Three Upgrades - Can I Go on a 3rd Party Site to Upgrade?

papper00

alfie1950 wrote: »

Why not just get a new deal with 3 now then use your old sim in the new phone until May.
Then request to go pay as you go on your old sim and then once it switches to pay as you go request to swop your number over to the new SIM.
This is not without cost but would only mean three overlap payments which if your short of cash is probably better than buying a cheap phone you don't really want and you could buy through a third party retailer if necessary taking advantage of any cashback offers available. I

Nice idea, thanks for the comment.

The thing is I'm happy enough to continue with my current phone, cracked screen and all, until upgrade time. I can get the screen repaired for around £100 if I really wanted to, meaning I could technically just crack on with this one.

But when upgrade time comes, I know what phone I want. From past experience the third party sites like affordablemobiles, buymobiles.net and so on allow you to upgrade with a far better deal than the providers (EE, etc) offer directly. The problem is, Three don't seem to be available for upgrade via any third party retailers.

So the choice becomes; do I cancel the contract when it ends and take a new one out with different provider, getting the absolute best deal possible via a third party site, or do I try and find a way to upgrade with Three as cheap as I can with 30 days remaining on the contract?

I'd prefer to stick with the contract I have for ease, but I don't believe Three will bend over backwards to keep me with them, and those awesome third party sites won't upgrade Three users.

I don't need an interim phone, different deal or whatever if that makes sense.

DCFC79

papper00 wrote: »

Thanks again to yourself and all for the follow-up advice. This one's not viable as I love a good smartphone, but don't have the cash upfront to buy it outright and go SIM-only.

Other makes are available that don't cost the price of a Samsung.

papper00

DCFC79 wrote: »

Other makes are available that don't cost the price of a Samsung.

Thanks for the comment, and I agree. My next handset is going to be the Honor View 20, which although still a flagship device, is a cheaper alternative to the top-end Hauwei and Samsung models.

mobilejunkie

papper00 wrote: »

Nice idea, thanks for the comment.


So the choice becomes; do I cancel the contract when it ends and take a new one out with different provider, getting the absolute best deal possible via a third party site, or do I try and find a way to upgrade with Three as cheap as I can with 30 days remaining on the contract?

I'd prefer to stick with the contract I have for ease, but I don't believe Three will bend over backwards to keep me with them, and those awesome third party sites won't upgrade Three users.

I don't need an interim phone, different deal or whatever if that makes sense.

If you stick with the existing contract you won't get better terms. A so-called "upgrade" is a new contract which will (like any other) have new t&c and a new minimum term. A minor convenience is not having to port the number, but hardly worth bothering about if you can get a better deal elsewhere.

papper00

mobilejunkie wrote: »

If you stick with the existing contract you won't get better terms. A so-called "upgrade" is a new contract which will (like any other) have new t&c and a new minimum term. A minor convenience is not having to port the number, but hardly worth bothering about if you can get a better deal elsewhere.

Yeah I get that - the main reason for upgrading being the preferred option is I get my shiny new phone a month earlier. Purely, unashamedly selfish. I absolutely accept that I'm entering into a new contract.

If I had the money to do so I'd go SIM only and buy the new thing outright in May - alas, monthly contract is the only realistic option for me at the mo.

eDicky

papper00 wrote: »

If I had the money to do so I'd go SIM only and buy the new thing outright in May - alas, monthly contract is the only realistic option for me at the mo.

Why not check your eligibility for a credit card with 0% interest on purchases, with which you could buy your phone outright and avoid the expensive contract. Just put away the money each month to be ready to pay it off by the time the 0% period ends.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-0-credit-cards/

alfie1950

I probably worded my reply incorrectly...
When you get near the last month of your minimum term on your 3 contract take out a new contract with 3 via a third party retailer and then do the switch to pay as you go and number transfer with 3.

papper00

eDicky wrote: »

Why not check your eligibility for a credit card with 0% interest on purchases, with which you could buy your phone outright and avoid the expensive contract. Just put away the money each month to be ready to pay it off by the time the 0% period ends.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-0-credit-cards/

Another cracking idea - not a great credit rating unfortunately, tried this route for a tumble drier at the end of last year...

papper00

Thanks all for the helpful suggestions - all good ideas and the only feasible one for me is to let the contract run to the end and start fresh with a new deal - whichever is the cheapest for the phone I'm after.

Unless someone actually does know of a third-party seller that offers Three upgrades, which would mean I get a new phone a month earlier without additional cost, at a better deal Three would offer direct. But it's looking pretty unlikely.

Cheers again.

mobilejunkie

papper00 wrote: »

Another cracking idea - not a great credit rating unfortunately, tried this route for a tumble drier at the end of last year...

Maybe you should find out why you have credit problems and avoid cancelling the existing contract until you've managed to get an alternative.