24 month contract feels like a ball and chain

im-lost

pelirocco wrote: »

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?

see the thread over on XDA forums for a free unlock utility for
the HTC desire (Bravo)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=943726

NFH

im-lost wrote: »

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.

I am looking specifically at iPhone contracts, so you might be right.

Buzby

I see nobody has mentioned the most important thing about a mobile contract - that you have to give them permission to disclose your financial dealings, and can be defaulted and affect your credit score for 5 years. No problem if you don;t plan on taking out financial products, but a royal PITA if you do.

NFH

Buzby wrote: »

I see nobody has mentioned the most important thing about a mobile contract - that you have to give them permission to disclose your financial dealings

I don't think many on here would consider that is the most important thing about a mobile contract. Most would consider quality of service and price before considering credit reference implications.

gjchester

Buzby wrote: »

I see nobody has mentioned the most important thing about a mobile contract - that you have to give them permission to disclose your financial dealings, and can be defaulted and affect your credit score for 5 years. No problem if you don;t plan on taking out financial products, but a royal PITA if you do.

Thats no different to any other contract, Gym membership, catalog payments and so on...

N9eav

2 days to go.... One thing that has been good with a contract is they have fixed the phone under warantee and sorted out any other problems free....

gjchester

N9eav wrote: »

2 days to go.... One thing that has been good with a contract is they have fixed the phone under warantee and sorted out any other problems free....

The warranty has nothing to do with the contract length. If you had a 1 year contract and the phone had a 2 year warranty it should still be fixed for free..

grumbler

gjchester wrote: »

The warranty has nothing to do with the contract length....

I think it does at some network. Was it Vodafone who automatically extended the warranty if it was shorter then the min term?

Guys_Dad

im-lost wrote: »

Tied in for 24 months isn't a bad thing, yet you say it like it is..

Try telling that to many of the MSE members who have subsequently lost their jobs and are redundant/unemployed.

Stuart_W

im-lost wrote: »

This whole 'the package cost is higher for a contract' is just nonsense.

Not all the time. It isn't just iphones that work out more expensive on contract. There are instances when, over a whole contract, the total contract cost compared to phone purchase plus SIM only is slightly cheaper. However, some major points missed -

- With SIM-only there is total flexibility to shift tariffs up or down whenever you like
- If the unexpected happens (unemployment, change of family circumstances, who knows what they next 2 years holds etc) you can always shift to a budget PAYG service (icardmobile, giffgaff, etc etc) and reduce fixed costs down to zero and only pay if you choose to use the phone
- If the opposite happens and you are after a newer handset before the 24 months is up, you don't need to "buy out" your contract and hand over cash for nothing to sign up to another "free" phone
- The cost of a 24 month contract is rarely monthly line rental x24. Non-inclusive charges are on the rise (08 calls, international, going over allowances and paying huge rates). If you need to only spend £20 a month, a PAYG phone won't let you spend beyond your top up balance. Whilst TescoMobile and T-mobile's YouFix offer a fixed capping service it should come as no surprise that the best handset deals are not generally available with capped services - because the profitable stream of income from excess charges is cut off so they can't subsidise the handset as much.

Granted though, there are instances when if you have a specific bundled call/text/data need and are after a specific handset which happens to be one of the network's packaged contract deals, you can be better off on a contract - but ultimately you can only actually confirm this 24 months later at the other end of the contract, when you look at whether you went over your allowances regularly and got stung with run-on rates, significantly under-used your allowances and could have been on a much cheaper tariff, or had to buy out your contract to get another "free" phone.

I have no idea what my phone use will look like in 18 months time. Mobile internet usage is predicted to overtake desktop internet usage by 2014, which shows how fast moving the communications industry is. Where does a 24 month contract belong in such a fast moving industry?