Phone contracts

[chloej92]

Hi

Just wondering what do you pay for phone contracts per month and which provider. I used to have the full contract but started buying the phone outright and just having a SIM contract but it's now got to a point where I'm paying £30 for a SIM only with about 50GB data but even reducing the data won't reduce the price much after a phone call with EE so want to look at my options as all networks work well where I live.

I also wanted abit of advice regarding children having phones, DS is asking for a phone contract now he is 14 and has always looked after his phones up to now but I just wonder what other parents views on it are. He's always been on a pay as you go but says using a network like Giffgaff and Smarty is embarrassing because "they aren't proper networks" I do worry about him running up a bill but I also want him to always have the ability to call someone for safety reasons when he is out

I’m out of contract, currently looking for a new one spending a lot of time researching and have concluded that the “proper networks” charge overpriced prices because of network snobbery or ignorance.

Don't people know that there are comparison sites for mobile contracts?

The offers change all the time and different places have different coverages so my tenner a month on O2 isn't necessarily going to be available or be the best coverage in your area

It's easy to look up

You need to make the decision. Your son doesn't get a say in something you pay for. We are all on smarty mobile and the amount of data is ridiculous for the price. I think they currently have 80gb for £10 a month. My teens have never once mentioned the provider being an issue, or even what provider their friends are with. You can change a voicemail (at least you can on smarty) but but I'm pretty sure it's just a standard voicemail anyway. What a ridiculous reason for not wanting to change.

Your son needs to respect any decision you make. If your paying that price, when you get it miles cheaper elsewhere then you are a mug white frankly.

£15 unlimited calls, texts and data on giffgaff, he’s being silly over networks, no one will know or care what network he is on, but if it bothers him so much, say you will pay part and he can pay the difference for a “proper network” with pocket money

In fairness he does already pay for his phone plan

He does already pay for his phone plan

The SIM only at £30 is mine and it's because each year they increased the cost and I just kept leaving it

£13 each for my DS and I with Vodofone. I go abroad a lot and use esims.

We’re all on Talkmobile SIM only which uses the Vodafone network. 11.99 a month for unlimited calls/texts plus 150gb data including 5gb free data roaming.

If he wants to waste money over a cheaper network, I’d just let him crack on then! If it’s his money and his choice.

Giffgaff is a piggyback network (mvno) and where I live is pretty crap.

Smarty is different as it's owned and operated by Three so doesn't suffer the same network issues but again it depends where you live.

Well I am at the end of contract with o2 and upgrade to phone i want they want £49 for 36 months! The phone is not even that expensive ( £700)
I called EE to see if I can re join as I was with them since 2004 and I was told in order to get a deal from them I have to first open a new account and have hard credit check. I said so if I opened account that means a new contract for 36 months without knowing what handset or deal/ price i would get.
I refused.
So not sure what to do.
The same phone is on tesco for £35 for 24 months.
But I read lots of people have issues with signal with tesco even that's o2.

Unless he has a job, I'm guessing any money he has at 14 is coming from mum/dad or other family member. In which case you technically are paying. However Let him carry on paying it, but don't subsidise him further by giving him extra. More fool him if he wants to pay extra for nothing.

Im same, my o2 contract ends in2 weeks. The o2 signal wasn't the best I had. Previously was ee customer for 20 odd years.
They are overcharging but chat gpt told me its cos the piggybacking networks have deprioritising hence often poor connection, weak signal etc as the masts give priority to the proper o2, ee customers.
I was actually shocked to learn this but makes sense 🤔

@Scaredfuturee genuine question; what does a £700 phone do that a £100 Motorola won't do?

My partner and I have gone through two or three of them over ten plus years on sim only deals as low as £10/month. Battery life is ample, wifi and bluetooth work fine for both audio and Navigation in the car and the cameras are better than a Sony jobby we paid £200 in Manchester Airport's duty free en route to the USA just before the pandemic.

I buy a new iPhone every 3 years (used to buy in US when ex rate meant savings) and pay £6.95 for Talkmobile on a rolling basis which includes loads of data

I don't personally have iPhone but I know some people swear by them and won't even consider any other brand of phone. I suppose if all your stuff is linked to Apple/ iCloud then it's a lot of messing getting things switched over to Android. I have had iPhone in the past but personally much prefer android, I've had few few brands but my preference is Samsung because it's reputable.

£14.50 on EE sim only unlimited calls texts and data

That was a good deal! I paid a lot more with 02 for same phone.

My daughter lives in an Apple household as her husband comes from one.

I'm beggared if I can see the advantage compared with a PC and an Android phone.

Although an air tag in our car might have been useful when Mrs Btoo managed to forget where she'd parked it in Milton Keynes.

She'd actually left it behind the Santander building but convinced herself it was the other end of the town. Took me ages to figure it from the zone number on the electronic payment and a map to fathom where that was.

Plan B was to give up and return at 0 daybreak thirty when the shoppers car parks were nearly empty.

I always get Samsung S range.
I am fed up with cheap non performing laggy slow phones - i have one now ( temporary replacement i bought to save money) and I cant wait to upgrade for a normal phone.
So it does make a huge difference to me and wouldn't go for a cheap £100 phone.

£8 30Gb ID mobile

Both my OH and me are both with Tesco and have been for many years.
SIM only, we each pay £5/M.

Was £7.50/M but Tesco changed their contracts recently and said that as we never use anything like our data or call allocation they were putting us on the cheaper one (can upgrade immediately should the need ever arise).

We've both got EE pay monthly £10 Everything Pack and every 3 months you get to boost your data by 500mb (which is usually 1GB). 250 mins calls (rarely call anyone) and unlimited texts. Using home WiFi and other randoms, we never run out of data.

I pay £24 a month for a 12 month unlimited sim only contract with Three.