Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

rainy90

SonjaLiK wrote: »

I was on £15/month on 3 network and getting unlimited 3 to 3 calls, unlimited texts but only 75 any network minutes so I wanted to change this and managed to get a new phone, 900 minutes or texts to any network, 300 minutes to 3 for £14/month.

How did you manage that? iv tried to get good deal with 3 but they only seem to offer me standard packages which are available to everyone

ebubs

I was at the end of a mobile contract with orange and after having read 'money saving expert' , I had a plan. Following recent problems in cancelling a contract for a phone i did not accept, I was prepared to leave the company and was put through to the 'disconnections team' (top salespeople i believe).

I was sure of the handset being an HTC Desire and quickly realised they were trying to keep me. Reluctant as I to begin with was they made me an offer i could not refuse.

The tariff they offered included 900 x net minutes, unlimited texts, 500 internet and 30 picture messages. The only thing i could have pushed for is Video Calling and i am sure they would of included this too. All for a price of £15.00 per month (inc tax).

I ensured i had the salespersons name and must admit did continue to request clarification of this before i accepted the handset on a number of occasions. All confirmed that this tariff would not rise in price on any month before the two year contract ends. I am unaware if this was needed but I needed to be sure and it certainly did not do any harm.

I would recommend checking the itemized bill though as there are a couple of questionable items, however this could well be me not knowing how to use the phone. Small amounts here and there but am getting back to those today.

But all in all an extremely good deal for the phone that i originally wanted at an unbelievable price!

94th_Minute

I have a contract renewal coming up at the end of this month, so in traditional fashion when dealing with those money grabbing scum that we affectionately refer to as the 'Mobile Phone Companies', I made sure I rang up a month in advance to give my notice.

This is Orange.

So I phoned up... said I'm leaving, and explained my situation. Currently I'm between jobs, I'm looking to cut my expenditure to a bare minimum whilst my income is limited, but I don't plan to be in this situation long either. Basically what I was looking for was a dirt cheap month by month contract, giving me the bare number of minutes and texts, keep my number open as its the one on my CV, I would then upgrade to get a snazzy new phone when I got a job and some reliable income.

I opened with an offer, £10 a month, no contract, 100 minutes and 300 texts, that will cover my basic needs, and is equivilant, if not worse than the majority of other providers, but Orange have been good to me through the years, very few problems... she says they can offer me that for £15, I explain I really want to get my expenditure as low as possible... she says nothing... I say GiffGaff actually offer a far more attractive deal at the £10 price range... she says they can't price match. The call ends. I'm left confused, to consider what just happened.

I thought I could get a good deal when renegotiating my contract, will I get a phonecall from them on the 23rd Feb beging to have me back, claiming they've changed, and things can work between us this time. Or have I just become the first person to lose at the mobile phone batering game?

London_baby

I was able to negotiate for my mother with 3 a sim only deal, 900 mix and match mins and text, 3000 free 3 to 3 calls and 1GB internet for £9 a month. It's a 12 month contract but you can upgrade for free at any time. This is normally £20 a month but I was able to get additional discounts by essentially whining how 3 does not reward customer loyalty and how not everyone is interested in flashy phones and being tied to a contract for 2 years.
I would advise that when you talk to the customer service agents you look at the website at the same time so you can see whether they are offering you an 'exclusive' deal which is also given to new customers. I did this and caught out the agent 'bending the truth' a number of times :-)

filbert_jon

I've been with O2 since the BT Genie days, so for about 10 years. My contract is due for renewal in a couple of weeks so thought I'd haggle.

Current deal was O2 Online 25, 18 months, unlimited O2-to-O2 calls, 200 any-time-any-network minutes, 200 texts, data limited to no more than £1 per day, on a Samsung Soul. £25 per month before VAT.

Not a bad deal but, as a train commuter, I wanted a deal that would enable me to browse the net without adding £15-£20 each month in data charges - when you add that on my monthly bill can be £50. I also wanted to join the smart phone revolution.

I had my eyes on the HTC Desire HD, which O2 controversially don't sell despite it being arguably second only to the I-Phone at the moment (conspiracy theories abound on other forums that O2 allegedly don't want it to clash with sales of an up-and-coming exclusivity on a Windows phone, but that's a topic for another forum...:mad: But anyway, it seems a large number of O2 customers have enquired about this handset and some are considering switching networks to get it. Even if you aren't thinking of doing that you might be able to use this situation to your advantage...

I pointed out that Tesco Mobile are offering my first choice handset - the HTC Desire HD - for £30 per month, free handset, unlimited texts, unlimited data and 750 minutes (which I'd never exceed). I asked them what they could offer as a competitive alternative as the Tesco deal really did look to tick all the boxes.;)

After explaining this to the customer services girl (who sounded lovely), and then again the contracts person (who sounded a nice bloke), I was finally put through to the customer retention representitive (who sounded knackered).

He tried to get me interested in the HTC HD7 Windows :eek: phone as an alternative to the Desire HD, which I didn't want to touch with a barge pole (I have enough hassle with my Windows laptop without having a phone as well).

His final offer was the Sony Ericsson Xperia, £25 per month, 300 minutes with unlimited O2-to-O2 calls, unlimited texts, 500Mb data and unlimited wi-fi.

The best I-Phone deal he could offer was the same as the above but £30 per month for a reconditioned I-Phone 3GS. Alternatively, the I-Phone 4 would have been on the same £30 tariff but with a whopping £190 payment for the handset. I sensed his hands were tied with what he could offer for the I-Phone, which is fair enough I would have been too optimistic to expect anything much less.

In the end I decided to cancel my contract. Whilst the Sony Ericsson deal was tempting I've had bad experiences with Sony in the past and would rather pay £5 per month more (but still as much as £20 less than I spend now in total) to move to Tesco and get the HTC handset I truly want.:)

So, my haggling was semi-successful but I had my heart set on either an HTC or an I-Phone, which limited my options considerably.

However, I'd encourage anyone thinking of renewing/leaving their O2 contract to throw in the HTC Desire HD trump card. The staff are clearly a bit frustrated that they can't offer that handset - they confirmed to me that they have had a lot of enquiries. The retention team may well be tempted to offer you a good deal on an alternative device by way of a carrot to retain you.

Doc_N

O2 don't seem very interested in offering deals at the moment - my contract's about to expire, but the best I could get was an offer of £150 credit in place of a new phone. Standard tariff prices, with no discounts - that (she said) was now their policy, though I rather doubt that.

So for around £20 pm I'd be getting just 100 minutes, with no free unlimited landline calls. The deal I'm on now gave me 200 mins/texts and free landline calls over a 24 month period at a net £3.75 pm (£90 over the 2 years).

They don't seem terribly keen to stop me from defecting to Orange on an e2save cashback deal - but since they're in business to make profits, I'm not that surprised. I doubt they've made much out of me at £3.75 pm! It was good while it lasted.

stefano

Doc_N wrote: »

O2 don't seem very interested in offering deals at the moment - my contract's about to expire, but the best I could get was an offer of £150 credit in place of a new phone. Standard tariff prices, with no discounts - that (she said) was now their policy, though I rather doubt that.

So for around £20 pm I'd be getting just 100 minutes, with no free unlimited landline calls. The deal I'm on now gave me 200 mins/texts and free landline calls over a 24 month period at a net £3.75 pm (£90 over the 2 years).

They don't seem terribly keen to stop me from defecting to Orange on an e2save cashback deal - but since they're in business to make profits, I'm not that surprised. I doubt they've made much out of me at £3.75 pm! It was good while it lasted.

My local Tesco Extra is offering a Sim only deal of 250 mins, ultd text and ultd data for £10.21. Worth a look!

Rosielorraine

Help !!!! Please

I have had a contract with you for 9 months of my 24 month contract.
the phone i got it on was the worst phone i've ever come across (not there or my fault ). but it broke 2 months in and i've had to use an old phone since. i was wondering if there was anyway i could buy my self out as i would like to get a iphone? chances are i would most likely get it orange contract anyway but is buying myself out a option ? hope you can help?

Doc_N

Rosielorraine wrote: »

Help !!!! Please

I have had a contract with you for 9 months of my 24 month contract.
the phone i got it on was the worst phone i've ever come across (not there or my fault ). but it broke 2 months in and i've had to use an old phone since. i was wondering if there was anyway i could buy my self out as i would like to get a iphone? chances are i would most likely get it orange contract anyway but is buying myself out a option ? hope you can help?

You'd need to talk to your network (Orange?) to find out what they'd want to end the contract - my guess is it would be negotiable.

Why not ask them (for comparison) how much they'd charge for an upgrade to an iPhone?

Doc_N

Doc_N wrote: »

O2 don't seem very interested in offering deals at the moment - my contract's about to expire, but the best I could get was an offer of £150 credit in place of a new phone. Standard tariff prices, with no discounts - that (she said) was now their policy, though I rather doubt that.

So for around £20 pm I'd be getting just 100 minutes, with no free unlimited landline calls. The deal I'm on now gave me 200 mins/texts and free landline calls over a 24 month period at a net £3.75 pm (£90 over the 2 years).

They don't seem terribly keen to stop me from defecting to Orange on an e2save cashback deal - but since they're in business to make profits, I'm not that surprised. I doubt they've made much out of me at £3.75 pm! It was good while it lasted.

stefano wrote: »

My local Tesco Extra is offering a Sim only deal of 250 mins, ultd text and ultd data for £10.21. Worth a look!

I picked up a cheap cashback deal from e2save in the end.

24 month contract with 400 minutes, Unlimited Landline minutes and 300 texts for just under £24 in total for the full 24 month period. Free Nokia 1800 included, and Topcashback of £46, so the entire contract actually gives me a profit of £22, plus the phone.

e2save cashbacks are fine if you're organised and make the cashback claims on time - forget it if you're not!