Contract help please!

Phoebe-

My contract ends with Orange in April, but I am due for an early upgrade on January 29th.

My phone has broken today, so I phoned them to see if there was anyway to upgrade early. They said they would take 33% off the next few months, which means I would need to pay £87.06 on my next bill, and would then start a new contract with a new phone.

Money is tight atm, but I can't be without a phone. As I have M.E buying a cheap £10 to use for now wouldn't work cos I would struggle to text with the keys etc, and I need a phone to be able to keep in contact with people.

I took my contract out in April 2009 by phones4u as they bought me out of my contract with Orange.

It says on their website they can do that 6 months before contract renewal, so I am wondering if I could do that again or not? Cos technically my contract was taken out through them, so would they buy me out of it, seen as they would just be buying themselves out?

OneADay

You can upgrade through whoever you like - just work out who is offering the better deal for you. And you can use quidco/topcashback to knocked own the upgrade cost.
But personally I would suggest getting a cheap touchscreen and waiting till April for a better offer if you don't get something decent now.

Buzby

I would suggest that if money is tight, the LAST thing you need is a phone contract and an ongoing commitment. Buy a S/h replacement handset and use your SIM until you can cancel your contract, then swithch to 30-day or PAYG.