E2 Save and Affordable Mobiles

Beaumont176

Good evening all,

Looking for some advice i am currently on a SIM only deal with vodafone which im happy with although my current mobile phone is now starting to become tired and id like to upgrade.
However to do so im looking at the cheapest option. It seems i cannot buy a new handset outright + have sim only monthly payment for cheaper than what e2save.com and affordablemobiles.co.uk (found these by using Uswitch) can offer. [Total Cost vs Total Cost]

So i phoned my current network provider to see if they can give me a deal on a new Samsung S9, as suspected they cannot match these prices by a long way!

Interestingly the operator told me that these websites do not offer the same service as you would get if you bought through vodafone, 02 and EE etc. As these websites rent a line from the mentioned network providers and piggy back their network so essentially the signal will be weaker and also the warranty offered would not be the same as buying direct?

Can you please advise on the above and if it is better to buy direct rather from these websites mentioned?

Look forward to hearing your opinion,
Thanks,
Scott.

flashg67

Pretty sure, in fact 99.99% sure that's rubbish they're telling you. E2save etc don't have expensive shops to pay for and they get a commission from the network for connecting you so use that to discount the cost to the end user in the form of a cheaper deal, so if it's right for you, go for it.

One thing to maybe watch out for is if you decide to end a contract early - some companies retain 'ownership' of the phone until the minimum contract term ends. So if you early terminate they may ask for the phone back to compensate for any clawback the network may take from them. Not sure if this still happens,and it was well hidden in the small print, but I nearly got caught by mobiles.co.uk with this years ago.

edit to add, you can always go direct to the manufacturer for any warranty issues anyway. Three were rubbish when I had a fault on my LG. I ended up dealing direct with LG and sent it direct for a repair

Beaumont176

flashg67 wrote: »

Pretty sure, in fact 99.99% sure that's rubbish they're telling you. E2save etc don't have expensive shops to pay for and they get a commission from the network for connecting you so use that to discount the cost to the end user in the form of a cheaper deal, so if it's right for you, go for it.

One thing to maybe watch out for is if you decide to end a contract early - some companies retain 'ownership' of the phone until the minimum contract term ends. So if you early terminate they may ask for the phone back to compensate for any clawback the network may take from them. Not sure if this still happens,and it was well hidden in the small print, but I nearly got caught by mobiles.co.uk with this years ago.

edit to add, you can always go direct to the manufacturer for any warranty issues anyway. Three were rubbish when I had a fault on my LG. I ended up dealing direct with LG and sent it direct for a repair

Thanks for your reply that makes sense. Im on a Sim only deal just now so im not owe any money on my current phone.

Im glad youve mentioned mobiles.co.uk as they are even cheaper than the 2 companies ive mentioned in my original post. However after researching they seem to have mixed reviews. Im saving over £300 by avoiding buying direct from the operators

macman

They're talking utter nonsense. The signal is the same, and most of the MVNO's offer better CS than the Big 4: notably Tesco Mobile, Plusnet Mobile, Asda Mobile, giffgaff, etc.

keith1950

Mobiles.co.uk along with E2save and Onestopphoneshop are all part of the Dixon's Carphone Warehouse Group.
Affordablemobiles along with Buymobiles.net are part of the A1comms group.
You should be ok as long as you steer clear of any redemption cashback deals. ( unless you 100% sure you understand the process and the pitfalls.)

pmduk

macman wrote: »

They're talking utter nonsense. The signal is the same, and most of the MVNO's offer better CS than the Big 4: notably Tesco Mobile, Plusnet Mobile, Asda Mobile, giffgaff, etc.

For clarity though, neither company is an MVNO.