Sim only contracts - huge price hike

[BCSurvivor]

A year ago I was happily under contract with Virgin on a phone plus data/minutes deal.
When Virgin merged with 02 my contract for data/minutes was swapped to 02 and they matched the monthly cost - just £10.

Last night I had an 02 text to say I was now out of contract for my data/minutes and my next bill would be the new monthly fee of £29 - for the same thing!!!
But if I took out another contract it would reduce to £21.

I'm not very tech savvy with contracts as in the past with Virgin I just automatically took out a new one, or let the minutes/data contract roll over month to month as there was no difference in price.

I don't really need to upgrade my phone but neither do I want to be tied in to a 24 month contract at £21 a month...or pay £29 a month for a rolling monthly contract.

If I did sign up for a data/minutes only contract and my phone broke at some point, can a data only contract be swapped to another phone?

Honestly , if you have the opportunity to leave o2 I’d really suggest it. They are a horror just now, since the merger, there’s been serious issues with fraud and accounts.

I was with Three prior, I miss it and will go back as soon as my contract allows

Another vote for voxi. I've got unlimited social media and unlimited streaming and unlimited calls and texts for £12 a month

Ask for your PAC code anyway as it lasts 30 days. Use it when you've decided which contract and provider you're going to.
Your current contract only stops when you actually use the PAC code. If you dont use the PAC code you will change your mobile phone number to a new one

Giff gaff for me!

Smarty, Lebara, Gifgaf, Spuso.

Find the one that uses your preferred bet park and swap.

I'd second this. I don't need the unlimited data, so pay £10 per month for unlimited texts/calls and loads of data. The current offer is 30GB data for that I think, but I've been with them for a while and they periodically do an extra data offer for existing customers so I now get 60GB data with that. They seem to leave the special offer data on until you change it. It's a 1 month rolling plan so you can cancel any time. They also do 'voxi drop' give aways every month with the DC really like.

As pp said, they are on the vodafone network but a lot cheaper. Only down side is they are clearly marketing themselves to younger people so all communications are very 'cool/matey'!

Which plans use EE. It's the only decent network where I live. Currently on Vodafone and it seems to be getting worse not better.

Switch to giffgaff and get a MUCH cheaper deal for the same thing

@countrygirl99 Wiki has a list of all the 'virtual network operators' (that's companies like giffgaff who offer services which run on someone else's network)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_virtual_network_operators_in_the_United_Kingdom

Thanks @tribpot a few to look at

Over Easter weekend I got unlimited minutes, unlimited tethering, unlimited text and unlimited calls plus 56 days use in EU. All this for £16 pm. I think usual price is £20 pm. This is with Smarty they use the Three network so good coverage.

Smarty is on Three network. Good coverage.

Oh no! I'm also with O2 having moved from Virgin. I pay about £7 a month so will look out for massive price hikes!

Lycamobile use EE. You’ll see their current deals here

https://www.lycamobile.co.uk/en/bundles/sim-only-deals/#best-value

I'm with O2 and have paid £10 a month for aeons. The package only gives 500mb of data but that's all I need as I am almost always on wifi.

I just had a look at my account and they are currently offering to upgrade it, £10 a month for 8gb data and unlimited calls and texts. Is that offer not available to you?

I stick with O2 because we're in a rural area and they give the best coverage. We used to be with Vodaphone and coverage was hopeless.

Have a look on Uswitch, they have some great O2 prices: https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/

@BendingSpoons Mine was around £7 ish and is now £8 and a bit, having been on a monthly sim-only for a long time with Virgin. I can't remember what they said at the changeover about how long your rate would be protected ... will have to keep my eyes open! I don't really want to leave O2 (or their network) as we do get better signal at my mother's house on it. [when I say better, I mean, we get signal as opposed to having to wander down the road or up into the next field with other networks!]

@Shellingbynight re 02 - no, the cheapest available 02 ''offer'' showing for me was 10gb for £17.99 a month - Sim only - on a 24 month contract or £20gb - sim only - on a 24 month contract. The 10gb one didn't exist for a 12 month contract and the 20gb one would cost £3 extra per month for 12 months.
My current contract has 10gb and I barely use half of that, so I really don't need 20gb.
I'm going to go to an 02 shop tomorrow to try and haggle a cheaper price, otherwise on 14th May I'll be charged £29 something for a month for the same deal I'm currently getting for £11.47 a month!
I'm also really rural and there's only a few companies that I can get a goodish signal with.

BCSurvivor o2 are currently overcharging you even without the ridiculous price hike they’ve mentioned. Here is a link to a current o2 deal via Uswitch. You can have 15gb data and unltd mins and texts for £7.99 a month.

I’d phone phone o2 customer service and select the thinking of leaving option. Or if a human answers ask to speak to the Retentions Team. They are the ones with access to all the good deals to persuade you not to leave. O2 shop staff can’t access the best deals.

If you are out of contract they have no hold over you. Tell them you’ve seen £7.99 deal on Uswitch and ask them nicely to match it. If they don’t agree you can just leave and start afresh via Uswitch.

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/sim-only-deal/2e6397ddd1cbcae62e6d9a12b4de047198b65ea8/?position=13&list=compare%2Fsim-only-deals&list_loaded_id=b938f301-823a-42c0-9136-4df1eb4d1afa&page=compare%2Fsim-only-deals

PS It’s a 12 month contract.

Yes to this! No issues at all with them.

Something worth considering when comparing who to move to ... if roaming data is important not many providers do this as inclusive of your tariff anymore so good to check as it can be quite expensive to add on for holidays and you'll be surprised how often you may need to use mobile data when away

@tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz roaming in the EU is a red line for me; I won't pay for it.

Lyca, see above, include it. I've migrated and DP is just waiting for her SIM to arrive.

I have roaming in the EU with my Lebara (Vodafone) sim only deal. I’m only paying 99p a month for 15gb data, 100 international mins and unlimited texts and mins. That’s a monthly sim with no contract. I ditched many years of loyalty to o2 to change to Lebara 2 months ago. But I understand due to rural signal problems the OP is restricted and wants to remain with o2.

The EU roaming thing came up this weekend - I was away with friends and my giffgaff (£10 per month) was the only sim only provider who included EU roaming. The others on sim only were basically off the grid as soon as we left the accommodation! I was like a giffgaff sales person (I’m not fyi!) all weekend