is it always cheaper to buy the phone outright?

tumptyteapot

I'm coming to the end of my contract with 02 who have been fine. Since my phone went through a boil wash it hasn't been the same so I need a new one.
I like HTC's and don't need it to do anything special so I think for £150 I could get a phone that would be fine for me.

Is it always better to buy the phone outright and then get a sim only contract somewhere? Virgin or Tesco do ones that would be fine for me at under £15 a month.

I'm enticed by thoughts of 'free' tablets that come with phone contracts. For around £25 a month I could get a Desire 310 or 510 and a tablet.

I don't actually need a new tablet.......

Someone please save me from myself :-)

JJ_Egan

Free gifts in this context are not free .

mobilejunkie

Cashback contracts usually work out much better - but that depends on the phone, the bundle, the timing AND your ability to get the cashback.

tumptyteapot

ohh cashback, I didn't even think of that, thanks - I'll check quidco now

19lottie82

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Free gifts in this context are not free .

Very true. The price of the contract is always bumped up to include the value of the free gift.

In answer to your OP, yes, almost all of the time, although there is the odd exception. You just need to sit down with a calculator and work it out over the minimum term.

Contract Monthly cost x 24

vs

Handset Cost + (24 x sim only or PAYG price)

Minus any applicable cash back. Remember you can also get quidco cashback on a lot of SIM only deals as well.

I posted a good deal that was on mobiles dot co dot uk earlier.

unlimited texts and calls + 3GB data with Vodafone for just over £7 a month, after cashback.

tumptyteapot

my head is reeling now..... thanks everyone, going to have a cup of tea and dive back into it. Moneysupermarket started showing me free gifts along with the cashback and I got seriously distracted by the thought of 'freebies'. I don't need them!

grumbler

tumptyteapot wrote: »

ohh cashback, I didn't even think of that, thanks - I'll check quidco now

Quidco/TCB are worth checking, but he meant redemption deals mainly, e.g.
http://www.e2save.com/cashback.html


And no, even without cashback sim-free + sim-only isn't always cheaper than a contract phone, although the deals with 'free gifts' are usually of very poor value (compared to hard cash redemption).

tumptyteapot

ah right, thanks. It looks like a real hassle getting the money back though.

Frozen_up_north

Provided you can either use your existing phone, or obtain one at a good price, there should always be an advantage in going the SIM only route.

On a SIM + phone package you are buying a phone on credit, typically by 24 monthly installments. You are then stuck in a 24 month contract and a lot can happen in 2 years. The networks love people to ditch their phone every couple of years and hook them into a shiny new deal for another 2.

With SIM only, you can opt for a 30 day rolling contract and move providers in a matter of days if there is a better deal or the coverage/performance drops off.

I would think long and hard before signing up for a 2 year deal, as others have said check the costs with a calculator.

tumptyteapot

brilliant, you are all really helpful and I can't believe I've had phone contracts for the last 6 years and only just realised it's just HP!

one last question, which google isn't answering for me: I'm thinking of just sorting out the sim for the moment and sticking with my rubbish phone until I find a better one. If I do that and I get the wrong size sim for the new phone what happens? Do they give me a new one with the same number in the right size? Do I have to change contracts again?

Silk

tumptyteapot wrote: »

brilliant, you are all really helpful and I can't believe I've had phone contracts for the last 6 years and only just realised it's just HP!

one last question, which google isn't answering for me: I'm thinking of just sorting out the sim for the moment and sticking with my rubbish phone until I find a better one. If I do that and I get the wrong size sim for the new phone what happens? Do they give me a new one with the same number in the right size? Do I have to change contracts again?

They will provide you with the correct size and keep the same number ...or you can have the sim cut to size/ use an adapter
Either way no problem