Cheap Mobile Contracts Article Discussion 16 March 2011 at 11:03AM in Mobiles 131 replies 85.4K views

TonyI

have been on a "pay as you use" contract with Orange since time in memorial but have seen costs (for 2 users) gradually creep up to over £25/month

With eldest champing at the bit for a smartphone she heads off for big school I was just wondering if the current £7.50/month contract available through CPW is as good in reality as it sounds.

We are not heavy phone users but more texting with use of the www on the move likely to increase.

Has anyone got this contract and what do they think of it?

Thanks for your help

Tony

Plinkelplonk

Can anyone help me with this. In the latest weekly email from Martin's Money Tips, there is a savings tip "Free Granny in the glovebox Mobile Phone, if you top up £10"

It seems to suggest that you get a free phone and then if you top up with £10, the credit will last for up to 180 days, but you need to use the phone at least once in the 180 days.

However, when you go through to the T-Mobile site via the link, the advert states that credit only lasts for 30 days and you need to top up with £10 every month.

I'd be grateful if anyone can clarify for me.

grumbler

I think you are confusing 'credit' with 'Smart Pack'.
You can use the credit to buy the 'Pack' that lasts for 30 days, but you don't have to.

In fact MSE are wrong as they pretty often are.
The credit lasts indefinitely, not for 180 days. You just have to make a chargeable call or send a text at least once to keep the sim-card alive. Otherwise it gets disconnected an you lose the credit.

I-LOV-MONEY

grumbler wrote: »

I think you are confusing 'credit' with 'Smart Pack'.
You can use the credit to buy the 'Pack' that lasts for 30 days, but you don't have to.

In fact MSE are wrong as they pretty often are.
The credit lasts indefinitely, not for 180 days. You just have to make a chargeable call or send a text at least once to keep the sim-card alive. Otherwise it gets disconnected an you lose the credit.

Thanks grumbler. I was about to ask the same question. :T

So I order one and just ask for £10 credit - make one call and that is it?

Do you know if it is locked?

grumbler

Most likely it's locked.
At least one call/text every 180 days.

Plinkelplonk

Many thanks for your help Grumbler, it is much appreciated.

Do you know if the £10 credit is gradually used up as you make calls, and then you can top up with another £10? Sorry if this sounds a daft question, but I am a novice with mobiles, and just want one to mainly send and receive texts, and make the very occasional phone call.

grumbler

Of course it's used on calls/texts. Don't know what the minimum topup is, but £10 looks about right.

neiliowff

I have become upset about mobile phone providers over the last few weeks. I have been having a number of problems with one of the major providers and in dealing with this issue something occurred to me which with hindsight I feel pretty silly about which I think could soon be seen as a PPI style miselling industry issue.

I took out a contract in early 2008 which was a 24 month agreement and the tariff included the cost of the call plan and the cost of the handset spread over 2 years. At the time I had options for different contract lengths and was encouraged by the sales team to take a longer agreement in order to spread the cost of the handset repayments. My bills were always between £55-60 each month. On completion of the 24 month period I continued to pay my monthly bill which remained at £55-60 each month and stayed at this level right through to Dec 2013……an extra 3 years at the same monthly cost.

It strikes me that I have therefore been paying for a handset which I paid off over 3 years ago within the cost of my bill each month when it was the sales staff of the mobile phone company that pushed me down this route on the basis of spreading the cost of the handset. I notice my new plan now splits out the cost of the handset and the cost of the call plan which makes me think these companies have noticed this issue.

I am sure the phone companies would push me down the route of saying I did not read the terms and conditions correctly or that the way they billed back then is different to how they bill today…..but it strikes me that this could be a bit of a PPI scenario all over again as countless customers must have been misled into this very same mistake and subsequently overpaid massively for their handset.

As my new handset is separately charged at £25 per month I estimate I overpaid by about at least £300 on my last handset.

Is this something that has ever been investigated? Has it happened to anyone else?

mobilejunkie

Only those foolish enough to roll contracts on for years after the minimum term without investigating the alternatives.

buglawton

Should have discovered MSE 5 years ago