24 month contract feels like a ball and chain

N9eav

3 days to go and my 24 month contract will be over. When I got my Nokia X6, I was pretty happy as it was the latest phone, had sat-nav and all sorts of stuff. After a while and looking at my teenagers' i-phones, I wanted a new phone. o2 stopped early upgrades, so I was stuck with it, like having a ball and chain around my leg.
Soon I will be free..... to sign up to another ball and chain....:rotfl:
When is i-phone 5 coming out?

thegoodman

You can also go for sim only plan for one or 12 months contract and buy the phone seperate. Overall this can workout cheaper but you do need to buy the phone.
iPhone 5 will be later this year.

robbies_gal

dont sign up then-i know how you feel though its tempting to get the latest handset but i refuse to go over 18 months

useless_git_requires_wife

giffgaff....

NFH

These 24-month contracts are looking decreasingly attractive. In particular:

• You're tied in for 24 months during which time handsets and tariffs might improve.
• You typically get a SIM-locked phone, making it difficult to use another SIM, for example when abroad.
• The overall package cost is higher than paying full price for the handset and getting a SIM-free contract.

For example, if you want an iPhone 4S on a pay monthly contract, you could pay £499 for the handset and then £7.50+VAT per month for 325 minutes, 150 texts, 750MB data and unlimited landline or Orange calls, resulting in a total of £715 over 2 years; you won't find a 24-month contract with a total cost anywhere nearly as low as this. This is what I'll be doing when the iPhone 5 is released.

grumbler

NFH wrote: »

£7.50+VAT per month for 325 minutes, 150 texts, 750MB data and unlimited landline or Orange calls,

I think the price is likely not to include VAT.

NFH

grumbler wrote: »

I think the price is likely not to include VAT.

Yes, that's exactly what I said. The total price I quoted includes VAT.

robbies_gal

not all 24 month contracts are locked to the network my husbands isnt he got his from p4u

pelirocco

I wont be renewing my contract , so I will be going to a sim only deal , hopefully if I can unlock my HTC desire for free ...........anyone know if I can get code for this?

grumbler

gabbyevs wrote: »

not all 24 month contracts are locked to the network my husbands isnt he got his from p4u

Contract is with the network, not locked to the network.
A handset can be locked, not the contract. Most handsets can be unlocked at a reasonable cost. Many contracts are sim-only.

Just being pedantic...

im-lost

NFH wrote: »

These 24-month contracts are looking decreasingly attractive. In particular:

• You're tied in for 24 months during which time handsets and tariffs might improve.
• You typically get a SIM-locked phone, making it difficult to use another SIM, for example when abroad.
• The overall package cost is higher than paying full price for the handset and getting a SIM-free contract.

For example, if you want an iPhone 4S on a pay monthly contract, you could pay £499 for the handset and then £7.50+VAT per month for 325 minutes, 150 texts, 750MB data and unlimited landline or Orange calls, resulting in a total of £715 over 2 years; you won't find a 24-month contract with a total cost anywhere nearly as low as this. This is what I'll be doing when the iPhone 5 is released.

Tied in for 24 months isn't a bad thing, yet you say it like it is.
Handsets are unlikely to improve much in the next 24 months, well they may, but for Mr Joe average, they wont need any of the extra gimmicks, tariffs are unlikely to change much either, there's very little profit in them as they are, so there's unlikely to be any dramatic decrease in cost or increase in allowances.

A 24 moth contract allows anybody to get a high spec phone on what is effectively a 24 month interest free payment plan, I know very few people who would shell ou £300 - £500 in cash for a handset.

Buy from a 3rd party and the phone is likely to be unlocked, so no problem using local sims abroad.

A higher package cost? really? Ive recently got a HTC sensation for £21 a month, just a bog standard deal, available to anybody, the sim only plan with the SAME allowances would cost £15 a month, So I pay £6 a month, a total of £144 for the handset taking the sim plan in to account, minus £40 quidco, so £104 for a high spec phone, if you can get the same phone on PAYG for the same price then good luck to you

This whole 'the package cost is higher for a contract' is just nonsense, well apart from when you come to the iPhone, as the phones are overpriced to start off with, and the networks charge over the odds for iPhone contracts.