Watchdog: Mobile phone contracts whilst OOA 7 May 2010 at 7:01AM in UK armed forces MoneySaving 11 replies 2.8K views

Ivrytwr3

Watchdog has discovered big discrepancies in the way some mobile phone companies treat soldiers who want to suspend their phone contracts before being sent to Afghanistan.

Full story here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2010/05/forces_sweetheart_goes_into_battle.html

paulofessex

In knowing that l am no doubt going to be shouted down on this......after watching the programme l personally cannot understand why our service men and women should be allowed to suspend their contracts, surely during these current times of conflict they know they will be sent to the war zones so why sign up for a 12, 24 month contract. Do they also request the same treatment from the DVLA, car insurance compaines etc.

jockettuk

paulofessex wrote: »

In knowing that l am no doubt going to be shouted down on this......after watching the programme l personally cannot understand why our service men and women should be allowed to suspend their contracts, surely during these current times of conflict they know they will be sent to the war zones so why sign up for a 12, 24 month contract. Do they also request the same treatment from the DVLA, car insurance compaines etc.

i dont see why not.. to get better deals from phone companys you have to sign up for longer contracts, its not like they are paid a fortune so need to get best deals going..

god forbid they killed in the line of duty and still made to pay

Andy_L

Looking at the company responses on the link all the big players seem happy to suspend contracts. Non-story imo, just requires people to sort out their admin before deployment.

Expanding on Pauls point - if the're out of pocket due to a deployment then why should a private company pick up the bill rather than the MoD?

barbie22193

paulofessex,
(my dh is in the forces so please forgive me if i get defensive )
when a serviceman gets sent abroad they can do some thing regarding their cars, alot of companies have respect for the job our serviceman/women do and are very understanding, but a few are not.
i feel they should be allowed to suspend the contracts, they dont ask to get sent away from friends/family for months on end do they? to leave their children and miss out on the important mile stones they make, i know its part of the job in some trades but it doenst make it easy for them.
my dh is going away for 4 months and cant take his contract but we have it so we have 1 contract and 1 payg between us so we can get the best of both worlds, while hes away i will have the contract, its not even like they can use the phone over their, singal is terrible to get and the prices for using contracts are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over the top, all the extra charges.
i think some companies just need alittle compassion and to stop thinking about their profits,

and surely they only want to suspend not end!! so the contract would be resumed when they return to home soil

but like i said i am biast, sorry its all been percived nicely, the way i intended i hope

CHR15

When I was serving I never even considered trying to put my contract on hold, neither did anyone else I served with. It was just one of those things.

This is just another story for the tabloids to jump on, I very much doubt it is causing outrage amongst the ranks in any great number.

The additional money you receive when deployed more then makes up for a poxy mobile phone contract.

Most people will take the phones with them despite the poor signal and high charges, there is also an option to leave the thing at home and let someone else make use of it (but I don't know anyone who did that!)

EmmEve

I thought mobile phones weren't allowed in theatre?!

To be fair paulofessex most people are going out at least once every 2 yrs at present if not more so in the case of 24 mth contract its a choice of signing up and not being able to use it for 6 mths or just never buying one!

As for the DVLA they could declare their cars SORN if they wanted to and not need any insurance. If its not declared SORN insurance is still needed anyway whether they are driving it or not so not really comparable to a mobile phone contract imo. In my case i still use the car whilst my partner is away.

However saying all that the suspension of phone contracts is a goodwill gesture at the end of the day, its nice but shouldn't be expected. If people feel that strongly presumably they would do their research and choose a company that they know will offer such a gesture.

fyimate

Maybe this whole phone contract thing isnt a major issue for most soldiers but I think the fact that phone companies couldnt give a hoot and made things so difficult is just irritating.
I got quite angry when I saw this issue on watchdog, I don't understand why our government and country has made things so hard for our troops and ex troops.
We actually have a veteran who fought in WWI & II, in Australia who has said he would NEVER come back to England because he gets treated much better in Australia than he would here! Now if that doesnt tell you something I dont know what will, it's shameful.

Ok rant over!

CHR15

Shameful too was the treatment of the Chinese serving as Laundrymen when Hong Kong was handed back.

Many many years of good service to Servicemen by those guys (and I do mean hard work) was rewarded with a ticket out of the Country once Hong Kong was handed back.

They took the same risks (and suffered the same casualties) standing side by side of people they could barely understand without complaint.

oscardog

paulofessex wrote: »

In knowing that l am no doubt going to be shouted down on this......after watching the programme l personally cannot understand why our service men and women should be allowed to suspend their contracts, surely during these current times of conflict they know they will be sent to the war zones so why sign up for a 12, 24 month contract. Do they also request the same treatment from the DVLA, car insurance compaines etc.

We do often get sent away at short notice so one cannot always plan a nice neat life when it can be subjected to considerable upheaval in a moment.

Terms of service I know but a little public support is always welcome.

Marker_2

CHR15 wrote: »

The additional money you receive when deployed more then makes up for a poxy mobile phone contract.

Lol does it? When my husband goes away for six months, he and we deserve to spend the bonus (which is no where near justifiable for what the majority do out there) on nice family things and not poxy mobile phone contracts and other money related issues we may incurr for their deployment.

My husband was with Vodafone and they were more than accommodating when he deployed so thumbs up from me to that company (or at least the rep I spoke to). They didnt have to suspend his contract for 6 months but they did and we were very greatful.