Locked in a sim only contract

sarahcparry

I took out a sim only contract last september as i was happy with my phone and was given a cracking deal from o2. The problem i have now is that my phone has broken and i'd really like an iphone or blackberry. I've contacted o2 and they say that they will not be able to upgrade my contract to include a handset until march and advised i buy a cheap handset until then. Is this really the only way, or is there a loophole i don't know about? I'd really appreciate any advice!:D

BigLee_24

How long was your contract for?? Most SIM only contracts are only 30 days....

Guys_Dad

BigLee_24 wrote: »

How long was your contract for?? Most SIM only contracts are only 30 days....

..............................or 12 months.

Who are you with and what plan? Sounds a bit wrong to me.

sarahcparry

I'm with o2, it's an 18 month contract

boliston

I can understand the concept of being tied into a 12, 18 or 24 month contract when you are being given a discounted or "free" handset, but I don't see why there should be a lock in period when no hardware has been supplied.

gjchester

boliston wrote: »

I can understand the concept of being tied into a 12, 18 or 24 month contract when you are being given a discounted or "free" handset, but I don't see why there should be a lock in period when no hardware has been supplied.

Because the OP recieved the subsidy back that would have paid for the phoine in the form of the "cracking deal" on the phone.

Guys_Dad

sarahcparry wrote: »

I'm with o2, it's an 18 month contract

This is a new one on me. Looking at O2 web site, they only advertise 30-day and 12-month Simplicity sim-only tariffs. When I went sim-only last year, they only had the same periods on offer.

Are you sure you didn't simply "upgrade" your existing contract without a replacement handset? In that case, you should have been given, as gjchester says, a cracking discount. But the deal was in exchange, you agreed to stay with them for 18 months.

Before you sign your life away again next time, look at the sim-only costs for the minutes/texts you need and then do the sums on how much you will save over 18-months. If you take the plunge and buy a new handset now, you will be quids in if you go for a simplicity sim-only contract next time.

Annie._2

A contract is a contract even if it is SIM only, and in return for your commitment, you would have received your allowance at a heavily subsidised rate.

If you want to upgrade to a new hardware contract, you would need to pay off your existing commitment, you would then be free to start a new contract with a handset.

Otherwise, its doing as O2 has suggested and purchasing a SIM free phone of your choice and carrying on with your present contract.

sarahcparry

Thanks for the advice! I'm paying £15 instead of £20 per month, not really heavily reduced. I had actually phoned to terminate my contract and switch to payg, the team member i spoke to convinced me that this would be a cheaper option for me as i would probably use more than that per month on payg. What is bothering me though is that i don't actually want to terminate my contract, just upgrade, i didn't realise that i wouldn't be able to do this when i agreed to take out the contract! I suppose that's my own fault for not checking the terms fully before agreeing to be locked in..... maybe something that others should be aware of!

Guys_Dad

Right. Technically, you don't have a sim-only contract. What you did was upgrade with a discount instead of a new phone.

The big difference is that sim-only would have given you an even better deal, with no more than a 12-month tie in - or even 30-days rolling contract. Instead, you have entered into an 18-month extension.

As others said, you are, regrettably, stuck. But next time, check out the sim-only deals on line and, if you agree to be tied in for 18 months, then you MUST get a better deal on offer than the 12-month sim-only. If not, then you know what to do.