pay monthly - cashback....risky?

hairytoes

Hi everyone,

I'm new to smartphones & contracts, I've had one now for 18 months (Huawei £7.70 pm on TalkMobile).
With the exception of 1 month when I was caught out, by not knowing my usage (my own fault) I've been able to stick to my £7.70 limit easily enough.
This has helped enormously with budgeting, compared to PAYG.

As I near my contract end, I've begun looking for a new phone & provider (I don't like my phone & the internet coverage is very poor - even though it's very cheap).

A search for cheap pay monthly deals, brought me to this website, where "Mobile Phones Direct" are heavily represented as good value, giving "Cashback" deals.
Another search on how safe these deals are, brought me back again to this very same website - which suggested these "Cashback" deals are not so great & often do NOT pay out.

I thought I'd open a thread (I did search, with some very limited success), to ask if anyone has experience on "Mobile Phones Direct", especially on successfully or unsuccessfully claiming their cashback from pay monthly contracts.

Martin had written that He'd go for them, only if the original price was good - so that if he didn't get his cashback he wouldn't be TOO bothered.
I was looking at a phone where I would need to be sure my cashback would be rewarded, to justify buying the phone (Sony Z1).

Any help much appreciated, thanks for your time.

Collabora

look at tesco mobile they have some good deals http://shop.tescomobile.com/pay-monthly/mobile-phones/motorola/moto+e?deal=14847

mobilejunkie

I think this dealer has a very high contract value pre-cashback. I live off cashback deals and have done for years but would be reticent to use them for this and other reasons. That's from someone who's done so well from cashback contracts (I currently have 8 of my own running and look after several times more than that for others) that I am prepared to take more risk if the deal is right.

hairytoes

mobilejunkie wrote: »

I think this dealer has a very high contract value pre-cashback. I live off cashback deals and have done for years but would be reticent to use them for this and other reasons. That's from someone who's done so well from cashback contracts (I currently have 8 of my own running and look after several times more than that for others) that I am prepared to take more risk if the deal is right.

Wow, then you're the person I should talk to lol :rotfl:
I've only had one contract & once I understood how to operate it & the phone properly - I was fine & met all my needs for less than I had on PAYG.

I say this, because I think if I was able to get up to speed on the rules of the cashback system, then I could be disciplined enough to meet the expectations of the contract (as long as this was possible & not an impossible scam).

Would you be willing to recommend any particular dealers, or any tips to help ensure a newbie like myself would be less likely to be stung by missing out on dates etc.. (I did already read some of you replies to threads via the search facility prior to starting a new link).

Thanks for the reply. I'm sure others as well as myself, will value the opinions/advice of such an experienced person in this area. :beer:

@ Collabora
Thanks for the link mate, I've checked those out before. I'm looking to investigate better phones, at cheaper prices via cashback deals - which look quite a bit riskier, but great if you can manage it correctly. I'm wondering if these deals are TOO good to be true though?
I can't post links ...

Basically a 1/2 price phone.....:drool:
Sony Xperia Z1 on Vodafone.
£14 per month, normally £30.50 per month, but with £396 cashback over 5 monthly installments over the 24 month contract:
600 mins, unlimited texts, unlimited data for 3 months then 500mb, 3GB BT Openzone WiFi hotspot access

Thanks for taking the time to help out.

Silk

hairytoes wrote: »

Would you be willing to recommend any particular dealers, or any tips to help ensure a newbie like myself would be less likely to be stung by missing out on dates etc.. (I did already read some of you replies to threads via the search facility prior to starting a new link).

Have a read of MJ's thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/558661=
It's a first class read if that's what you want to do

Collabora

hairytoes wrote: »

Basically a 1/2 price phone.....:drool:
Sony Xperia Z1 on Vodafone.
£14 per month, normally £30.50 per month, but with £396 cashback over 5 monthly installments over the 24 month contract:
600 mins, unlimited texts, unlimited data for 3 months then 500mb, 3GB BT Openzone WiFi hotspot access

Thanks for taking the time to help out.

Sonys dont have a great battery life, most will only charge to 90/95% and then drain very quickly even in standby

hairytoes

Silk wrote: »

Have a read of MJ's thread (link removed - Newbie's can't post links)
It's a first class read if that's what you want to do

Ooft, fantastic!
Can't believe I didn't see this earlier, from my thread search - it's huge!
Mmmmn maybe after reading all that, cashback really is an offer too good to be true...thought as much.

It is tempting though, I'll need to try to find a deal that is close to what I would deem acceptable to pay in any case without cash back...As Martin originally suggested.

As for "MJ"...:T Kudos!

Silk

hairytoes wrote: »

Mmmmn maybe after reading all that, cashback really is an offer too good to be true...thought as much.

Your welcome.
The main problem, providing you follow the rules and are prepared to sue if they try to wriggle. is if the company drops such as the recent demise of Phones4u and related companies

flashg67

I am at the end of a cashback contract with MPD and have successfully claimed all the cashback, the only hassle was when I changed bank accounts - their system doesn't seem to like this.

I'd agree that the ongoing monthly cost is important to consider as the cashback has a tendency to be 'swallowed up' into my account as it comes in a number of relatively small amounts (mine was around £100 in total over 2 years), but you still have to pay the full cost every month. And of course if the company goes bust, you'll get nowt anyway.

If you're disciplined, you could save the cashback and use it towards a new phone or something nice after 2 years, but I didn't!

I just set a calendar reminder to send in the relevant bill/claim form at the correct times.

hairytoes

Good points, all.

Thanks for the info on MPD paying up, something to consider.

I'm now thinking about buying a sim free phone & then looking around for a good sim only deal...maybe that would suit me better (if I want to know my EXACT monthly bills).

The Sony phones had a good camera, which is the main reason for upgrading from what I have.

DCFC79

I'm with Tesco Mobile and its quite good, coverage is good, Im not in a 4G area but I can connect to 4G if I am in an area with 4G coverage. Had no problems at all with the service.