Cancel contract trick for cheap phone

neilmcl

Has anyone tried the so-called "cancel the contract trick" at CPW to get savings on a new phone? It's been well publicised both here on the main site and on HUKD.

I believe the trick is you select any phone online at CPW then select the cheapest upfront price on a SIM only deal (it supposedly works for month 1mth and 12mth contracts, but not 24). Then when you get your phone and SIM you ring up the provider, O2 seems the best for this, and cancel the contract within your 14 days cooling off period. You then get to keep the phone. Adding the current £50 cashback from TCB and you can get a very cheap phone.

Personally I'm a little sceptical about this. Sure you can get the phone cheap, or so it seems, but there's no evidence that CPW, when they find out that you've cancelled your airtime contract, that they won demand to return the unused phone or pay the full price for it.

gardner1

neilmcl wrote: »

Has anyone tried the so-called "cancel the contract trick" at CPW to get savings on a new phone? It's been well publicised both here on the main site and on HUKD.

I believe the trick is you select any phone online at CPW then select the cheapest upfront price on a SIM only deal (it supposedly works for month 1mth and 12mth contracts, but not 24). Then when you get your phone and SIM you ring up the provider, O2 seems the best for this, and cancel the contract within your 14 days cooling off period. You then get to keep the phone. Adding the current £50 cashback from TCB and you can get a very cheap phone.

Personally I'm a little sceptical about this. Sure you can get the phone cheap, or so it seems, but there's no evidence that CPW, when they find out that you've cancelled your airtime contract, that they won demand to return the unused phone or pay the full price for it.

I think that will be classed as theft/fraud

pmduk

At one stage, it may have worked out cheaper for CPW to take the hit than to chase these handsets, however, now it's been promoted on HUKD, and now MSE, you can be sure they'll start chasing every last one of them. Possibly retrospectively.

Their shareholders will be eternally grateful.

mobilejunkie

Firstly, you don't normally get a cooling off period unless bought on-line or CPW have generous t&c.

Second, you won't get TCB money after cancelling an order. That's plainly nonsense. Thirdly, since they would be two separate transactions buying the phone has nothing to do with buying a sim only contract.

Sounds like complete rubbish to me.

neilmcl

mobilejunkie wrote: »

Firstly, you don't normally get a cooling off period unless bought on-line or CPW have generous t&c.

Second, you won't get TCB money after cancelling an order. That's plainly nonsense. Thirdly, since they would be two separate transactions buying the phone has nothing to do with buying a sim only contract.

Sounds like complete rubbish to me.

I should've clarified, these "deals" are being done online.

mobilejunkie

You still won't get anything from Topcashback is you cancel the contract. It also doesn't alter the fact the two transactions are unrelated so cancelling the contract wouldn't achieve anything. Why bother taking out the contract since there's absolutely no point in taking it out just to cancel it?

I think it's an O2 contract where the two are combined but charged separately - that might make a difference.

neilmcl

mobilejunkie wrote: »

You still won't get anything from Topcashback is you cancel the contract. It also doesn't alter the fact the two transactions are unrelated so cancelling the contract wouldn't achieve anything. Why bother taking out the contract since there's absolutely no point in taking it out just to cancel it?

I think it's an O2 contract where the two are combined but charged separately - that might make a difference.

It seems that there's evidence that cashback has been paid.

mobilejunkie

I would take that with the same pinch I salt I would use for Putin's denials.

If you want to go to the trouble of trying to scam a network and expect to succeed with your own money, who am I to argue...

neilmcl

mobilejunkie wrote: »

I would take that with the same pinch I salt I would use for Putin's denials.

If you want to go to the trouble of trying to scam a network and expect to succeed with your own money, who am I to argue...

I never said I was, in fact I'm quite sceptical about the whole idea, as I said in my OP.

Forgetting the cashback, as that's never guaranteed anyway, sure you can cancel the Sim contract and keep hold of the phone but that doesn't stop CPW from coming after you once they've worked out that you haven't returned the handset. You may get away with it on 1 month rolling SIM only contracts because you're commitment is just for a month after which you own the phone but never on a 12 month contract.

pmduk

neilmcl wrote: »

You may get away with it on 1 month rolling SIM only contracts because you're commitment is just for a month after which you own the phone but never on a 12 month contract.

But there is no handset in a SIMO contract,

neilmcl

pmduk wrote: »

But there is no handset in a SIMO contract,

There is if you order a handset deal that comes with an attached SIMO contract. Go to CPW, choose a phone then go to the SIM free tab, underneath you'll see an option to add a SIM only package which then takes you on to the various different options and discounted handset prices.