Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

mckinless

o2 are offering the same deals to new and existing customers, so does this mean we cant haggle anymore?????

stefano

mckinless wrote: »

o2 are offering the same deals to new and existing customers, so does this mean we cant haggle anymore?????

I think we have reached the bottom of the well

wonderbrawl

I had the Simplicity package with O2 for about a year - SIM card only, no phone, only a 30 day rolling contract and for £15 per month I got 300 x-network minutes, free O2 to O2 calls, and 300 texts. Quite reasonable.

Then I decided to get a contract. I rang up O2 customer service and said that I had been given a better offer from Vodafone who wanted me back as a customer - I said they'd offered 500 minutes, 500 texts and a new Sony Ericsson Elm for £15pm, but if O2 could match that, I'd happily stay with them. I was given an offer that wasn't quite as good, and asked to get put through to the disconnections department - this is where the real power lies.

I mentioned that my girlfriend and I were moving house and were interested in signing up for their broadband service. They were offering 3 months free broadband as standard, but the woman from disconnections offered an additional 3 months free broadband.

So I got 300xnet minutes, unlimited texts, a brand new Sony Ericsson Elm (which is quite nifty), and a total of 6 months free broadband. Excellent stuff.

Roll forward 13 days. Now, when you sign a new contract, you can cancel it if you change your mind within 14 days. This is a very useful bargaining tool. I rang them up and asked for free O2 to O2 calls, mentioning that I'd recently convinced my girlfriend to sign up to O2 so we could get the O2 to O2 calls. The first person I spoke to said that this was not possible, and there was nothing he could do. So I asked to be put through to disconnections, who also said she was powerless to do anything. After some friendly persistance, she said she would speak to her manager, and 2 minutes later she said as a "one off" she would add the free O2 to O2 calls.

So for £15pm I get 300xnet minutes, unlimited texts, free calls to other O2 numbers, a £150 phone, and 6 months free broadband.

My tips are:

- Mention other competitor's offers, and ask if they can match
- Be persistent but always be polite, and make sure the phone operator likes you.
- Mention your friends who are also with the operator, and how this is an advantage.
- Don't forget to mention your loyalty, although make it clear that this is not unwavering.
- After you sign up for a contract, ring back 13 days later and try and get a little more.:j

redram52

I've read a lot here and elsewhere over the last few months since the Tesco 12m deal came out as I'm now just out of contract with vodafone and able to haggle. As advised, nice and friendly, smiles and all the info on screen with the new deals.

I called Tesco first to check everything was still available, nice chap on the other end told me it was still on, I could sign up there and then, phone would be here Monday by courier, pac code would take about 2 days to work after supplying it and I can get double clubcard points aswell. Use those in deals and that reduces the initial cost outlay. I said I'd see if I could get it instore first tomorrow as there wouldn't be anyone in to receive it next week.

Excellent, that's a load of ammo for me.

Vodafone this afternoon couldn't care less. Used the auto prompts to get to disconnections, said I'd like them to do the same deal as Tesco. Lady on the other end said we don't do any 12m anymore, best they'd do is what's advertised at 18/24m. I said it was too expensive and nearly everyone did a better deal on an 18m, I also said I had 2 contract phones with them and a further pay&go. She knew this and had both accounts on the screen and all the info there already. I said I'd be moving then after over more years than I care to remember (15+) and could I have my code. I'll send it to you in a text she said, use it and your account is closed straight away. Best I can do on the other tarrif is £10/m for 100mins and 300texts as a tarrif change, no new phone and a 12m deal! So much for no 12m. 30 day plans were £5 extra. I was on vodas website at the time and said they do a 300m and 3000texts for £10/m. That's online only she said.

No possible attempt was made to "retain" me even with 3 phone tarrifs, umpteen years loyalty and ready to sign up again. Clearly they don't need us so why bother. Stuff 'em!

I'm off to Tesco in the morning for my 16gb 3Gs, pay with my Tesco credit card, and double points on any phone offers. I'm also going to see if the money off Tesco phones deal if you spend a certain amount instore thingie will work to further reduce the initial cost.

Watch this space!

Andy

Of course vodafone may ring me back on bended knee - just after Lucifer goes snowboarding!

flyforfun

Vodafone. In the last month of my 18mth contract. Went in store and checked on line for my upgrade "offers". For the Sony Ericsson X10 I had to go up from my £20 to at least the £25 and pay £250 for the phone!!

Rang up and asked for the PAC code. Was told by operator that they only post them out. Other half had his delivered by text just 2 months prior!

Got a call within 48 hours saying the code was ready and why was I leaving. Told him I'd found a better deal on mobiles.co.uk (?) 16.66 for 300 mins, unlimited text and web AND FREE phone. They matched if for £18.02? pm. I was on an Anytime 125 tarriff that had unused minutes rolling and stop the clock on it (a very "old" tarriff the kept telling me!) and 250 texts. It used to have some very basic internet access package in the old days, but they withdrew it as handsets got better.

I stayed becasue vodafone gets bbc iplayer live over its network. However Android phones, like the X10 need to wait for the next version before the BBC will let it work. There are a few work arounds but it will be good when the real version comes out later.

However, Vodafone have "branded" the software on the phone with its 360 stuff, and you can't do updates direct from sony. _pale_ You have to wait for vodafone to test and approve it (ie tweak it and make it not work!!!).

When I got the phone I wanted to transfer my contacts over (more than the sim card allows). I uploaded them to my pc and Sony Ericsson's cloud service, but Vodaphone had removed the SE link from the phone!!!

There is a Vodafone e forum on their website loaded with people complaining about this. People are "jailbreaking" their phones to get the standard software and updates as released.

I think anyone going for a smart phone needs to be ask what "branding" a phone company puts on their phones. It's all done to make you use their websites and earn them extra money. You can work around them, but most people will just go through the buttons on the phone.

Love the phone by the way! Beats the pants of the Iphone 4g! :T

guitarbloke

My contract expires in 29 days and so yesterday I got a message from T-Mobile telling me I could choose my renewal/upgrade options.

Currently I have the HTC G1 which I've been paying £30 a month for over the last 18months.

I would very much like the HTC Desire, so I contacted T-Mobile yesterday to see what they could do. They offered me the Desire, but for £30 a month AND I would have to pay £30 upfront for the handset! I told them about other networks who coudl provide the handset for free and a cheaper monthly cost (i.e Vodafone), but they hit me back with "£30 is the lowest we can go on that handset, the system doesn't allow us to go below that".

They really seemed determined not to provide any incentive to stay with them! When I asked politely what I'd need to do if I want to transfer to Vodafone to take advantage of their offer, they really didn't seem fussed, the lady just told me to pay my final month's bill upfront and I'd be given a code to transfer.

I called back twice more after this and spoke to different people - both of whom said the exact same thing.

I'd rather not move from T-Mobile as I've not had any probs with them at all, but I'm thinking I'll probably have to now as I could really do with saving a few quid a month.

Kim_D_2

My contract with T Mobile was up, so I went to the shop to see what they could do, but wasn't satisfied. I was on a contract that was costing me £25 a month, admittedly with unlimited internet, but I never used my whole allowance of texts and calls.They told me to ring Customer Services and say that I wanted to leave.
So I did, telling them that I wasn't happy with what I'd been offered, and that my husband was with 3, and they could do me a much better deal.
That seemed to spur them into action! After a bit of haggling, I was offered an HTC Wildfire phone on an 18 month contract, unlimited internet and 300 mins of talk. I also get 300 texts, which I was able to up to unlimited through an unlimited texts flexible booster. And the cost? £12.50 a month - half of what I was paying and I''ve got the exact package I want. Can't be bad!:)

droogie

I think you might be right about O2. I just phoned for my usual end of contract PAC request and haggle and they've just sent me the details to disconnect. :mad: They called my bluff after all this time!

Any ideas on the next tactic, they've sent me a form to fill in to disconnect and receive my PAC code but it's ambigious - I'm not sure if filling it in will disconnect me as well as sending a PAC code (which I could ignore if that's all they did). Are they just not playing any more

I'm looking for an HTC Desire with about 300mins and similar txts and 500mb for as much under the £25 I've seen as I can get (eg Dolphin 25).

Cheers

Heather

Iainn

droogie wrote: »

I think you might be right about O2

Yep, O2 are not budging on anything right now. I called up wanting an HTC Desire and the best they would offer was £40/month or £30/month after paying £100 for the phone (or something in that region). I told her of the T-mobile deal on mobilephonesdirect that is £15/month after paying £119 for the phone (which she looked up while I was on the phone) and she simply said that they couldn't match it and there was nothing she could do. I did the usual "I've been a customer for 6 years" & "I really don't want to leave" but no, not having it. Doesn't really bother me as switching is fairly painless these days but I can't believe they are being so stubborn and not even bothering to try and meet in the middle.

What ace do they have up their sleeve with this kind of blatant disregard for customer loyalty? Or is this the way mobile operators are going to run in the future? It's just no fun at renewal time any more!

bengalknights

the problem now is that networks know that people want and iphone or android and will pay the cost for them so they have no reason to offer deals.The minute people stop buying these and just move to £10-£15 deals will be the time when networks start offering everything plus the kitchen sink