Mobile Contract Deals

slenderkitten

Hi I have been an orange customer for 18 years my current contract ends in September for my Samsung s3

I'm really not sure what to do.

my S3 is old a bit battered but still in a sell-able condition, i definately need to replace it as its too slow now for what i have installed on it.

My contract is
unlimited minutes
unlimited texts
loyalty discount 20%
1gb data
250mb data loyalty,
i pay about £30 because of the discount

if i go back to orange would it now go to EE rather than Orange?

Technology wise is Samsung S5 any good i always like to have the latest technology primarily because of the apps i use take alot of resources, alot of phones seem to have the same spec from what i gather.

i'm just wondering if it may be better to save for a new phone or buy second hand from cex or wherever then put in a payg sim card, if so which sim is the best deal?

If i do go on contract i would be looking to go on a lesser contract as i don't use that much calls., if i did this with orange or any other company can i go up a contract in case my needs changes and i call more?

I use internet on the phone every day so need a good enough plan to cover calls, text and data.

Are these cash back deals and free gifts (i have never used cashback in my life) worth doing, i normally call up orange so dont get any of them? I would be interested in a free tablet one.

Thanks for your input

ste_wilko

As far as I am aware you can upgrade to EE from Orange and keep your perks. One thing to bear in mind though, is that EE will not let you reduce your contract amount if you upgrade early, even if it is only a month early and you've paid the early transfer fee).

Orange contracts are still being sold, so are T-Mobile, so you'll be fine if you want to stay with Orange.

Now, with regards to the tablet/laptop/games consoles and tv offers with new contracts they are usually through 3rd party sellers such as carphone warehouse and phones4u etc. I do know that Vodafone will not allow you to keep your loyalty rewards if you upgrade through one of these 3rd parties, I am not sure on the other networks policies regarding it but it is something to bear in mind as it might increase your price plans and therefor not really making the 'free' gift free in the long run.

Personally, I would never buy anything from CEX as they massively overprice pretty much everything (apart from DVD's, I've noticed).

EE has a really good deal called the 4G Extra plan, that costs 37.99/month and you get 4GB of data, unlimited mins and texts as well as being able to use your allowance from within Europe. If they allow you to keep your discount that will reduce it to £30/month. I know you want to reduce it but if you want a high data allowance it is going to be hard to get anything for less, as that is where they seem to make all their money these days (hence why they can give you unlimited calls and texts). If you are after the latest technology you could see about having a rolling contract on your current plan until the S6 is released and find out what your options would be then.

Call 150 from your S3 and have a chat with Orange, but don't speak with the customer service guys. Choose the option (if there is one) for thinking of leaving

Good luck!

grumbler

slenderkitten wrote: »

...
Are these cash back deals and free gifts (i have never used cashback in my life) worth doing, i normally call up orange so dont get any of them? I would be interested in a free tablet one.

Normally it's other companies that do such offers:
CPW/e2save/osps/mobiles.co.uk
P4U/dial-a-phone
...
Contacts with free gifts are usually very poor value for money compared to contracts with cashback, although the latter can be more complicated unless it's 'automatic' (or even compared to buying both the phone and the 'gift' and going sim-only).