Debating which network and deal I should get?

Jlawson118

So right now I'm 20 and my mum and step dad currently pay for my mobile phone contract in which comes to an end this month and I've been saying since early this year that it's about time I paid for my own and they accept that.

I'm currently on EE, and we've had a bit of trouble with them over the years but I generally think they are a fairly good network in terms of coverage.

I'm still debating whether or not to get a sim only deal and stick with the phone I have, or get a pay monthly plan on an iPhone 7 in which gets announced tonight.

I use trustpilot quite a lot, and EE, Vodafone and O2 all had one star reviews, and I was shocked to see that Three have four star ratings from their customers as I remember Three used to be known as a poor network. Most of the reviews were thanking them for their abroad coverage, and that seems good to me as I do like to travel once or twice a year and it may come in handy. But then O2 do freebies and I've heard Vodafone do too..

So who does the best deals on sim only and phone contracts?

Cisco001

I no longer use SIM only or phone contract these day.

I just buy a phone, use PAYG with buying bundle every 30 days.

If you got cash, buy the iphone with apple such that the phone don't lock to any network.

Jlawson118

Cisco001 wrote: »

I no longer use SIM only or phone contract these day.

I just buy a phone, use PAYG with buying bundle every 30 days.

If you got cash, buy the iphone with apple such that the phone don't lock to any network.

I've been on pay monthly that long now, I completely forgot about pay as you go hahaha, that's a good idea.
My current contract was an iPhone 6 Plus locked to EE, but this exact day last year, I had it stolen in when I was in Ireland and so I bought an unlocked 6S direct from Apple. So I do have an unlocked phone for pay as you go

Ian011

Contract deals offer a monthly allowance of calls, texts and data for a fixed monthly fee. Make sure the allowance covers your usage. If you exceed the allowance or make calls and send texts to numbers not included in the allowance, it will be very costly, often 50p per minute or more. Absolutely avoid calling numbers starting 070, 084, 087, 09 and 118. These are always non-inclusive and expensive.

It's your choice whether to go for fixed term deal with a handset or a one month at a time deal and get the handset separately.

Pay as you go offers two propositions.

One is a monthly bundle of calls, texts and data for a fixed price. You can get hundreds of minutes and thousands of texts for £10. With this deal you must make sure you do not exceed the allowance otherwise it gets very expensive very quickly. You need to be aware what happens if you use up the inclusive allowance before the end of the month validity period. A ten pound top up for further usage might give only 20 minutes or 60 texts.

The other option is to pay for individual calls and texts. The best providers charge 3p per minute and 2p per text. The worst charge 55p per minute and 25p per text. It doesn't take much usage before a monthly bundle becomes better value for money.

Frozen_up_north

The "free phone" offer with contracts isn't free at all, you are paying for the phone on finance over 24 months... On top of that, if there is a problem with the phone you could end up in a squabble where the manufacturer isn't interested as you didn't buy the phone from them and the network blames the phone manufacturer... You will see this quite often on this forum.

I have always gone SIM only, it gives the greatest flexibility and a lot can change in 24 months. If you decide you really need a new iPhone get one direct from Apple, they have great customer support and the phone won't lock to the network of the first SIM inserted (Carphone Warehouse and Argos iPhones lock, see their T&Cs).

Regarding networks, we have two SIM only contracts with Three and find them quite good, although their 4G rollout isn't very widespread. They offer a zero overspend cap on contracts (you can turn it on or off via the web) and have "Feel at Home" roaming on some contracts to 42 countries from midnight tonight. We travel to Spain several times a year and use the free roaming a lot. Unlike some, the roaming includes data, although the data speed in Spain is very variable... Still being able to use up to 12 GB out of our UK allowance each month roaming isn't bad compared to most.

nomoneytoday

Why not pick up a couple of PAYG sims on the networks to try out the coverage? No point in being tied in if there's no signal.
Once you know which networks are good in your area, you can look at the best contract or MVNO for you