Advice for a friend...

[Deleted User]

One of my mates pays Vodaphone £15/month for a 3G dongle for his laptop (3GB of data) and Vodaphone another £10/month for his mobile deal (which is on a "dumb-phone" with unlimited texts and 600 minutes).

I told him this is not that great a deal, as for £25/month he should at least be getting entry-level smartphone out of them (Wildfire S or similar)... And that if he had a single £25/Month contract, he could use that smartphone and tethering and only need the single contract.

He doesn't really want to leave Vodaphone (for some reason), and I can't seem to find anything on Vodaphone that would suit him, everything seems to be 500MB/Month data allowance which would be no good for him.

I'm guessing if he threatened to leave to 3UK, which does have alot more data packages that would suit him, they might be able to offer him something better?

Anyone got any suggestions on how to get him on a better deal, or get more for his money. He currently on a "dumb-phone" and would like to upgrade, but the thought of paying out more ontop of 25/month is offputting (and rightly so).

DUTR

If you are a good friend , then encourage him to buy the handset outright and stick to sim only, yes there is an initial layout but that is returned by much smaller monthly bills and more generous airtime.

[Deleted User]

I doubt I'd get him on a sim only deal... However I agree, there are some great deals there.. My t-mobile is £5 a month for "unlimited" data, 100 texts and 100 minutes plus a booster (unlimited landlines calls in my case). that's pretty unbeatable imho. (the £5 deal is the £10 plan that I renewed for another 24 months online and I didn't need a new handset. I I buy my handsets simfree off contract. )

Stuart_W

mgillespie wrote: »

if he had a single £25/Month contract, he could use that smartphone and tethering and only need the single contract.

Not all networks allow this.

What minutes/texts/data would they like? Forget what they've got, what would they actually want? Do they actually want a smartphone or are they happy with a call/text phone and mobile broadband? That way, a deal can be suggested.

Notmyrealname

Stuart_W wrote: »

Not all networks allow this.
.

And it is really trivial to detect.

[Deleted User]

He does want a smartphone.

Sounds like the 3GB data tethering is about right (he told me he went over the limit twice in two years).

He is a medium users, so the 100min/100text deals would be too light for him.

I'll give him a bell later and see if it's possible to get his actual usage data from Vodaphone somehow.

Stuart_W

How about Three's SIM 600 deal?

Contract Length: 12 months
Inclusive UK voice minutes: 600 mins
Inclusive UK text messages: 3000 texts
Internet Allowance: All-you-can-eat data

It's £15 per month SIM only.
There is £81.82 cashback from quidco.
(that works out at £8.19 per month over the first 12 months)

Then separately buy your choice of SIM-free or 3-network handset. If paying upfront is a non-starter, credit options include places like very.co.uk with 10% off first credit order, 6% quidco cashback and interest free for 12 months, so something like the wildfire s that you mentioned would work out at less than £12 per month for a year, which means it would cost, including handset and cashback, £20 per month during the first 12 months, and £15 per month thereafter as the handset is paid for and you just pay the SIM only price. There is still no paying upfront. You are just using a home shopping catalogue, rather than a phone company, as the credit provider. You also have added flexibility to move to a different deal - or haggle for a better one - after 12 months. You are not locked in for 24 months to the same deal, or even the same network.

[Deleted User]

Are Vodaphone up for matching these deals on customer retention programes?

Emily88

mgillespie wrote: »

I'll give him a bell later and see if it's possible to get his actual usage data from Vodaphone somehow.

It will show on his bills how much data he is using. He can access an itemised bill from his online account (he'll have to set this up from the website if he hasn't already)

Having worked for Vodafone previously, we also advised customers not to use tethering, as something that will use relatively little data on a phone will use far more on a computer.
And I have to say that although Vodafone are normally great in terms of mins/texts they give you, they never offer as much in data as some of the other networks (although make sure you read the small print, as most networks have 'fair usage' policies which mean you aren't actually getting any more, even when they tell you it's 'unlimited')

I've heard 3 is great for the data amounts they give you, but pretty rubbish in terms of signal etc.

It might be worth sticking with Vodafone for the phone and going elsewhere for the dongle. Your friend should always check with the network what his signal coverage would be like at his home, they will be able to tell him.

Hope this helps

im-lost

Stuart_W wrote: »

How about Three's SIM 600 deal?

Contract Length: 12 months
Inclusive UK voice minutes: 600 mins
Inclusive UK text messages: 3000 texts
Internet Allowance: All-you-can-eat data

It's £15 per month SIM only.
There is £81.82 cashback from quidco.
(that works out at £8.19 per month over the first 12 months)

Then separately buy your choice of SIM-free or 3-network handset. If paying upfront is a non-starter, credit options include places like very.co.uk with 10% off first credit order, 6% quidco cashback and interest free for 12 months, so something like the wildfire s that you mentioned would work out at less than £12 per month for a year, which means it would cost, including handset and cashback, £20 per month during the first 12 months, and £15 per month thereafter as the handset is paid for and you just pay the SIM only price. There is still no paying upfront. You are just using a home shopping catalogue, rather than a phone company, as the credit provider. You also have added flexibility to move to a different deal - or haggle for a better one - after 12 months. You are not locked in for 24 months to the same deal, or even the same network.

The three all you can eat addon doesn't allow tethering, depending on what phone you have it throws up a page stating such, although on my HTC Sensation it allows me to tether without issue.. so far, although im only in my first month, and racked up a good few gbs from using netflix..

[Deleted User]

Emily88 wrote: »

Having worked for Vodafone previously, we also advised customers not to use tethering, as something that will use relatively little data on a phone will use far more on a computer.

Isn't that why everyone uses Opera Turbo mode :-) ?????

opera.com/browser/turbo/

I have already showed him how to double his download speed and half his data usage by using the right browser...