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[Finance] Mobile phone contracts (after the phone hardware element paid off)



Weststander

Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 25, 2011
63,879
Withdean area
As a family we have 4 pay monthly contracts with both O2 and EE. The phones were not bought outright and as is normal, formed part of the monthly DD’s for the first 24 months.

I finally got round to reviewing these accounts, finding that large sums had been unnecessarily paid out. Both O2 and EE admitted that with most contracts the onus is on the customer to contact them at the end of the 24 months, to gain from lower billing. In essense a £49 DD before comprising say £25 for the hardware and £24 for data, becomes circa £49 for the same amount of data in subsequent years ad infinitum. Easily missed if you’re busy and see a similar level of DD.

This smacks of sharp business practice in dealing with consumers IMO. The profits made from this, post phones being paid up; must be eye-watering. Not everyone has the time or knowledge to check, then instigate conversations with phone companies.

Today’s discussions are going to save us over a £1,000 a year. At the same time data usage is increased from 1GB / 5GB per phone to 10GB / 15GB, and I didn’t ask!

Something well worth watching.
 




Weststander

Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 25, 2011
63,879
Withdean area
An expensive lesson learnt. I’ll do that in future.

I think this was a first for us because we’d actually managed to not smash the phones. So without replacement contracts/phones, we’d entered new terrority of contract life after 2 years.
 


Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
49,861
Faversham
Ha! I paid some cowboys called Acpoa, or something, hundreds of quids on phone insurance over about 8 years, six of them after I'd replaced the phone, through personal negligence. However, yes, this is a total racket. Why can't we just have one company that provides efficient low cost phone, telly and internet? The GPO was low costs, but with no need for a business model (no compo) they just fecked us about (months to get a landline).

Shirley we can now revisit a nationalised provider that provides a decent service without playing silly buggers over peek-a-boo pricing??? If I were Corbyn this is the sort of thing I'd be focused on......but, oh, if I were Corbyn I'd be an arse hole. :facepalm::lolol:
 


Eeyore

Eeyore

Colonel Hee-Haw of Queen's Park
NSC Patron
Apr 5, 2014
23,514
Reasonable legislation would require phone companies to contact consumers at the end of a contract. As said, these things are easily missed.
 


LamieRobertson

LamieRobertson

Not awoke
Feb 3, 2008
46,656
SHOREHAM BY SEA
Weststander said:
As a family we have 4 pay monthly contracts with both O2 and EE. The phones were not bought outright and as is normal, formed part of the monthly DD’s for the first 24 months.

I finally got round to reviewing these accounts, finding that large sums had been unnecessarily paid out. Both O2 and EE admitted that with most contracts the onus is on the customer to contact them at the end of the 24 months, to gain from lower billing. In essense a £49 DD before comprising say £25 for the hardware and £24 for data, becomes circa £49 for the same amount of data in subsequent years ad infinitum. Easily missed if you’re busy and see a similar level of DD.

This smacks of sharp business practice in dealing with consumers IMO. The profits made from this, post phones being paid up; must be eye-watering. Not everyone has the time or knowledge to check, then instigate conversations with phone companies.

Today’s discussions are going to save us over a £1,000 a year. At the same time data usage is increased from 1GB / 5GB per phone to 10GB / 15GB, and I didn’t ask!

Something well worth watching.
Click to expand...

Seeing as you now have some spare cash...can you lend me some :moo:


As a rule I go SIM only and diarise when it is due to expire so ic an give the operator a buzz and negotiate a deal that satisfies all involved
 








Djmiles

Djmiles

Barndoor Holroyd
Dec 1, 2005
12,060
Kitchener, Canada
Haven’t had a contract with a phone from a mobile provider for years. Always better just to buy it outright and get a SIM only contract. Save yourself a couple of hundred pound over the course of 2 years.
 




Weststander

Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 25, 2011
63,879
Withdean area
Kinky Gerbils said:
I think we could see phone contracts being the next PPI type claims.
Click to expand...

The Unfair Contract Terms Act and other legislation covers the world of consumers versus corporations. Hopefully something is done. I got mugged for quite a few months, but with someone like my elderly Dad he wouldn’t know where to start looking.

The end of paperless bills helps the subterfuge.
 


GT49er

GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,709
Gloucester
Harry Wilson's tackle said:
Ha! I paid some cowboys called Acpoa, or something, hundreds of quids on phone insurance over about 8 years, six of them after I'd replaced the phone, through personal negligence. However, yes, this is a total racket. Why can't we just have one company that provides efficient low cost phone, telly and internet? The GPO was low costs, but with no need for a business model (no compo) they just fecked us about (months to get a landline).

Shirley we can now revisit a nationalised provider that provides a decent service without playing silly buggers over peek-a-boo pricing??? If I were Corbyn this is the sort of thing I'd be focused on......but, oh, if I were Corbyn I'd be an arse hole. :facepalm::lolol:
Click to expand...
Acpoa? Cowboys? How dare you! They're clampers turned legal ...... pillars of the community now! :facepalm:
 


Herr Tubthumper

Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
59,467
The Fatherland
Just put a reminder in your phone.
 






poidy

poidy

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2009
1,847
Trouble with reducing the tariff at the two year point is that two years is an awful long time to have the same handset.

From personal experience, performance and battery deterioration at the two year point is significant enough to warrant a new handset and therefore missing out on the reduced tariff.

Whilst the shift from 12-24 month contracts was a direct result of increased technology, and with that an increased price, its also keeping people off these reduced end of contract tariffs.

As an aside when does increasing phone technology surpass the point at which the consumer is willing to pay for it? Not to long ago I saw the iPhone X in a reputable phone shop for nearly £80 a month on a two year contract. In my mind that is a scandalous amount of money to pay for what is in essence unlimited calls and texts and a few GB of data.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 






LamieRobertson

LamieRobertson

Not awoke
Feb 3, 2008
46,656
SHOREHAM BY SEA
poidy said:
Trouble with reducing the tariff at the two year point is that two years is an awful long time to have the same handset.

From personal experience, performance and battery deterioration at the two year point is significant enough to warrant a new handset and therefore missing out on the reduced tariff.

Whilst the shift from 12-24 month contracts was a direct result of increased technology, and with that an increased price, its also keeping people off these reduced end of contract tariffs.

As an aside when does increasing phone technology surpass the point at which the consumer is willing to pay for it? Not to long ago I saw the iPhone X in a reputable phone shop for nearly £80 a month on a two year contract. In my mind that is a scandalous amount of money to pay for what is in essence unlimited calls and texts and a few GB of data.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

My 7 plus is doing fine :shrug:
 


D

Da Man Clay

T'Blades
Dec 16, 2004
16,254
O2 automatically do this now. Bill is in effect split for cost of handset and cost of usage. When the hardware part of the contract ends the bills for that cease.
 


Weststander

Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 25, 2011
63,879
Withdean area
poidy said:
Trouble with reducing the tariff at the two year point is that two years is an awful long time to have the same handset.

From personal experience, performance and battery deterioration at the two year point is significant enough to warrant a new handset and therefore missing out on the reduced tariff.

Whilst the shift from 12-24 month contracts was a direct result of increased technology, and with that an increased price, its also keeping people off these reduced end of contract tariffs.

As an aside when does increasing phone technology surpass the point at which the consumer is willing to pay for it? Not to long ago I saw the iPhone X in a reputable phone shop for nearly £80 a month on a two year contract. In my mind that is a scandalous amount of money to pay for what is in essence unlimited calls and texts and a few GB of data.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Linked to all your points, I contracted for an iphone6 about three years ago (one of the one’s I failed to check the ongoing cost of).

Large screen, long battery life still, fast performance, with no screen freezing/lock ups. Which gives me no inclination to sign up for an iphoneX.
 






Weststander

Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 25, 2011
63,879
Withdean area
Da Man Clay said:
O2 automatically do this now. Bill is in effect split for cost of handset and cost of usage. When the hardware part of the contract ends the bills for that cease.
Click to expand...

O2 explained to me today that they do and they don’t. Two of the contracts we were getting ripped off on were with O2. The dichotemy is:

a) You took out the contract and acquired the phone directly with O2, with no third parties such as retailers involved - they do automatically stop one of two monthly DD’s. We had one of these.

b) All other scenarios - they don’t tell you and up their monthly data charges rise very significantly so you a similar level of DD.
 


D

Da Man Clay

T'Blades
Dec 16, 2004
16,254
Weststander said:
O2 explained to me today that they do and they don’t. Two of the contracts we were getting ripped off on were with O2. The dichotemy is:

a) You took out the contract and acquired the phone directly with O2, with no third parties such as retailers involved - they do automatically stop one of two monthly DD’s. We had one of these.

b) All other scenarios - they don’t tell you and up their monthly data charges rise very significantly so you a similar level of DD.
Click to expand...

Ah. I only take it out direct through them so never been stung that way before. Useful to know for future reference if I do move around. :thumbsup:
 


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