Best contract deal for mobile phones
To most of us, it seems, the real cost of our mobile phones is a complete mystery and finding the best contract deal for mobile phone is very confusing. In our main piece this week, I look at the real price… and how you can bring it down. Price comparison website moneysupermarket.com recently ran a survey and found, surprise surprise, that many of us have no idea what our monthly charges are, or how many free texts or minutes of call time are in our call plan.
And that means many of us are paying big extra charges as we go over our pre agreed limits. And many of us change our phones way to often. But instead of simply going for the latest model, stop and think how you could save money.
Don’t just upgrade your phone, there are some fancy new models coming out this year, including the new Apple 2.0 3G iPhone. But rather than buying the model on a 12-month or 18 month think about buying a cheap contract mobile phone in the UK, very frequently you’ll be better simply buying the handset as a standalone purchase and then buying a SIM card only contract.
That will invariably make the contract cheaper, as it’s based just on the SIM (of course) rather than on the inflated cost of a new phone. SIM only contracts exists on all the big networks, and you can still get your free talktime and text deals… but your notice period is likely to only be 30 days rather than the whole 18 months or whatever.
Ask your provider for details. Even better if you don’t want a new handset - you can slot the new SIM into your old phone. What’s the point of that you ask? Well the advantage is that there are appealing new contracts appearing all the time. For example, T-Mobile, has a £20 a month deal, giving users 500 minutes talktime plus unlimited texts. All you have to do is buy the SIM card. And as well as the SIM only deals, there are lots of other ways to save money on mobiles. If you ARE changing handsets, then don’t just throw away the old phone.
We’ve talked before about getting cash for phones. The Carphone Warehouse offers trade ins against new purchases, while mobilephoneexchange.co.uk will buy your old mobile off you. Alternatively, you can donate your phone to charity, where it will be recycled and sent to a developing country.
If you buy a contract mobile phone online it is often cheaper than in the shops - look out for contract mobile phone sales on those sites too. Find out about family call plans, as all the big providers now offer these. You’ll save money and you can ensure you always have a tab on the kids… as you’ve got their number. Ask to change your contract mobile phone tariff. Say you’re going to move unless they switch you to a cheaper plan. Just like banks, mobile companies entice you in with a plan and then leave you languishing as better deals arise… demand to be switched. Consider whether you’d be better switching to pay as you go. If you are one of those people who just want a mobile to be contactable .. and make very few calls yourself, then it’s almost certainly a waste of money having a contract. Buy the most basic phone. Because even the most basic phone - and I’m looking at my sad and b attered four year old Nokia now, has a camera, and a video camera and, for all I know, a teasmade.
Fact is you don’t use most of the extras… So don’t buy them. And the fewer fripperies there are on a phone, the less there is to go wrong. And don’t go for the free gifts… the only thing that matters is how much your contract will cost you each year. Refer a pal and get a bonus. 3Mobile offer £30 to both you and a friend if you refer them and they sign up. Find out how much various things are costing you. How much are texts. Are calls to landlines ludicrously expensive. Is it cheaper for you to ring other people on the 02 network for example. How much are you going to get stung for ringing home from abroad… people get VERY nasty shocks on this one.
And check that tariff. Some of the cashback monthly tariffs are hellishly complicated. The lender quotes £25, but you have to pay £35 and then you claim it back at the end of the contract, and so on. They could have been designed to confuse us… or am I just being a sceptic?
Related: www.moneysupermarket.com, www.mobilephoneexchange.co.uk
Tags: mobile phone, contract mobile phone sale, best contract deal for mobile phone, contract mobile phone tariff, personal financial advice
