Why you should say NO to 18 month contracts

darrenithell

Many dealers and high street stores are now offering 18 month contracts. These offers nearly always work out to be very poor value for money. It's crucial that you check the details and do the maths on any 18 month contract before buying. If you were to take two 18 month contracts instead of three 12 month contracts you could lose £595 over a three year period - that's a real figure based on this weeks best selling deal.

For an 18 month contract you MUST add the cost of an additional 6 months full price line rental when comparing it to the same tariff on a 12 month contract. For an average £30 tariff that means you'll pay an extra £180 in line rental. In addition to this you'll need to wait 18 months before you can get your next free phone, which means you'll receive only two free phones in each three year period as opposed to three free phones if you agreed to 12 month contracts.

Not convinced? Here's a detailed example based on last months best selling deal, the Nokia 6680 on the 3 Talk & Text 600 tariff. Line rental is £30 per month and you could get 11 months half price on a 12 month contract, or your first six months reduced to £4.99 per month on an 18 month contract (via cash back of course). If you took the 12 month contract three times over a 3 year period you'd pay £585 total line rental. If you took two 18 month contracts over the same 3 year period you'd pay £780 total line rental. Not only would you pay nearly £200 more but With the 18 month deals you'd receive only one new phone during the 3 year period. Whereas with the 12 month deals you'd receive two - and a phone like the Nokia 6680 is worth about £400 SIM free to buy or sell. Effectively that's another £400 lost. Avoid 18 month contracts at all costs!

MissG_2

I agree!!! 18 month contracts smell, Always tell a retailer unless they can do a 12 month you wont buy from them.