Carphone - Locked or not

Guys_Dad

I went into the Carphone Warehouse yesterday to get a new mobile for my son to replace his old one which was not holding its charge. Chose a mid-range Android and saw there were 2 prices. With a PAYG sim, the handset was £30 cheaper than sim-free.

Well, I have bought mobiles from CPW in the past and have simply ditched the PAYG sim and put in my old sim from my contract, so went for one with a PAYG sim.

The CPW salesman, however, said that the handset would be locked to the network on sale. I asked how and we got into a bit of a dispute. Basically, if I bought the handset with a Virgin sim, when the sale went through, he said he would have to lock it (goodness knows how) on the till, but he admitted that if I bought it on another network PAYG sim, it wouldn't be locked to that network. The catch would be, that it would be £10 more than on Virgin. (I suspect that maybe Virgin were paying a better commission to CPW enabling them to advertise the handset at a lower "from price")

As it was for my son, I capitulated and paid the extra £10 but still cheaper than buying sim-free. I didn't want to take the risk that after a day or so, the phone would suddenly lock to Virgin. I should add, that it was the same physical handset regardless of what sim was chosen.

I always believed that all phones (except Iphones) were sold unlocked by CPW and have a deep suspicion that I may have been fed some bull***t in order for CPW to get an extra £10, but would be grateful for some informed information on whether the handset would have been locked if I had gone for the Virgin sim.

sdduk

Guys_Dad wrote: »

I went into the Carphone Warehouse yesterday to get a new mobile for my son to replace his old one which was not holding its charge. Chose a mid-range Android and saw there were 2 prices. With a PAYG sim, the handset was £30 cheaper than sim-free.

Well, I have bought mobiles from CPW in the past and have simply ditched the PAYG sim and put in my old sim from my contract, so went for one with a PAYG sim.

The CPW salesman, however, said that the handset would be locked to the network on sale. I asked how and we got into a bit of a dispute. Basically, if I bought the handset with a Virgin sim, when the sale went through, he said he would have to lock it (goodness knows how) on the till, but he admitted that if I bought it on another network PAYG sim, it wouldn't be locked to that network. The catch would be, that it would be £10 more than on Virgin. (I suspect that maybe Virgin were paying a better commission to CPW enabling them to advertise the handset at a lower "from price")

As it was for my son, I capitulated and paid the extra £10 but still cheaper than buying sim-free. I didn't want to take the risk that after a day or so, the phone would suddenly lock to Virgin. I should add, that it was the same physical handset regardless of what sim was chosen.

I always believed that all phones (except Iphones) were sold unlocked by CPW and have a deep suspicion that I may have been fed some bull***t in order for CPW to get an extra £10, but would be grateful for some informed information on whether the handset would have been locked if I had gone for the Virgin sim.

Afaik all mobile phones are unlock apart from as you said The iPhone which locks as soon as you put a sim in it.

Sounds like a load of crap he was telling you unless its just come into force we would have herd about it on here because most people would have complained about it after all these years unlocked.

gycraig_2

Without going into to much detail the networks are obviously providing a discount otherwise sim free would be the cheapest price.

If it's to use with your own sim company policy is it should be sold sim free

All phones are unlocked

sdduk

gycraig wrote: »

Without going into to much detail the networks are obviously providing a discount otherwise sim free would be the cheapest price.

If it's to use with your own sim company policy is it should be sold sim free

All phones are unlocked

They are both Unlocked.
Sim free means there is no operators software on the phone.

gycraig_2

A sim free phone is a phone sold without any discount provided by the network for buying it with a sim.

Hence sim free without a sim and payg with a 10 pound top up but a bit cheaper

Guys_Dad

Thank you for your comments. I have bought a number of PAYG phones in the past from CPW and all of them have been unlocked.

However, the sales guy was adamant that if I bought the handset with a Virgin sim, then it would be locked to Virgin but he could put it on any other network and it would be unlocked.

This is the point I am seeking clarification on.

pmduk

You can always tell when a phone shop employee is lying. Their mouth is open.

sdduk

pmduk wrote: »

You can always tell when a phone shop employee is lying. Their mouth is open.

Ha ha ha :rotfl:

Guys_Dad

pmduk wrote: »

You can always tell when a phone shop employee is lying. Their mouth is open.

So you don't know the answer to my specific question?

eDicky

Guys_Dad wrote: »

So you don't know the answer to my specific question?

Next time you pass by the shop drop in and, avoiding the same sales assistant, ask about the same phone without mentioning that you intend to use your own SIM with it. Then ask why the Virgin version is £10 cheaper. Let us know whether you get the same story...

Kim_13

I don't know for certain, but I'm inclined to think that it's rubbish, at least the way he put it across.

It sounds as though there were three prices offered by this salesman: Sim free price, sim free less £30 (with any network other than Virgin) or sim free less £40 (Virgin.) Is this correct? Or correct that there were effectively three prices and you were persuaded into going for the middle one?

When buying PAYG phones from Carphone Warehouse, unless they've changed the rules, I've never left the shop without the assistant setting up the phone. They seem to do this without you asking, as it's the way that the phone is locked to the relevant network. The PAYG sim is in the box with the phone and by inserting it, effectively it locks the phone at the till.

Since the phones with sims are subsidised (though as you say, to a greater extent on Virgin), surely the terms of that subsidy is that the staff lock the phones to the chosen network? Otherwise they wouldn't offer the sim free version at a higher price.

So it seems as though the guy was acting as though he was willing to 'bend the rules' for the £10 extra (though presumably you then selected the PAYG option for your son's network, so no rules were actually bent, as the phone is instead locked to your son's network, which is what the PAYG version is designed to do.)

That said, had he let you leave the shop without the sim actually going into the phone then I'd say that's technically him breaking the rules, though if you'd stated what network your son is on, presumably he wasn't bothered as the phone was going to end up locked to that network. Choosing another network at the same price that isn't your son's would also technically break the rules, but that would be financially pointless and you'll never know what he'd have come out with if you'd pushed for that option. If you did this because your son's network wasn't offered, then technically he has broken rules but extracted an extra £10 before breaking rules (the rules apply to all PAYG phones.)

I agree with the above poster though, you should ask another staff member to find out for certain.