Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

jodt2303

I rang Orange as my contract is up next week, got a Sony Xperia X10 free on 24 month contract with 200 mins, unlimited texts, browsing and email for £15 per month! (don't use many minutes but text like a demon!) :-)

karmachilovething

leesimpkin wrote: »

hi, need help!!!
my orange phone contract (which i have just logged onto to see how long it is til i can upgrade) states that it ends in 22/7/2010, however, i can upgrade from 23/4/2010

my Q is...does this mean i cant haggle?

i really want an i phone

currently on raccoon 20 (whatever that means, im not too sure)

please help

Lee

I'm not sure I agree with Atruefaker, Lee, although it may depend on your circumstances . . .

I've wanted an iPhone since they came out, but I've always been put off by the big outlay at the beginning. I've been with O2 for about 4 years, and haven't upgraded for the last two. I've been on their Simplicity 20 tariff (£20, 400 min, 1200 texts plus free 200 min bolt on).

I called O2 today, and told them I wanted an iPhone but that the Tesco deal was cheaper than their deal advertised on the internet, so what sort of offer could they make me . . .

I ended up with: FREE (although reconditioned) 16G 3GS iPhone; £25 a month for 100 texts, unlimited texts, unlimited web; FREE 200 min bolt on; FREE unlimited weekend calls bolt on. And the O2 person was lovely, which makes the process so much better.

Then as a bonus, they've offered me £7.50 a month broadband with the first 6 months free, to be activated when my current broadband contract ends or not. £30 deposit for the router/wireless, refunded if returned or credited to the account if I take it up.

One very happy bunny :j

Unfortunately I had to lock in for two years, which I know isn't the most MSE way to iPhone, but since I've had my existing phone for 3 years I don't consider that a hardship particularly. I also paid £59.99 to extend the warranty to cover those two years, but that was my choice.

My advice Lee would be to hold out until your contract ends, so that you can threaten to leave - this seems to be the thing to scare them into doing something. Also if you've been with Orange for a while they'll be more keen to keep you (that's how I was offered the cheap broadband)

****jue****

I have been with Orange for years, every year I have negotiated a better contract. Prior to my last renewal I was paying £15 per month and received 700 mins any network at time, 200 texts, one magic number to another orange phone and unlimited free landline calls. I played the same game again about wanting to disconnect, I was amazed how keen they were. I ended up with 1600 any network, any time, unlimited free landlines, unlimited internet access, 500 text messages per month, free broadband & dongle for the home and a top nokia phone, for £19.00 per month and 18 mth contract, very happy customer, cant wait for renewal to see what comes next !

stefano

****jue**** wrote: »

I have been with Orange for years, every year I have negotiated a better contract. Prior to my last renewal I was paying £15 per month and received 700 mins any network at time, 200 texts, one magic number to another orange phone and unlimited free landline calls. I played the same game again about wanting to disconnect, I was amazed how keen they were. I ended up with 1600 any network, any time, unlimited free landlines, unlimited internet access, 500 text messages per month, free broadband & dongle for the home and a top nokia phone, for £19.00 per month and 18 mth contract, very happy customer, cant wait for renewal to see what comes next !

For all intents and purposes, who really needs 1600 minutes and unlimitwed landlines calls.... in the end they are charging you more than you were paying before. If you are going to use all that, then hats off to you...

Future_Freak

Iskan wrote: »

I too got no joy from O2. I wanted a Blackberry 9700 and was due an upgrade and they could not improve on what was offered on their website. Spoke to the cancellations girl who said you either accept the standard upgrade deal or they had no problem with me cancelling.

Same here - just tried to get them to budge on the HTC Desire tariff, to get me onto a lower tariff but get the phone for free (saving 99 quid) - but he kept saying the system couldn't do it - as the phone was so expensive that there was no budget left to manouveure with the tariffs when giving the phone free. I asked for my PAC and he just went into sorting that out for me - so... it's time to see if any other networks want a new customer.

Future_Freak

Tried again this morning in the hope that I would get someone even slightly able to budge on the deal. No hope! I told them the 30 quid a month, 300 mins with the phone costing 49 quid, I could get the same deal on Vodafone and get the phone for free. No movement at all. Granted, I am a low user for calls, only really spend about 15-20 per month, but I pointed out to them that I would be doubling my tariff for the next 2 years - so surely it was worth knocking off 49 quid to keep me as a customer. No budge. I asked: do you still want/value you me as a customer or don't you care that I can go elsewhere - yes, we value you, blah blah. So why are you not moving on giving me the phone for free - it's only costing you 49 quid to keep me.

I went across the road to vodafone, got the free phone for 30 a month and because I have an internet dongle with them already (therefore an existing customer) they, without asking, knocked off a fiver a month from the tariff. O2 - you can go swivel....idiots!

ryngo

I'm a long time o2 customer, 5 or 6 years and my contracts up next week.

My current contract is a discounted Online35 18month contract. Been paying
£21pm for 600min, unltd texts & free Sony Ericcsson C902.

This time round I really wanted an iPhone. Phoned up o2 this morning and got offered a free refurb iPhone 3GS with 300mins, unltd texts, unltd data for £33pm/18mnth or £28pm/24mnth.

Wasn't completely happy with that and rang back a bit later. Managed to get the same deal with 500 mins rather than 300. Tried my hardest to get the price down but they weren't having it. So I took the 18mnth/£33pm contract.

A friend of mine got a similar deal with o2 about a month or two ago. She got a refurb 3G phone rather than a 3GS though but is paying £28pm over 18months with the same package.

yaddayadda

Have been with Orange for another year (been a customer on and off for years) and they couldn't get anywhere near a T-Mobile deal I'd found for the Desire.

Oh well...

n.wharton2010

signed up for a monthly contract with o2 in march after years of being on pay & go, she advised me that th £24.00 loyalty money from the credit top-ups on pay & go would be taken over and off my second bill on the monthly contract, rang up after having the second bill and the women on the phone didnt have a clue what i was talking about, had a really bad attitude the customer service was terrible so i emailed a complaint, to recieve a letter through the post literally just saying that there is nothing they can do about it. i rang back up again yestdarday at 9.30am 17/5/10 to be explained everything about the bill and told that a manager/team leader would ring me back that day, 6pm i rang back to be told there open until 10pm and she would ring me back, still no phone call. i rang up again this morning to be told definatly at 12am, again still no phone call so i rang back 12.45pm and a customer service advisor put the phone down on me so i rang back again to be told the team leader wont do anything except appoligise, which is terrible after all that and i am still waiting for the manager/team leader to call me back. everytime something is mentioned about the customer service it seems to get worse!

ABalisong

Told them I was going to cancel my contract and pay off the remaining 5 months ( I didn’t even have the money to do this but I bluffed ). They put me through to the dept dealing with customers leaving, asked me why I wanted to leave. Said Orange is doing £15 all texts all internet free, didn’t kno about the minutes. The end results was they are going to reduce my monthly charge to £20, send me an HTC Desire (top of the line phone) and I get insurance included for an extra £5. So I Have a new handset coming tomorrow, a £10 reduction in the my monthly bill and I have insurance now to cover me the handset. The contract is 24 months but that is from now, so basically my contract would have ended in 5 months, I’m saving straight away and the I have a normal 18 month contract from the point it would have finished. Only point to note is originally they said they could only offer me the HTC HD2, not as good and I had asked for the desire but they said I couldn’t get it for that price. However they were out of stock of the HD2 so she upgraded me free and I get the desire. If you sold this handset on ebay unboxed ud get 300-400 pounds for it. WIN WIN WIN!