Manyof us elderly folk................

Legacy_user

Many of us elderly folk, have entered the world of technology and now enjoy the internet, mobile phones etc. Some maybe, have entered it somewhat reluctantly, egged on by younger members of the family. I can't wait to tell younger members of my family of this mornings success in saving money, and thought I'd share it with you.

Like many of you, I have a mobile phone which was originally intended as something to use in an emergency and paid Orange something like £15 per month for more than adequate xnet mins. I transferred to Vodaphone and had a similar set-up but it increased slightly to £17.2.

After reading posts on the mobile phone thread, I saw that someone had managed to get a reduction to £14.69 which gave 600 xnet mins. Vodaphone told me I was eligable for this also, but pointed out to me that I never use my 125 xnet mins each month, so why increase them.

I asked what they would do for me. They said "keep your old phone, keep your current tarrif of 125 xnet mins and 250 free texts and we will reduce your £17.2 to £9 per month and this will be a contract for 12 months".

I snapped their hand off!

So, if you are one of these hardly ever use my mobile people, and you favour a reduction in your monthly fee, then phone them up and tell them you are looking for a significent reduction. But if you get it cheaper than me, then good for you.

scotsbob

So you are locked in to paying £108 over the next year and hardly ever use your phone?

System

and there was I, trying to be articulate and made two errors!

Whilst I may not use ALL my allocated mins (125), I use about half, sometimes more. What I don't use, rolls over to the next month.

BUT, the thing I failed to mention is that when I started with Vodaphone, one of the things they did but have since withdrawn, is something they called "Stop the Clock".

That is, any call made after 7pm weekdays and all weekends is effective this way, you talk for either 1/2 or 3 mins and use that amount of minutes, but then after the third minute, you can talk for up to one hour but don't use any more of your free minutes. So if you so chose, you could ring three people, be on the phone three hours, but have used only nine of your allocated minutes.

Not only that, we spend a great deal of our time away and our family use their free minutes (of which they have hundreds) to keep an eye on us as neither of us enjoy good health, but get away as and when.

missile

Well done Islandman.

There are some pretty good deals available on mobiles.
I hardly use mine, so I am PAYG. My wife is with Virgin and recently negotiated a new phone + 100 minutes + 100 texts for £8.50/month

Newly_retired

I hardly use mine so am also PAYG. I spend about £35- 40 a year on calls. Better than a contract for me.

System

It is through MSE that I have saved quite a bit. Somewhere long ago, I picked up information regarding being on a "low user" tariff for water which has since served me well.

Our old friend Staywarm has also been there for me, lowering my annual charges three years in succession after I had belatedly told them that one of us is registered disabled and on DLA at the highest rate. I accept that somewhere out there another company might be even cheaper but you know what?, it's better the devil you know etc isn't it?.

Then we have MSE to thank us for our phone line. Way back when Charles Dunstone, the head of Talktalk shouted "Free broadband forever", I jumped ship and despite a week of hiccups, we joined and enjoyed free phone calls 24/7 all day everyday. You can even make lengthy calls up to an hour I think it is and if you want to go on longer, you simply hang up and redial. They throw in about 28 foreign countries free too, although that facility hasn't been used to the full. Oh yes, then there is my broadband, no charge for that. I have paid £9.95 per month for several years now, for all that. Admittedly of late they have changed the tariff a bit, with bundles whatever they are, and now I pay about £10.20.

MSE taught me to use the saynoto0870 website so any time any of the pensions people/water board/utility services, who seem to thrive on 0845 etc numbers thank they are getting a few bob out of me, they haven't, because I have their regional numbers and keep copies of them close to hand. If I can't find a regional number, I call them and say "I'd like to do business with you, call me back!."

Photographs are printed free of charge simply by giving an email address, sometimes I set up several email accounts to avoid their "one household only" rule.

If I've got the devil in me, I have often emailed a company and told them how much I either like or dislike their product, that has brought the occasional voucher.

Oh yes, good old (perhaps, not so old) Martin has much to be thanked for. Mind you, I do wish he would slow down a bit when he is trying to get a point over. Remember your blood pressure young man!.