Batter down your annual mobile costs article Discussion Area

inch71 wrote:

I think Orange are getting wise to this method.

Not so much wise, they're just watching their bottom line.

inch71 wrote:

I've been with Orange for about 5/6 years on contract,
They have always backed down and gave me the phone I wanted for free, on a new 12 month contract. Which I was happy with. This year I tried the same again. I wanted the new Nokia N70. I was told the upgrade price was £279.99. I knew I would probably have to pay something for this phone as it is the latest model with 3G, but that seemed a bit extreme.

I was paying £17 a month with Orange and getting 30 anytime xnet mins and 30 texts.

Can I ask how much your bill is a month? If you're paying say £17 tariff plus maybe a few extras lets say £20, you are not making Orange any money by upgrading every year. An N70 costs a lot more that £279.99 sim free, obviously Orange can buy in bulk but I'd still say £280 is around what they'd pay. Try and buy one contract free for less than £350.
Therefore for example £20x12 = £240 a year, new phone cost to Orange £280.00 (guess), loss to Orange £40, hope that you stay on your tariff for an extra few months = profit to Orange after two months.

inch71 wrote:

The O2 deal was £19 a month 100 anytime xnet mins and 50 texts.
Ater checking the Orange website I noticed that you could get the same phone for £49.99 if you were a new customer.

O2 are offering a loss leader, hoping that you stay on the same plan after 12 months. I bet if you pay £19 a month for a year they'll be a lot less receptive when you're trying to get an upgrade at the end.

As a rule of thumb, if you pay more than £30 a month or have been on the same tarrif for 18months you are a lot more likely to get a good deal. If you keep asking for a new phone every 12 months and have a low spend then be prepared to keep moving networks as they're in the business of making money.

The other thing I will say with Orange is that Retentions don't work the same hours as the normal CS representatives. If you phone between 8:30 and 6pm you'll have more chance of getting hold of someone who can bend the upgrade rules otherwise a normal CSR will pick up the phone.

For info, I've been with Orange since 1995 and apart from the first phone I've never paid for an upgrade each 12 months and am paying less than I should for my price plan, however my bills are in the £60-£70 per month region.

*Phew* THAT's a first post.

Cheers
Andy

I was with Phones4U a couple of years ago but decided I didn't really want a contract any more as it neared the end of my year. I decided to speak to the man when I had sent my letter of cancellation in to the correct department and see what he could offer me. He matched everything that I wanted, with a £15 a month deal with x-network minutes of 200 a month and 100 texts, I also got the phone I wanted for free. He said in order to get the phone I wanted I would have to go on a 3 month deal at £30 (which he would give me free line rental for) but then I would have to call them up and downgrade to get my £15 a month deal. As the three months neared the end (and me having not spent a penny yet) I called them up to downgrade my package to the £15 a month deal. Surprise, surprise I had problems. They said 'we don't offer this package madam, so we cannot downgrade you to it'. I said ' I know you don't offer the package, it was one specially tailored to me that we agreed in October'. I was then passed through several people including managers and things with no joy. I was absolutely livid, becuase the only reason I had agreed to keep the contract was because I was going to get these free texts and things for that price (otherwise I would have returned to PAYG). I wrote a letter of complaint to Phones4U stating what had happened and saying how their salesman lied in order to keep my business and that it accounted to lies becuase what he had said to keep my business there and then was different to reality. A couple of weeks later I received a letter apologising and offering me £150 credit on my bill as an apology! I was chuffed with this and didn't spend another penny on the phone bill again! (I cancelled a the end of the year and returned to PAYG). I am happy on PAYG with o2 now as I get 300 free texts a month and 300 free WAP minutes too and all for topping up £10 a month.

Basically it is worth not giving up with these companies as Martin suggests, but I wouldn't recommend doing what I did by agreeing a deal that you are not signing up to immediately, because otherwise you might find the offer is withdrawn by the time it comes to change to it.

Hi everyone,

i wondered if i could ask your advice. I have been with o2 for 3 years and my contract has just ended. I am currently on a £30 a month deal with 400 xnetwork anytime mins (+20 'treat' minutes) and 1000 texts plus 1000 MMS i don't use. I was offered 750mins and 750 texts for £35 with a new Sony Erricsson Z520i phone (18 month contract). I then saw the new T-mobile Flext35 deal which offers (flexible) 600mins and 600 text for just £26.25 a month, plus the same phone (similarly 18mth contract).

I rang o2 back and they said (despite me often having much bigger bills than the £30 line rental for 3 years) they could not match this offer.

I prefer the T-mobile deal but I am concerned about losing the loyalty I have aquired at 02 and wonder how this will affect my chances of getting a good deal when I come to upgrade in 18months time...

Also, does anyone have any opinion on the phone? is it any good?

Thanks in advance for your help

I've had a contract with O2 for over 2 years and got the monthly fee reduced a few months ago. I've now worked out that I would be cheaper having a 'pay as you go'. I contacted O2 to explain I want to keep handset & number, just change from contract to PAYG so now I have 25 free anytime mins & 300 free texts per month, £75 credit and pay nothing for 7 months then will pay £11 per month. Saving me £140 over the 7 months ;-)

pauby - I think you misunderstood.

Of course I don't feel any loyalty to the network that I am with, I just wondered how much the networks reward loyalty. The point is whereas customers don't care about it, they certainly do - in addition to how much you spend per month. My question was just how much better the deals they can offer you if you've stuck with them for a long time.

I read somewhere on here about the guy who's been with o2 for 9 years who was offered a deal I could only dream of...