Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

stefano

Plus O2 must be getting close to having the largest share of the market, and did so by undercutting their rivals

lozzaman

I took out my HTC Desire with T-Mobile directly back before Easter. £15/mo for 300 minutes, 300 texts, 3GB internet + Flexible booster (I went for unlimited texts)
OK, so it's 24 month contract and I did have to pay around £100 for the phone, but considering how good the phone is that's still not a bad deal at all.

If you can get a better deal elsewhere, then leave o2. Their simplicity deals are competitive, their normal tarrifs are not in my opinion.

stefano

You know, I started of with O2, then went down the well trodden route of I will leave...., eventually left as Virgin did a more competitive deal, but their reception was pants, I work in Mayfair, Central London, and in a ground floor room of a building I could not get a signal (I believe Virgin uses T-Mobile network). I eventually moved onto Vodafone and although I got a 18 month contract, the reception is excellent, including basements.

bubblegum3

Hi, thought id share this successful haggle with vodafone. contract was due for renewal,didnt get much joy from the sales team so requested my pac code. started to research best deal for blackberry bold when i get a phone call from voda, asking me if i wanted to leave or was i happy to stay if we could do a deal!(i had been a customer for 10yrs)!! i managed to get blackberry bold 9700 with 600mins xnetwork anytime, unlimited txts and unlimited internet for £20 per month! unfortunatly its a 24mth contract but if i sold the phone at current price i could pay off the contract, so not outa pocket really?! prior to this haggle i had a sim only with 600 mins, 500 txts with stop the clock, for £17.50 on a 18mth contract so the upgrade suited me. good or bad deal???:j

bubblegum3

hi, how awful that they have treated you this way. Every phone call is recorded and the conversation is worded on computer so i dont see how they can wriggle outa the reward they offered you? you should see if there is a complaints service or omnibus man that could help?

bubblegum3

yeh you could give it a go, but customer services dont have as much power as the team that receives your request for you PAC code! im a voda customer too and i had a sim only for 17.50 per mth with 600mins n 500txt n stop the clock, i noticed way better deals else where so was prepared to leave. got a call from them and managed to get blackberry bold 9700, 600mins anytime anyone, unlimited txts an unlim internet for £20 on 24mth contract. its the deal i wanted!

alistair908908

Hi all,

OK, so mobiles are part of our everyday lives, but the cost need not be as high as it is.

Negotiating with your network provider when due an upgrade IS paramount but so is having the information YOU need to get a better deal.
The network knows how many minutes and text's you use BUT do YOU?
Keep an eye on what you use and add another 10% on top.

Im on 200 mins, and 200 sms and pay £35pcm, I use 150 mins and about 100 sms, I wanted an Iphone (expensive) so researched handsets and chose the HTC Legend, does the same as the Iphone but without the costs. I called my network and got the HTC Legend on 300 mins, unlimited sms plus unlimited Internet for £25pcm over two years.
TWO Years you cry, well this is the trick, yes handsets are more expensive than they were a year ago (they do much more) and on a two year contract you can upgrade at month 22, so 2 years becomes 22 months, I plan on upgrading at month 18 (as per usual) so will call the network at month 18 and find out how much my early settlement figure is (the remaining time left on the contract). I will then visit a mobile shop to find the handset and tariff that I need at that point in time, then ask for a cash back offer which will cover the early settlement figure. I then sign the new contract in the shop, leave with the new handset, call my existing network, pay off the settlement figure (using the cash from the cash-back offer) and port (transfer my number). Then I sell my current handset on and again Im quids in, and again ive not been stung with a two year contract!!
All of this will take 2 phone calls and a trip to a shop, probably no more than 2 hours of my life, I get a new handset on a better tariff, and get to make some money selling a mobile>

Regards

Al

n4333

I am with Vodafone for 36 months mean upgraded twice.
1. On 7 July 2010 my contract ended and I phoned up Vodafone upgrade team and asked for the available upgrade offers.
2. They told me the standard tariffs those are also available online
3. After 2 calls to them they did not offer me any good deal.
4. I asked them to put me through disconnection team but it surprised me, rep said you need to send disconnection request to us in writing through letter or web email link (they create more hassle for the customers so they avoid disconnection).
5. I filed up the Vodafone web email link and simply written "I want to terminate my contract as 18 months are over and you could not offer me any good deal".
6. They acknowledged my email and after 2 days I received a call from Vodafone disconnection (I would call it retention) team.
7. Rep said I just calling you to finalise the contract termination process. Then he asked me the reason of the termination and what I am looking for.
8. When I told him I am not happy with the offer but still I am loyal Vodafone customer (Using another Vodafone contract) and I wanted to stay with the network.
9. He said I will look for the right offers for u, what exactly I am looking for.
10. I told him at the moment I am 1200 X net minutes, Unlmt txt, Unlmt Internet and Unlmt landline minutes and paying £25 as last time I upgrading my contract without phone, so I am on 50% discount, actual value of the contract was £50 (36 months back when I took with N95).
11. He looked for the deal and asked me to choose the phone I have chosen HTC desire with the same package.
12. He said it will cost me £45/Month for 24 months. but he will give me £5 discount.
13. I negotiated and said its better I disconnect then he said how much would you like to pay I said £25, I knew its unreasonable but to reach on an agreed point I had to do this.
14. He offered my same deal for £35 for 24 months contract.
15. It was around 15 minutes conversation, then I said I think we woun't be able to an agreement I think I should go for disconnection.
16. He asked me what you want, I said I want same package for £30 with 18 months contract (applied £15 discount for the whole length for the contract, usually these discounts expire three months before end of the contract) as I am already on 18 months contract.
17. After it hi hoo. He gave me this deal with HTC Desire and left me laughing.

HTC Desire 18 Months contract 1200 X net minutes, Unlmt txt, Unlmt Internet and Unlmt landline minute

Noshta

Hi,

I just wanted to let you all know about an amazing deal I got from T-mobile this week. I have a Samsung Omina (i900) on an 18 month contract with T-mobile paying £25 per month. I get 300mins, 500 texts + an internet connection (and I got the phone free for this).

My contract came up for renewal this week so I started to look around for a better deal. I am a light phone user (less than 100mins a month) and I hardly ever text, but I value getting email on my mobile so I like an internet connection. I figured that it would be best for me to switch to pay as you go tariff. I worked out that my last three months bills would have been about £10 per month on pay as you go (with an internet booster option).

I called T-mobile. I explained the above to them and asked to be switched to a pay as you go tariff. Without any further prompting I was immediately told that they have “special” contracts for light users like me and I was offered the following:

2 Year contract for £5 per month (all in, including VAT)
1. 100 inclusive minutes
2. 100 inclusive texts
3. Always on Internet (included)
4. New phone (Nokia C4)

The drop in minutes and text is ok as I don’t use them anyway. I have the internet I wanted unchanged. I did not want the phone as my old one is better, but I now have the option to sell this or use it as a spare etc. So I have the same service as before only I now pay £5 per month instead of £25

I was not expecting such a good deal- all my mobile costs for only £5 per month. – I accepted and my new phone arrived today.

Kindest :j

ladybargain

Hi O2 not doing good upgrades!
I have been with O2 since I had a mobile - around 15yrs!
I'm out of contract with them so though I'd have a look around.
I want the Samsung wave and rang cancellations armed with my research.
The rather grumpy lady offered me £25 per month for 500mins, unlimited texts and unlimited internet until 1st Oct when will be limited to 500mb. I told her that Tesco (Tmobile) will do that for £20, but would not budge! So I cancelled.
I then tried the upgrade dept. The guy said O2 made a decision last year to offer the tariffs and OK to lose customers. I said that it was sad as I'd been with them for so long.

Goodbye O2!!