sim only v pay as you go

blondeyk89

Struggling with sim only contract. Only £20 a month but my phone bill went over last month and then i struggled to pay it as i had emergency dentists appointments to take and now some how its £80 which i really cant afford to pay in one lump sum.

Anyone know if you can negotiate deals to cancel the sim only and then pay back bit by bit each month?

grumbler

blondeyk89 wrote: »

Struggling with sim only contract. Only £20 a month but my phone bill went over last month and then i struggled to pay it as i had emergency dentists appointments to take and now some how its £80

Somehow? Is itemised bill not available? And what kind of contract is it? You can get 1200 minutes on £20 p.m. contract with chitter-chatter.

Anyone know if you can negotiate deals to cancel the sim only and then pay back bit by bit each month?

Unless it is a rolling contract they are extremely unlikely to change it to PAYG. With some networks you can downgrade to a cheaper tariff in the middle of the contract term.

blondeyk89

ohhhhhhhhhh i get 600 mins and 500 texts.

just called them and they said my bill for this month is £39.40

i dont understand phone comapnies where are they making the extra money from? late charges i assume?

blondeyk89

just found out i went over plan my 8 mins so that was £11 and then i was charged £5 for not paying - need to change payment date to when i get paid i think

grumbler

It's hard to believe that they charge £1.38 per minute outside the allowance.

blondeyk89

Thats what it says on my bill

grumbler

Was it some special number like 084 or 087?

blondeyk89

Oh it could have been couldnt see what number it was....that would explain it anyway

grumbler

I cannot believe that a person that cannot afford paying £80 in one go is paying £1.38 per minute without even knowing this.

Are you a natural blonde?

Register an account with http://www.18185.co.uk/mobilerates.php and pay 3p instead of £1.38.

blondeyk89

I am completely new to phones with bills all i was looking for was a bit of help.....not accusations and insults....never mind!!

I'll take your advise and register!

Stuart_W

Hi blondeyk89,

Your problem is not uncommon! Don't feel like a fool. The mobile phone companies are being a bit naughty in the way they charge on monthly billed accounts. They offer very attractive bundles and inclusive packages, and in most cases then charge through the nose if you go over - even calling normal landline numbers can be as high as 36p/minute depending which tariff you're on, which is significantly higher than many basic pay as you go deals.

Many of the bundles can only be offered because the phone companies rely on people either paying for bundles/packages that they don't use, or going over and paying significantly for the extra usage.

Topping up £20 a month on PAYG is not the same as signing up to a £20 a month contract. One definitely always costs £20 a month. One probably won't. They're even coming up with as many ways as possible to make more and more calls chargeable on contracts - charging for voicemail and not allowing voicemail calls to come out of inclusive minutes is a road T-mobile and Virgin have gone down.

If you have a really tight budget, PAYG is they way to not spend money you can't afford. You might want to look at Giffgaff PAYG who can offer 600 minutes and unlimited texts for £20 from your top up balance for a month. You'll need to add further credit to make any calls over this, which will be 8p/min - cheaper than most contract run-on rates.