3rd party mobile phone providers?

HKitten

I currently have an 8gb iphone 3G, which is getting old and battered - I've had it over three years now. I'd like to upgrade it while it's still in good enough condition to sell once I have a new phone, and for preference I'd like to move up to the iphone 4.

I had a look on moneysupermarket, did a comparison and found an offer for the same price I'm currently paying per month, free 8gb iphone 4 handset, same texts and data, only difference is less minutes BUT it's still more than I actually use in a month so that doesn't matter.

Only thing is, it says the network provider is Vodafone, but the site to buy it from is called mobilephonesdirect. I'm with O2 at the moment and I've never bought from a 3rd party before. I can't get the same deal from O2 apparently, which is a shame but I've got no reason to stay with them if they're more expensive - the best upgrade they could do me was the same for an extra £10 a month.

Are these third party websites worth going with? Or will it be more hassle than the saving is worth?

smartphone

Mobile Phones Direct are a Vodafone approved dealer, have been for a number of years (I used to work with them some years back). Although I've never bought anything from them, I know of no reason to fear buying anything. Third party suppliers put together attractive deals by using the commission given to them by the network. Hope this helps your confidence in doing business with them!