Foward Cellular - minimum contract clawback

Genie

I'm thinking of going for an Orange SPV C500 from foward cellular. They have an offer on of £165 cashback on a £25 per month contract with Orange.

http://www.fwdcellular.com/

It states:

"You must remain on the same tariff for 6 months to avoid a clawback"

Does this mean that after 6 months I can change to a Pay as you go tariff without penalty, or do I still have to remain on this or another pay monthly contract for at least 12 months?

Has anyone used them?

Is insurance and Itemised billing compulsury with them (It does not state anything about insurance/itemised billing on the offer)

only asking cos their terms and conditions state:

UNLESS AGREED IN WRITING ITEMISED BILLING, DIRECT DEBIT AND INSURANCE (NETWORK DIRECT ONLY) CANNOT BE TERMINATED UNTIL THE 12 MONTHS CONTRACT PERIOD HAS ENDED. IF TERMINATED, FORWARD CELLULAR LTD SHALL CLAWBACK THE AMOUNT CHARGED BY THE RELEVANT NETWORK, CURRENTLY £20.00 + VAT FOR ITEMISED BILLING, £20.00 + VAT FOR DIRECT DEBIT (VODAFONE / 02 ONLY) AND £20 + VAT FOR DIRECT NETWORK INSURANCE


Offer details:

- FREE SPV C500 Camera Handset
- 120 inclusive monthly minutes at anytime & to any Network AND 120 minutes off-peak (8pm till midnight 7 days a week) minutes to any network monthly
1000 free evening texts available during first 6 months of contract - 8pm till midnight 7 days a week
- Free Connection
- ORANGE 'TRY' ALLOWS CUSTOMER TO TRY VARIOUS SERVICES FREE FOR ONE MONTH
- Calls charged at 10p Flat Rate & 35p to any other Network after inclusive minutes
- Equivalent to £11.25 monthly rental after issue of cashback (£25 monthly payable to Orange)

Mr_B_13

As I understand it, all networks have a minimum term contract (12 or 18 months, maybe longer depending on contract) when you are tied to pay monthly. In addition, each retailer also has rules about how long you have to remain on the original tariff (based on network rules) - I believe that this is to do with the mobile phone retailer putting together a deal based on giving you a % of the commissions that they get - if you change before 6 months (on most - may be more with some networks) then the network (eg Orange) clawback the commission from the retailer, and as a result, they then claw it back from you (they are commercial concerns after all!).

Mr B

ArsenalFC

Basically means you have to stay a minimum of 6 months on the price plan you took out. After that you can change to a different monthly price plan i.e a lower monthly payment plan for the next 6 months, which would make up 12months in total of the contract. Then you can terminate your contract or stay on if you wish. The majority of us will terminate our contracts after the 12months up and look for another good caskback deal. HTH.

Genie

Cheers. So I won't be able to go on a pay as you go after 6 months, but I could switch to another cheaper monthly tariff. Still a good deal

TREVORCOLMAN

You also need to take into account that you are paying insurance also in this deal, I think it is £5 per month - but dont quote me - does anyone else know?

Stuckupahill

You also need to take into account that you are paying insurance also in this deal, I think it is £5 per month - but dont quote me - does anyone else know?

A plea to those who have used Forward Cellular please.....
Could you post comments regarding possible extra costs - for insurance, itemised billing etc. Are they compulsory? If so how much are they.
Saying that, they don't seem to want to part with the bargain i spotted in the Rent Free section on the website anyway - lots of phones there...but no "buy" or "checkout" buttons.
Can't get through on phone and they not answering emails either...
Pity cos i quite fancied 800 free xnet minutes with a k500 for just £57.99.
is it too good to be true?!!

ArsenalFC

I have 4 contracts with FC which never came with any insurance. As far as I know if there was a 3months free insurance included, you have to cancel that with the insurance company after that period, but you are not tied to a 12 months insurance. You will get a standard bill, pay a £1 extra if you want itemised billing. With T-mobile you can register online and view everything about your bill.

So the deals on FC are exactly as described. The only reason I didn't take up the k500i phone is because after 6 months free talk time would just be 30mins per month.

Stuckupahill

cheers AFC, will take the plunge. Hadn't spotted the free minutes go down to 30 after 6 months, will go for the bargain basement offer instead.
thanks again