Mobile costs

[chris-suffolk]

Tesco mobile is changing a lot!
I'm with Tesco on 10Gb and unlimited txt/talk for £8.50 a month but as that contract has lapsed it *supposedly* continues on same allowances BUT will go up by 17.3% (inflation +3.9%) soon (then annually by inflation plus 3.9%) though I *should* retain my existing free roaming.
All new Tesco contracts are without free roaming, and only the clubcard branded deals are fixed with no in contact increases, the none clubcard 'man in the street price' is subject to in contract increases - well unless ofcom grow a pair and do something. I'm considering swapping to an O2 or to another 02 MVNO plan to guarantee free roaming, just waiting on a price better than £8.50 +17.3% not overseas until autumn so plenty of time.

*We'll see*

Been out of contract for a year now, no increases yet, guess I'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Fastpedaller]

My phone is at the 'other end' of the pricing model experienced by most on here
I'm with 1P mobile, so the calls are 1p a minute and texts are 1p....so.....why this note? Well, to be clear I'm not a 1P salesman. The phone is PAYG at its cheapest. I don't use much credit (at 1p a minute, how could I?) and the deal is that at least £10 has to be credited to the account every 120 days, so £30 a year, which (with my low usage) meant that when I received my reminder today to make the required £10 credit essential to remain on the service, I was already £23 in credit. I thought I'd found the ideal answer when I saw an advert on TV this evening .... donate to charity by texting, but alas this isn't supported (seems it's done by the premium rate method). I'm not that fussed to get the credit refunded, as I appreciate it's a condition of the contract. I'd like to be able to give the credit to charity in preference to the service provider's shareholders or just making phonecalls for the sake of using the credit.
Anyone else in this 'dilemma' ?
I'll try to get an answer from 1p mobile, but if anyone already knows how it will probably be a lot easier

 

[Gwylan]

My phone is at the 'other end' of the pricing model experienced by most on here
I'm with 1P mobile, so the calls are 1p a minute and texts are 1p....so.....why this note? Well, to be clear I'm not a 1P salesman. The phone is PAYG at its cheapest. I don't use much credit (at 1p a minute, how could I?) and the deal is that at least £10 has to be credited to the account every 120 days, so £30 a year, which (with my low usage) meant that when I received my reminder today to make the required £10 credit essential to remain on the service, I was already £23 in credit. I thought I'd found the ideal answer when I saw an advert on TV this evening .... donate to charity by texting, but alas this isn't supported (seems it's done by the premium rate method). I'm not that fussed to get the credit refunded, as I appreciate it's a condition of the contract. I'd like to be able to give the credit to charity in preference to the service provider's shareholders or just making phonecalls for the sake of using the credit.
Anyone else in this 'dilemma' ?
I'll try to get an answer from 1p mobile, but if anyone already knows how it will probably be a lot easier

Just check! I use 1p for trackers.
You can use credit on your phone on 1p to pay the £10, 120 day charge. Recently did just that.

 

[Gwylan]

Also look at MSE for SIM only deals.
Got one with Lebara about 6 months ago. Very reasonable deal.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Also look at MSE for SIM only deals.
Got one with Lebara about 6 months ago. Very reasonable deal.

I'm with Lebara, five quid a month on a rolling monthly contract, I have it set to auto renew every month.

 

[Fastpedaller]

Just check! I use 1p for trackers.
You can use credit on your phone on 1p to pay the £10, 120 day charge. Recently did just that.

Thanks, I'll consider that.

 

[Fastpedaller]

Just check! I use 1p for trackers.
You can use credit on your phone on 1p to pay the £10, 120 day charge. Recently did just that.

I discovered how to do it. 1P Mobile say they can charge up to £10 for a premium text - I asked them, and they said in this case it was 1p. The charity I wanted to donate to don't charge to receive, so all I needed to do was enable (through my online 1p mobile account) calls/texts to premium numbers. I then donated, and all I need to do now is revert the account back to barring premium calls/texts for security. At least there is a flexible means of 'losing' the credit. As it was I had £23 credit, so would have gone down to £13, this way I keep £23 credit and the charity also gains although 'on paper' it's cost more, it doesn't if I need to use the credit anytime.

 

[Time Waster]

I was out of contract with bt on landlines and broadband. So I got a price increase. £29.99 a month to £185. That's per month for eve and weekends call and a limited bb deal. I cancelled through sky signup within 15 minutes of opening the letter and got the same for a fiver less than i had been paying per month.

 

[Gwylan]

I was out of contract with bt on landlines and broadband. So I got a price increase. £29.99 a month to £185. That's per month for eve and weekends call and a limited bb deal. I cancelled through sky signup within 15 minutes of opening the letter and got the same for a fiver less than i had been paying per month.

It's all down to the smart guys in pricing policy

 

[icowden]

Useful things I have learned:-

1. If you want a monthly contract with a new handset then, when your current contract is up, call your provider and ask for your PAC number to move to a new provider. When they ask why you want to cancel, point out the very best deal you have managed to find. Miraculously they will find something very similar to keep you as a customer.
2. It's cheaper to pay a monthly contract for your mobile service but buy the handset outright. Quite often you can spread the cost of the handset through Klarna or similar which still works out cheaper than buying as part of your mobile contract.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Useful things I have learned:-

1. If you want a monthly contract with a new handset then, when your current contract is up, call your provider and ask for your PAC number to move to a new provider. When they ask why you want to cancel, point out the very best deal you have managed to find. Miraculously they will find something very similar to keep you as a customer.
2. It's cheaper to pay a monthly contract for your mobile service but buy the handset outright. Quite often you can spread the cost of the handset through Klarna or similar which still works out cheaper than buying as part of your mobile contract.

Been doing that for a while now . Especially now that the handset contracts for the high end run yo 36 months !! I remember the days of 12 months , then 18 and so on . Swings and roundabouts I guess but no way would I lock my self in to a 36 month contract !

 

[Fastpedaller]

My Wife dropped and broke her phone a few days ago . Got a refurbished iphone 8 from Amazon for £123.It looks like new and has a 1year guarantee. Interestingly the time was 8 hours behind uk, which suggests the refurb was done in California. A new one online was 499.

 

[sevenfourate]

My Wife dropped and broke her phone a few days ago . Got a refurbished iphone 8 from Amazon for £123.It looks like new and has a 1year guarantee. Interestingly the time was 8 hours behind uk, which suggests the refurb was done in California. A new one online was 499.

Not sure where you were looking but I found plenty under £200 new ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12504808...C0nOHPhReS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

….To be fair: I didn’t pay a huge amount more than that for an 11 recently.

Good luck 👍

 

[Ming the Merciless]

My Wife dropped and broke her phone a few days ago . Got a refurbished iphone 8 from Amazon for £123.It looks like new and has a 1year guarantee. Interestingly the time was 8 hours behind uk, which suggests the refurb was done in California. A new one online was 499.

I got a reconditioned iPhone 8 last year, for similar price, been very happy with it, and has latest iOS on it.

 

[Fastpedaller]

Not sure where you were looking but I found plenty under £200 new ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12504808...C0nOHPhReS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

….To be fair: I didn’t pay a huge amount more than that for an 11 recently.

Good luck 👍

The link you have given states new, but on reading the 'small print' down the page, they are factory refurbished phones - just like the one we bought?