PAYG or Monthly?

gabyjane

I currently have a contract with Virgin..£18 per month and i get 300 calls and 300 texts per month (although it says unlimited on my account). Have had numerous issues with them mainly the phone and every time i call them they can never explain why my bill is higher than it should be despite me not going over my allowances. I complained and got a call on thursday saying they would change my phone as a gesture of goodwill but wouldn't give me the one i want (cheaper than any they were offering) so i have said i am terminating my contract in March when it ends.

Now i'm really stuck and not sure what to go for..the X8 phone is what i'm after but am really reluctant to go with Virgin. They do it on Orange too but not sure again whether monthly is the best option.

So any good deals that i could be swayed by? need to have about 300 mins and the same texts like i have now as seems to work well. need to keep my number too really as use it for work.
Thanks

Stuart_W

Have you considered actually buying the handset?

Orange have the N8 on a 24 month contract with 300 mins and unlimited texts for £23 online if you pay £99.99 for the phone.

£23x24=£552 + £100 phone = £652 over 24 months

Talkmobile offer 300 mins and 300 texts sim only for £10.21/month
You can buy the phone with 24 month warranty from unlockedmobiles.com for £364. Might be cheaper elsewhere.

£10.21x24 + £364 for phone =£609 over 24 months

Might not sound like a massive difference, but the big difference is that you'll not be on a 24 month contract, you can change tariff (or network providers) at any time you like - there are many competitive SIM only deals.

gabyjane

Gosh looking at it like that sounds such a lot £600+!! Really not sure what to do tbh..keep umming and aahing and am reluctant to take a contract out on phones now incase i dont like them..i love this phone i have now (S.Ericson Spiro) but due to it always playing up i have to get rid. I am tempted to spend a little more per month and get the i-phone as love my ipod touch and with the phone bit included it would be perfect despite me not beiong keen on touch phones they are so different imo..but again not sure..aaaahhhh!!

thanks for your help x

ivinsp

If you have a useable phone or can buy a sim free handset, Giffgaff offers good sim only deals.

They use o2's signal. The service is payg but they offer goodybags/bolt-ons.

£10 gets you 150 mins (250 mins til end of March), unlimited texts/data (no fup)

£15 gets you 300 mins, unlimited texts/data (no fup)

http://giffgaff.com/index/offer

jenniewb

If its any help I'm in a similar boat. I don't want to spend more then around £15 a month because I can't. I could agree to 24 months if the handset was good enough. 24x15=360.

So 360 being the max I can afford (whack it on the credit card, pay off bit by bit BUT REMEMBER INTEREST SO IT WILL ALWAYS BE THAT BIT MORE!)

I have earmarked the Orange San Francisco which at its lowest is £89 plus £10 tiop up voucher (sell it on ebay or to someone who is willing to pay nearly that for it) but lets say £100 for the handset.
This leaves me £260 for 24 months contract. This works out to £10.83 a month. I should add here you'd need to unlock and de-Orange the handset which may take a bit of time and thought as it requires you following online instructions though others have done this and are happy with the results. I'd worry about warrenty and if your covered though.

Now I have also spotted a GiffGaff sim which pays £4 via Quidco to own (though never rely on cashback as they don't always work out).

This means a San Francisco and GiffGaff sim over 24 months works out to just under £15 a month. I am still keeping my eyes out for any better offers because I am greedy and want an even nicer handset! (I want the HTC Desire HD or HD7 or HD Mini) but with £15 my limit I may be waiting a month or two longer which I can live with as my contract ends the end of Feb, if I can hang out a month later, the SF may have even come down further in price, there may be better tarrifs about and afaik all handsets ever do is decrease in price the longer they are out. HTC Desire HD was £35 a month last month, now you can get it for £25...following the pattern I'd be looking at the end of March etc.

grumbler

jenniewb wrote: »

If its any help I'm in a similar boat. I don't want to spend more then around £15 a month because I can't. I could agree to 24 months if the handset was good enough. 24x15=360.

So 360 being the max I can afford (whack it on the credit card, pay off bit by bit BUT REMEMBER INTEREST SO IT WILL ALWAYS BE THAT BIT MORE!)

I have earmarked the Orange San Francisco which at its lowest is £89 plus £10 tiop up voucher

£79 including £10
Best deal on an orange san francisco?
http://freesim.orange.co.uk/

(I want the HTC Desire HD or HD7 or HD Mini) but with £15 my limit I may be waiting a month or two longer which I can live with as my contract ends the end of Feb, if I can hang out a month later, the SF may have even come down further in price, there may be better tarrifs about and afaik all handsets ever do is decrease in price the longer they are out. HTC Desire HD was £35 a month last month, now you can get it for £25

You may consider a redemption deal, but it requires discipline and involves some risk.

Wood.Justin

I'm in a similar situation where as I'm locked into a contract until November 2011 with O2 on a £25 p/m iPhone contract. This gets me 100 mins and unlimited texts... I really only use the unlimited texts, as soon as I can I'm going to sell the iPhone and revert to a unlimited texts PAYG/Pay Monthly deal then probably purchase a simple yet stylish Nokia handset. I'm sure as hell going to save a lot of money in the long run!

esuhl

A 12-month Vodafone contract with 300 minutes + unlimited texts works out at £5.83/month (if you sign up via Quidco). Might be worth considering...