What happens at the end of mobile phone contracts?

[Ozwin]

Can I get a cheaper deal on a new phone? Will they ring me with offers? Do I have to ring them to initiate procedings?

Coming up to the end of my contract on February/March and just want a heads up really. Any tips on getting better deals?

I'm on Orange btw.

[Haydos]

Can I get a cheaper deal on a new phone? Will they ring me with offers? Do I have to ring them to initiate procedings?

Coming up to the end of my contract on February/March and just want a heads up really. Any tips on getting better deals?

I'm on Orange btw.

Think the contract keeps rolling. They'll probably offer you an upgrade though. You can either take that, keep your current phone and ask for a cheaper/better contract or leave the contract.

I thiiink.

[Rincewind]

ones thing for certain. Orange will want to keep you.

[Ozwin]

I don't really want to spend £30 a month on a phone I've paid for already though. I'd rather just make it PAYG and save myself the money.

If the iPhone 5 came out by then (which I doubt) then I'd go for that, no point splashing out £30 a month for an iPhone 4S which is essentially the same phone as what I've got now.

[Haydos]

I don't really want to spend £30 a month on a phone I've paid for already though. I'd rather just make it PAYG and save myself the money.

If the iPhone 5 came out by then (which I doubt) then I'd go for that, no point splashing out £30 a month for an iPhone 4S which is essentially the same phone as what I've got now.

Do that then, that's what I'm doing when mine runs out. I'm buying my mates Nexus 2 for £150 and getting a £10 a month contract. If it's no biggy just keep the handset and go pay as you go. (Dunno if it needs to be unlocked?)

[Guest]

I've just changed over to Sim only on orange after my 24 month contract ran out. Wasn't really sold on the 4S and the 3GS is doing me fine for now so I've got a 30 day rolling contract so I can easily get out if something else takes my fancy soonish. Probably the best option for me personally as its saving me £20 a month and I get everything I use now out of it

[Saxondale]

If you want to stay with the same network and get a better deal, tell 'em you want to leave.

They'll put you through to the disconnection people who are incentivised to keep people on by offering cheap deals.

Or so I'm told.

[Rincewind]

One I was at my brothers he said how he had to change his car insurance details due to only having one car. They quoted him a figure and he said he had quotes from other companies and for them to go away and come back with another offer and if it wasn't better or near then he would say no there and then. They came back and quoted a much lower price which he thought was good so he stayed with them.

Like the above poster said they want your custom and will offer deals to keep you. They count on customers just renewing withjout negotiating and automatic renewals.

[MikeyT]

I recently was at the end of my contract and they contacted me. I had a brick of a phone for the past 2 or so years. I was on unlimited texts and 100 minutes and it cost me £15 per month. I am now paying 50p more a month and they have upgraded me to a Blackberry Curve, unlimited texts and 200 minutes. Not too shabby I have to say! Ha

[Ozwin]

I've just changed over to Sim only on orange after my 24 month contract ran out. Wasn't really sold on the 4S and the 3GS is doing me fine for now so I've got a 30 day rolling contract so I can easily get out if something else takes my fancy soonish. Probably the best option for me personally as its saving me £20 a month and I get everything I use now out of it

I think this is what I'll do. Did you have to ask for anything in particular or did they just offer you this rolling contract thing?

[Guest]

I think this is what I'll do. Did you have to ask for anything in particular or did they just offer you this rolling contract thing?

They offered it when I said that I wasn't really interested in taking out another 24 month contract on a 4S but I'd been looking at a sim only deal on tesco mobile anyway so it just made life a bit easier to stay with orange at that point. Just ask about sim only deals and they're generally slightly cheaper the longer the rolling period (3 months rather than 30 day) but £15 a month, 300 mins, unlimited texts and 500MB mobile data does me fine at the mo

[Bellend Sebastian]

Just make sure you start your negotiations AFTER your contract has run out. Orange, for example, will let you upgrade your phone and renegotiate your contract when you're within 60 days (or something) of the end of it, but you don't get offered anything anywhere near as good as when it's actually expired and can walk away there and then. I imagine it's designed to catch out impatient fools like me, which it did

[Ozwin]

You can't just walk away though can you? Don't they continue charging you the £30 a month until you perk up and say something? That's what I've been told anyway.

[Bellend Sebastian]

You can't just walk away though can you? Don't they continue charging you the £30 a month until you perk up and say something? That's what I've been told anyway.

You can in the sense that you can come out of the contract without owing them anything, unlike when you're under contract you'll have to pay off the remaining months. It becomes a rolling contract, rather than a fixed term one

[Rincewind]

Find out when the final month is due and call them up then to cancel.

[m00nie]

usually need some notice so ring them before its up.

are you a heavy user??

tmobile doing a 12 month sim only £7.71. 300 minutes 300 texts. + 1 free bolt on.. (either free internet, unlimited texts etc) THInk you can get £30/£50 back from quidco which pays for 4/6 months also

or you could do a redemption deal just for the sim, get the cheapest nasty phone and just use the sim in your own phone. pay the bills to start with but get money back every so often meaning the contract ends up as pennies.. longer contracts though so not as good if you want to upgrade your phone soon)

e2savedo some good redemption deals

[Jon the Hat]

With Orange you have to give a months notice, so ring them a month before the deal is up.

[Alexikokopops]

You will keep paying the same amount but without the commitment. You'll most likely get called by an outbound call centre by the loyalty team trying to get you to sign another contract with the lure of a phone upgrade.

If you don't want to commit again then decline the above offer and change to a SIM only contract. If you stay with your current deal you're paying a contract price (which is more expensive to cover the phone cost) even though you've already paid off the phone (because the contract has ended). By changing to a SIM only deal you're getting the benefits of a contract (inclusive minutes/texts/data for a decent price) yet without the 18/24 month commitment (because a SIM only deal is a 1 month rolling contract) for a much cheaper price than a contract (because you don't have to subsidise a phone).

Can you tell I work for a mobile company in a team whose duties include, amongst others, deciding who the outbound loyalty team should call up as customer contracts come to an end?

[Rincewind]

I have to cancel a couple. My Virgin mobile doesn't end until Nov 2012. They want £88 to end.

My Orange mobile broadband is only monthly. The woman I spoke to was lovely (or pissed) Get calling me dear and saying thats lovely when I correctly gave her my name. Asked why I wanted to finish I said I dint use it. She said thats the answer I was expecting. I just have one payment left. I thought I had lost it but found it when looking for something else later.

The 3G was completely the opposite. I have around two month left and he was trying to get me to take another contract out £11 more not for a phone or dongle but a laptop because I was a loyal customer. He didn't seem to know what reducing outgoings meant. Will have to call back and insist on being put through to the cancellation dept.