years! With this, of course, I kept the old sim... (indeed I later lent it to my girlfriend, as it was just sat in the draw). And so she got the mins and texts and I still have the free broadband today.

Saying that you already have a contract elsewhere and really do not want to keep the old contract clearly worked in this instance.