Travelling to Oz....mobile help

will369

Hi guys

I currently have a contract phone on EE network. In 2 weeks time I am travelling to Australia. I will be gone for a year, maybe longer.

My contract still has 14 months left on it.

My friend, who has recently gone to Australia managed to put her Orange contract on hold for 6 months. Then when the 6 months are up she can ring up and put it on hold again.

I just don’t know what to do as I don’t want to keep paying it if I am not going to use it. I will probably get a Australian sim / phone when I am out there.

I rung up EE yesterday and the bloke I spoke to said I cant do what my friend done L

Any suggestions?

grumbler

will369 wrote: »

My friend, who has recently gone to Australia managed to put her Orange contract on hold for 6 months.

This is very uncommon.

Then when the 6 months are up she can ring up and put it on hold again.

I'll be very surprised if she can really do this.

I just don’t know what to do as I don’t want to keep paying it if I am not going to use it. I will probably get a Australian sim / phone when I am out there.

I rung up EE yesterday and the bloke I spoke to said I cant do what my friend done L

Any suggestions?

You are at their mercy and are very unlikely to make them change their mind.
If you cancel the contract early and pay the ETC, you can possibly save about 1/6 of the total cost of the remaining moths; at least this is what Orange used to do. Not sure about EE.

It's hard to believe that 10 months ago you weren't even thinking about a year-long trip to Australia.

Make sure your phone is unlocked if you want to use it with a local sim.

Silk

will369 wrote: »

My friend, who has recently gone to Australia managed to put her Orange contract on hold for 6 months. Then when the 6 months are up she can ring up and put it on hold again.

Orange are the only ones that do it as far as I know, it was intended for the armed forces whilst on deployment but would seem they can be pushed into offering to most who go abroad.
The 6 months get added on to extend the minimum term

macman

You can but ask-but they are under no obligation whatsoever to offer this. Failing that, can you pass the remaining contract on to a trusted friend or family member? But remember that you remain liable for any debt or default, regardless of who is paying the DD.

d123

grumbler wrote: »

This is very uncommon.
I'll be very surprised if she can really do this.

I've never seen Orange give more than one 6 month hold.

T-Mobile also had a similar system years ago, same idea, one hiatus period could be requested in the life of the contract and the time was added onto the end of the contract.

EE and T-Mobile don't do it, so the OP will have to continue paying or transfer the contract to someone else.