Moving aborad: ending 3 contract

emmoonshine

Hi everyone,

I'm moving abroad in January / February and planning to teach English as a Foreign Language for a year.

In January I'll be 11 months into an 18 month contract with 3. Obviously I don't want to be paying £20 a month for something that I won't be using at all and will cost me a fortune (I'll get myself a foreign phone for job applications).

Is it possible that, when moving abroad, 3 would consider ending my contract? If not, is it possible that they would freeze my account and that I could carry on where I left off when I return to the country?

Thanks for your help!

zagfles

Did you get a "free" phone with this contract? If so, then almost certainly not as most of the monthly cost is really a repayment of the loan for your "free" phone, rather than airtime cost...

grumbler

Very unlikely that they will freeze.
Consider selling the phone and paying 7x£20 early termination fee.

angelil

I was in a similar situation to you - I was 20 months into a 24 month contract, also with 3, when I moved abroad in 2008. Unlike you, though, I wasn't planning on coming back (I am still living overseas). I called 3 and explained. They wouldn't end the contract there and then - only transfer it to another individual. Even when the contract was up and it came to explaining to them that I wouldn't be renewing it they were a nightmare to get to let go, being obsessive about trying to get me to transfer the (non-existent by that stage) contract to a friend or family member. So yep, I reckon you are stuck paying the £20/month as well until it expires. Sorry.

emmoonshine

Thanks everyone, it's as I guessed.