Mobile phone- renew contract or not (very bad credit rating)

[TheFantasticMrsFox]

Have been with Orange/EE for about 8 years. Always upgraded and had new phone but barely ever exceeded monthly amount.

Now, due to various circumstances, my and DH's credit is shocking. I'm still able to continue with EE and financially we do seem to be on the mend. We cannot obtain any form of credit ATM, mostly not an issue, but I am looking at ways to repair our credit rating over the next couple of years.

I know it would be cheaper to buy a new handset and go PAYG/ Sim only but worry I would be unable to take out another contract anytime soon. Is the contract (which is paid on time, in full) worth keeping on in my position?

FWIW I'm not overly bothered about the latest phone, but am now rather accustomed to having a decent smartphone :)

Hopeful bump :)

Assuming you've been on contract for 12/18 months your phone should now be yours so you don't have to upgrade it. You pay a higher monthly charge for the 12/18 months before you upgrade and they reduce the monthly charge it if you keep the phone and go for a SIM only contract. Make sense?

We were in a similar position, have been with Orange/EE for years paying £40 ish each and get a new phone every 18 months ish.

We've just cancelled our contracts and gone PAYG and I wish we'd done it years ago...we've wasted a fortune by not doing so.

We now pay £10 a month each for a PAYG sim which we put in our existing IPhones. I get 150 minutes, unlimited texts and 500gb data - it's my second month and it seems just about right for me, I haven't gone over.

The £30 a month I'm saving is going towards me buying a newer IPhone. People sell their new, Unopened upgrades on EBay for about half the value so I reckon I can get one for around £300.

A rough estimate is Dh and I are now saving around £300 a year EACH...and that's including spending £300 a year each on a shiny new phone :)

Surely if you now own the phone, EE will change your contract for a much cheaper one, Tesco changed mine from £25 a month to £7.50 a month for pretty much the same package, as the phone had been paid for and it meant they still got £7.50 a month out of me, which I am still on and will be until my iPhone 4S dies a death. Or as the other posters say get PAYG with the phone you have got. Giffgaff is good.

Either way it shouldn't cost much more than £10 a month.

I agree. I rang O2 to leave, then they pointed out I already owned my phone and could drop down from £35/month to a £10/month contract.