NEW THREAD: Cheapest iPhones article

nickyshopper

I have also had a rejection email saying that ee have declined my business. I called my bank and ee who both confirm that there are no problems with my account - I have 2 existing contracts with ee/ t mobile. Unfortunately they could not match the deal offered via MSE even as a retention offer so I am back to shopping around.

Andyclockwise

Based on the 2 replies above it does suggest that this website is being used by mobiles.co.uk as a vehicle for dodgy sales practice.

Andyclockwise

So following my rejection by mobiles.co.uk I rang EE sales and agreed a deal for an iPhone 5S 16GB in space grey. The sales assistant Daniel Gethings gave me his name and email address and I was very happy.
Then the phone arrived - an iPhone 5C 8gb in white and at a higher charge than agreed!! I immediately emailed Daniel who apologised profusely and said he would get back to me. Heard no more so rang CS next day they said Daniel is on leave and they would listen to the call and get back to me, meanwhile I would have to return the phone and cancel the contract at my own expense. The guy in returns was very helpful and said it was quite a common problem because advisors are under pressure to get their figures up.
I've heard no more from CS so have rung complaints. They said it is common practice for advisors to give a false name to "protect" their identity and this guy is also known as Daniel Harvey. They are going to investigate and get back to me within 30 days. I'll post an update here when I find out more, but thought this post might serve as a warning. Probably best to get everything in writing and don't trust a word an advisor tells you over the phone. Is this a sick industry?

ZeElk

Probably been mentioned on here before, but via O2 you can acquire a refurb iPhone 5c 8gb for £130 via refresh.


Granted, not everyone's cup of tea, but if you go into the online shop, find the refurbed 5c's and select the £9.99 upfront/£34 per month 10gb data combination, the handset component of the contract is only £5 per month.


Order it, phone O2, settle the handset contract for £120 then cancel the mega expensive tariff. Hey presto, nearly new 8gb 5C with a 12 month warranty for half the PAYG price and they will even unlock it so you can put any sim in.


Sorry if this is repeated information or in the wrong place.

Benjamin_Joseph

I might have just got the best deal on an iPhone 6 recently. Can anyone beat this?

Free iPhone 6 64GB in gold, with 3GB of data, 1000 minutes and unlimited texts for £24.20 a month on a 24 month contract, direct with Vodafone.

I'm still slightly shocked that I managed to get such a good deal.

It was a little complicated though. My old contract was up so I followed Martin's advice to negotiate hard and threaten to leave. They started out with an offer of £99 upfront for the iPhone 64GB plus £44 per month for 1GB data, 1000 mins and unlimited texts over 24 months. I just kept saying that EE were offering a better deal and the sales guy eventually said he could give me the same thing for £33 per month. I said I wasn't sure so he went away to talk to his supervisor (or probably just put me on mute for a minute) and then said they'd waive the upfront cost. I said I'd need some time to think about it, so then he said they'd throw in an extra 2GB of data per month if I'd sign up now. So I did. In fact, I nearly bit his hand off as I thought it was a great deal.

A few days later I walked in to a Vodafone shop with my ID ready to sign up for the Employee Advantage Scheme but was told that I couldn't use it as I already had a 25% discount on my bill (to take it from £44 down to £33). I went home and called Vodafone again and explained that the original guy who sold me the contract had never used the word "discount" when he sold me the phone (which is true). He had only told me that he could offer me the plan we discussed at a cost of £33.
I know this is splitting hairs on the definition of how we arrived at the £33 per month, but they eventually caved in and said they would give me the additional 20% discount for the Employee Advantage Scheme.

So overall, I managed to get a whopping 45% discount on my plan, a free iPhone 6 64GB with 3GB of data, 100 mins and unlimited texts all for just £24.20 per month.

That's £580 over 24 months. Cheaper than you can buy the phone on it's own.

I'm over the moon. Thanks for the brilliant advice, Martin. I think I was just lucky with some of this, but I'm so glad I held my nerve when they kept telling me they couldn't do any better :-)

EJE

I would like to get an iPhone 6 (64GB) as the price has gone down since the new iPhone 6S was announced. My question is: when do you think is the best time to get a good deal - before or after the 6S goes on sale? Or does it make no/little difference? The 6 is available on the Apple Store so maybe they are going to continue selling it - but I don't want to wait too long only for the 64GB to sell out or be no longer available.
I would buy it unlocked from Apple or John Lewis, unless I can find a really good deal with one of the mobile networks.

Katy012

Makes sure also you never ever accept a deal upfront, people go into places like carphone warehouse and think they have to pay the prices stated, You dont!! When I upgraded i negotiated hard and in the end they waived my fee for upgrading early and also waived the upfront cost of the phone saving me over £80. So dont take what they have written down as gospel!

ryanprediction

Some useful advice for any prospective iPhone buyers on here. My situation is that i can upgrade my Voda contract 22nd Sep and i desperately need a new iphone (currently using a cracked 4s). I'm torn between the new 6s and the 6.

I want to get the best deal i can but currently get 30% off any voda contract from a friend who works for them. Do i still threaten to leave etc. as i don't think theyll believe me due to having this discount?

My brother got £35 p/m iphone 6 in march with Unltd mins, texts and 4gb of data after negotiating (he has been with Vodafone less time than i have). Shall i just say match this offer as it was in March? and then knock off the 30%?

EJE

The more I look into it, the more I think that getting a mobile phone on a monthly contract is a rip-off. It's usually much cheaper to buy the handset and get a sim-only contract. If you don't have the cash to buy an expensive handset up front, you can buy it with a 0% interest credit card and pay it off over 24 months. (There are several cards that offer 0% interest for 24 months or more.) This is similar to getting a "free" phone that you actually pay for through your phone contract, except that it's a cheaper way of doing it. Here's an example, which compares the two options for getting a 64GB iPhone 6:

HANDSET + SIM ONLY CONTRACT
iPhone 6, 64GB, from Apple: £539
Sim-only contract with GiffGaff (1GB, 500mins): £10/month
Total cost over 24 months: £779
Monthly cost over 24 months: £32.46

MONTHLY CONTRACT
iPhone 6, 64GB, on a monthly contract with Tesco Mobile (1GB, 2000 mins): £39/month
Total cost over 24 months: £936

In this example, going for the first option would save you £157! Plus you have the flexibility to choose the sim-only deal you want, and (if you go for a 1 month contract like the GiffGaff one) you can change it at any time. It's a no brainer.

The only way I can think of to get a better deal on a monthly contract would be if you can get extra money off through employee discount schemes. I don't have access to anything like that so for me I think handset and sim only is the way to go. I have the spare cash but if I didn't I'd just get a credit card with 0% interest for 24+ months.

scope

EJE wrote: »

The more I look into it, the more I think that getting a mobile phone on a monthly contract is a rip-off.

HANDSET + SIM ONLY CONTRACT
iPhone 6, 64GB, from Apple: £539
Sim-only contract with GiffGaff (1GB, 500mins): £10/month
Total cost over 24 months: £779
Monthly cost over 24 months: £32.46

While I completely agree with you, mainly so I am not tied into a 24 month contract, the 64gb iPhone 6 from Apple is actually £619.00, not £539 (thats the 16gb one)..

So it doesnt make the numbers as attractive, but still, if you can afford the upfront cost, dont bother with a contract, not for iPhones anyway..

With Android phones you are often much better off going with a contract, for example my wifes Z3 Compact was (at the time) around £400 for the phone, I got a deal with o2 which for the duration of 24 months cost around 400, with a free handset.