Approaching end of contract options - advice

Simon7685

I am about to enter the final month of my first contract and would like some advice on what my options will be, having not been in this position before.

I have had this phone for 17 months now with T Mobile on 100 mins, 100 texts and unlimited internet. To be honest this is ideal for me, I am only a low user, so don't need anymore than that.

I have been looking around on the T Mobile site and also E2Save who I got this one through to see what sort of deals there are available. I am used to paying the just under £22 a month that this phone cost me when I got it, so don't really want to go over that amount but would like to get a more up to date phone.

What sort of negotiation can I get with T Mobile and even though my current tariff isn't available anymore, will they play ball with letting me stay on that tariff and get a new phone, or do I have to change the tariff to one that is available now?

I also got a good cashback deal when I took this one out, I got £45 through my cashback website and then every 3 months Carphone Warehouse have sent me a cheque for £30 as well, which has been a bonus.

I just need some sound advice really on what sort of bargaining power I will have with T Mobile and what I can/can't expect from them. Also what if I just keep the existing phone, what would my options be for that.

Hopefully you can all give me some good advice so I know what to expect when they start ringing me up offering me this that and the other. It's a bit of a minefield when you haven't done it before.

Thanks in advance

Cycrow

first, what is it you want ?
are you happy with the phone, or are you after a new phone ?
if so, what phone would you like ?

cashback is unlikly to get again, as its usually only for new customers, and not for upgrades, althou you could potentially get it for moving around networks

malcumms7898

Things like cashback and free gifts are used as incentives so like Cycrow says, you are only likely to get those by moving to a new contract / provider. Your contract has a minimum term you have to follow, but it will not actually expire in a month. You can continue to pay what you are paying for your current tariff as that is what you had agreed to. Unless you opt to go for a new phone in which case they may rearrange the payments. I would say if you are happy with what you have got then keep your current phone and contract as they are, if your phone starts to feel really out of date in the coming months then you can consider moving to a new contract / network and benefiting from an incentive deal like cashback.

Simon7685

I would like to upgrade to something like a samsung galaxy S3 mini. Mainly because mine the Galaxy W is only a single processor, so it can be a bit slow and hang sometimes. I wouldn't want to do that though if it was going to cost me a fortune.

If I kept the existing phone, is there any chance they would reduce the monthly cost then? £22 for what I get seems a bit much, it was okay when I got a free phone and all the cashback thrown in but moving forward for 100 mins and txts with free internet booster, it seems a bit steep now???

grumbler

Simon7685 wrote: »

... I wouldn't want to do that though if it was going to cost me a fortune...

150m+200t+500Mb cost £0 (£15 one-off) with Ovivo. This is the starting point for calculating how much upgrading will actually cost you.

Mat_Lock

For £12 a month you can get 250 mins, unlimited texts and unlimited data on GiffGaff (uses O2 network) but you'll keep your own phone with that option.

Cycrow

yes if you kept your existing phone, u'll be able to move onto a sim only deal which would work out cheaper for you.

from tmobile, at £8 a month on a 12-month plan, you can get 250mins, 500text and 500mb data
or £10 a month for the same on a rolling 30 day plan.

if you wanted the S3 mini, its showing on the tmobile site currently at £21 a month with 100 mins, unlimited text and 1gb data with the phone free.
as your an existing customer, you could try for an extra discount on that, if you ring up to say you're thinking of canceling, they might offer you a better deal.

pepdavies

Buy a Nexus 4 for £239 and stick an Ovivo sim in it. Over 18 months it'll cost you £13 a month and you'll have an awesome phone!

Simon7685

lots of really usefull info on here for me thanks very much. It looks like I am going to have to spend some time reading through stuff and looking at what different companies can offer.

It's all a bit of a minefield when you haven't done it before, I take it whatever I do I can keep my existing number, even if I move to another network?

Another question...
When I got this phone from E2Save, it wasn't locked or had any T Mobile branding on it, it just came sim free and they sent a T mobile sim card that I just had to put in it. Are they all like that? Or if I upgraded on T Mobile, would the new phone come with a big T Mobile banner on the casing?

Mat_Lock

Don't forget Quidco & TCB if you're on them and you're taking out new contracts

grumbler

Yes, you can take your number to any other network.
If you upgrade via T-mobile directly the new phone will be locked. Only the phones supplied by third parties are usually unlocked.