Education Are you getting fleeced by your mobile provider?

Mobile users face paying up to £46/month extra for a phone they already own.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/n...aying-46-a-month-for-a-phone-they-already-own.
Three's response which is, as usual from companies that don't really have an explanation, and that was their "pricing was fair."

When I asked a question on their Facebook page I received an even more ambiguous answer.
"Hi Glenn, we encourage all Three customers to contact us if they would like to change their plan at the end of their fixed term deal. They can also check how much time they have left on their plan via the Three app. We appreciate any feedback to help us improve our processes and are exploring new ways to ensure our customers can get the most out of their mobile phones at a competitive price. >Kimberley"

I am PAYG and have never had a contract phone preferring to buy my own so this does not affect me but this sort of thing really gets up my nose as it is not as if the mobile companies are providing a first class service given that we a 54th in the world league tables on coverage doing worse than some East European and South american countries.

 

It requires a mere modicum of personal financial responsibility to review available contracts for a better deal after your own contract ends. The fact that people don't is their own problem.

 

Seriously, who doesn't look at the tariff options and phone options when their contract is up?

You (royal you) sign up to something you should be capable of checking what the status is when it comes up for renewal.

 

See also: Utilities, Insurance, etc. etc.

 

Yeah, this.

Considering that most providers start calling/texting/leaving letters written in blood well before the contract end date to get you to sign up early, I don't see why people are surprised that they are being charged if they aren't taking steps to re-negotiate or shop around.

I have 1 contract with 7 months left, another with 9, I will be calling up WEEKS before the contract end dates to give my 30 days notice (this is an issue that I do have with telecoms providers!), then going with whatever is the best sim only data deal and a decent mid-range phone paid for outright.

That's the good thing about how quickly mobile tech has advanced, there's really not a lot of difference in day to day use between a modern budget phone and something the likes of Apple or Samsung want to charge you £800+ for...

 

So it is OK for mobile providers to continue to charge for a phone you have paid for? Hmm.

It has long been a complaint that tariffs for mobile phones utilities can be complex and pat yourselves on the back if you do not think so.

 

I'll admit, I haven't updated some of the household mobile contracts... Yes, technically, I am paying for a handset I've already paid for however the sim-only options would either mean sacrificing a load of data allowance, paying more a month or, on some networks, both. As would taking out a new with-handset contract.

 

I guess an alternative would be for the contract for phone services and the contract for payment for the phone handset itself to be separate contracts (even if combined into one monthly bill). That would certainly be more transparent, although ultimately less lucrative for the providers.

 

I read this "news" this morning, eyes were rolled, faces were palmed.

That's not what they're doing though, you're just paying over the odds for the service - see just about ANY other service that has A) a minimum commitment period and B) includes the use of bundled hardware to access the service for exactly the same thing.

It doesn't take a degree in accounting to realise that sim-only deals are cheaper than their handset-bundled counterparts for the same minutes and data, and anyone that lets it carry on rolling because they either haven't figured this out, or can't be bothered to make a 10 minute phone call, isn't getting "fleeced".

 

To add to the above, most people don't actually see themselves as paying off the phone itself on a monthly basis - part of that is because most marketing says stuff like "free handset" or "phone cost X", then they assume the monthly DD is purely for the service and allowances.

 

I could see that at a time when sim-only deals weren't really a thing... there was always a bit of nuance around calling up and negotiating a new handset or reduced tariff... 15 years ago.

When you can plainly see though, for example, that with Three it's £14/month for a 12GB tariff without a handset, and £56/month for the same tariff with a Galaxy S8... I mean, how can one not connect the dots here?

 

Because they are too busy showing off their shiny new S8, obviously! I honestly know someone who thinks that the reason Apple contracts cost more is "because they get updates more often, so they factor that into data and stuff"...

 

End them, immediately, for everyone's sake.

 

As a former apple tech-support drone, one thing that stood out from day 1 was most people have precisely 0 clue how much the phone in their hand costs, reflected by the levels of apoplexy when they're told how much they cost to repair...

 

The irony being that they're the ones paying the most for their phones.

 

Favourite anecdote from my time there... guy bought a range-topping iPhone 5 on launch day [~£700 at the time iirc], had it less than an hour, dropped it, smashed it, £186 [again iirc] repair bill.

...we actually took bets on when the first launch day screen smash would call come in, I won with 41 minutes.

 

Not sure what's going on elsewhere, but on O2 (business) we are billed separately for the handset and airtime bundle. AFAIK, the former terminates when paid in 24 months. I though there were new regs saying this had to be done these days.

 

I have been telling people this for years, I stopped the 30 odd a month contracts 4 or 5 years ago and went onto SIM only at less that 10 quid a month. Then every few years I buy a handset when it is a good price.
When I was on the contract plan, I'd phone up months before my contract ended trying to get a better deal, I see it the same as insurance and other bills. You never set by without negotiating a better deal.

 

O2 private is much the same. You may, if you like, pay off your handset value early too.

 

The problem is, you inevitably have to end up getting a new contract every year/two years which involves a lot of hassle. Especially as they deliberately force you to call them up to discourage you form switching/try to sweet-talk you into staying. Not to mention having to faff around with transferring over your number if you decide to switch provider.

it would be okay if it were only phone, but it's exactly the same for insurance, utilities, and internet.