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?

I’ve so far had 4 trouble free months with Lebara. It’s on the Vodafone network. I’ve been around Scotland and England and have only lost signal in one rural location that doesn’t have a signal for any network. I’ve also roamed in the Irish Republic for a week and had a great 5G signal. Either you’ve been unlucky or I’ve been lucky 😆

I'm still only paying 99p a month so I’m going to stick with them for the time being.

Some good info here. I've been with 02 since they took over Virgin. Dreadful dreadful service and my bills keep going up. I've just requested my PAK (and received it after all the hard sell). I hadn't even signed a contract but they tell me I'm going to have to pay £26 to leave the contract early! Anyone know how I can dispute this?

Re my contract. They say it runs out on 23 September. How do you time to swap over on a particular day? I bet if it's not done on that day I will be in another "contract" Is that what happens with them? They are so dodgy.

Giff Gaff!

One good thing with Smarty and Giff gaff is you are not tied into a contract, so if you get a Smarty sim and find the coverage isn't good where you live, you are nit stuck for 2 years, just try giff gaff or one of the others. Smarty have free EU roaming, and if you run out of data one month you just buy a top up for £1 or £2 and carry on. Also, if you have more than one phone on Smarty in your household you get discount on all extra accounts linked to yours. I would never go back to a contract phone. Buy a new handset 6 months after they have launched and the prices drop, then Smarty. Much cheaper.

Thanks for that info. I have never had a phone on contract...I always have bought one outright so it is just the SIM that I'm looking for.

I'm o2. Think pay £18 for 25gb and unlimited text and calls

I was happy with till I read this 😂

Sounds like I could get cheaper

I def need 25 data

If you google moneysavingexpert best sim only deals you’ll get up to date info on the latest deals. Anyone not needing to have a phone on contract is at a big advantage. You don’t need a contract for your phone usage and are likely to find all you need for under £10 on a monthly rolling sim. You can cancel at anytime and try another if you’re not happy. I found my 99p a month Lebara on Vodafone on moneysavingexpert.com. I’ve got 15Gb, unlimited mins and texts and 100 international mins. You can get more data by choosing another plan but hopefully you’ll still find one at under tenner.

Uswitch worth a look as well. For example
30gb, unlimited mins and texts £7 on a monthly sim with Talkmobile

www.uswitch.com/mobiles/sim-only-deal/ffad3166e91fa1a4550405e3d7b45e0e15f6758f/?position=17&list=compare%2Fsim-only-deals&list_loaded_id=e2e0b659-3602-4bd7-a2d0-662bbdaff434&page=compare%2Fsim-only-deals

Smarty SIM only is the best. It uses the Three network so excellent coverage. I pay £16 per month for unlimited data, unlimited text and calls, including use in Europe. DC has a SIM only Smarty for just £8 per month. He doesn't run out of data because at home he uses home WiFi.

On Smarty I only pay £16 per month on SIM only rolling contract for unlimited data, unlimited text and unlimited calls. Sounds like you are paying too much.

I will have to investigate

I don't have a contract. I buy a phone off cex when current phone goes wrong

They give years warranty for second hand phone

I have iohone but not fussed on having a new one

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