Third Party Suppliers

FarmerGilesUK

Hi all.

Just had a very frustrating conversation with 3 who are really pushing me to get my new contract AND phone with them (of course), trouble is they are too expensive.

Using a 3rd party supplier could save < c£10 a month. Are there any real (as opposed to scare stories) risks using a tp rather than direct with 3?

I'm talking about mobilesphonesdirect, buymobiles etc.

Any definitely to be avoided?

Regards

Inner_Zone

Several issues, firstly cashback is not guaranteed and you have to be carful to submit your claims within their strict time scales, at the end of the contract usually one year the price goes up effectively as the cashback will stop.

FarmerGilesUK

There's no cashback on the deals I'm looking at, just a straight £33pcm, no upfront cost for the phone either. I'm aware that the contract cost will go up on its anniversary in line with RPI.

Regards

mobilejunkie

In over 10 years I've had scores of contracts and ordered several times more for others. I've only ever ordered one (free) sim only deal from a network plus a few PAYG totally free sims. 99% of mine are via dealers and on cashback. Once you've ordered (for non-cashback deals) your contract is with the network, not the dealer (except on rare ocassions where people have terminated early and certain dealers try to charge something for the phone). Third part deals are almost always cheaper - much more so when using cashback contracts (the cashback elements are with the dealer and not the network).