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Mobile Phones / UK Providers

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Started by Gav in Chit-Chat

Heya

I’ve been on pay-as-you-go for as long as I’ve had a phone, because to be honest in the past I’ve never been one to use the phone much.

But I’m thinking of going onto contract - and I wondered what peoples experiences with the UK providers was - is there anyone who is really shit and worth avoiding at any cost?

I’m probably leaning towards going with O2 or T-Mobile at the moment (cause they do the phone I think I want).

I’m currently with Orange and to be fair, when I had dealings with their broadband department, they were dogshit so I left - but if I’m getting an 18 month contract I’d be stuck with them!

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 08:03

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#1

hoochalobster (Sarah) Super Moderator wrote:

Avoid T-Mobile at all costs - the shit I had with them when I was on a contract was unbelievable.

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 09:12

#2

Simon (Simon) wrote:

3 were great service and very cheap when i was using them… but beware when its time to renew as they basically lied and when i wanted to end my contract when my second year was up they said i was signed on for longer and would cost about £300 to get out of it so after an hour shouting at the stuck up dizzy bitch on the end of the phone to no success my opinion of them was much lower.

Most of my friends who are on Orange or Vodaphone seem to have always been happy, If thats any help?

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 09:20

#3

LunacyBooth wrote:

Never had any issues with orange mobile and I’ve been with them for about 12yrs - their broadband department is a completely different story though!

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 09:21

#4

Gav wrote:

hoochalobster wrote:

Avoid T-Mobile at all costs - the shit I had with them when I was on a contract was unbelievable.

What in particular? how long ago… they seem to be the best for data usage, but I can’t be arsed if its going to mean 2hr shouty phone calls to ‘Dave’ in Mumbai

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 09:55 in reply to an earlier post

#5

Auto_Surgery (Andy) wrote:

LunacyBooth wrote:

Never had any issues with orange mobile and I’ve been with them for about 12yrs - their broadband department is a completely different story though!

Yeah I’ll second Orange. They also offer the best insurance of all mobiles - it’s called Orange Care. Usually if you break your phone, and you have insurance, you have to send your phone off to be repaired but Orange care provides you with a new phone the next working day.

I have their combined Mobile & Broadband package - I get good download speeds at home

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 10:09 in reply to an earlier post

#6

chr1s (I can't remember my own name) wrote:

I’ve been with Vodafone for about 12 yrs - payt for the first 5 yrs then contract - and never had any problems with them at all. Always seem willing enough to give me a good deal at upgrade time too.

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 10:11

#7

Dennis (Dudley Less) wrote:

I have been on Orange for nigh on 10 years and whilst they aren’t without fault I have been pretty happy overall.
I always get a decent phone for free when I renew my contract, for a start. Plus you get Orange Wednesdays 2 for 1 at the cinema, lol, if you go regularly enough for that to be any use!

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 11:12

#8

EclipseDeLarge wrote:

I’m with 02 and find them pretty good. I pay £20 a month contract and get something like 600 minutes and 1000 texts, plus free 02 to 02 calls. I had to buy my phone myself though, but I preferred that because I didn’t want some uber fancy phone ;)

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 11:43

#9

Squall wrote:

I’m with 3.

I get 3,600 texts a month but 75 minutes ( coz i dont phone ) and only £15 a month.

Brilliant phone too :)

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 15:07

#10

hoochalobster (Sarah) Super Moderator wrote:

@Gav - they gave me a dud phone and refused to repair it or let me out of my contract, customer service is non-existent. I know you said you didn’t like Orange broadband - I’ve no experience of that but for my phone I absolutely love them and think their customer service is brilliant.

If you’re not sure though I’ll give plug to Carphone Warehouse who genuinely know what they’re talking about and will give good advice.

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 18:49

#11

Gav wrote:

Really? so they are a reputable company?

Its weird how it seems cheaper to go through a 3rd party than to go to the telco direct!

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 18:56

#12

hoochalobster (Sarah) Super Moderator wrote:

I like them, and I like the fact that you get a straight answer. If you go direct to a network then the information you receive is bound to be biased.

Posted on Wed, 8 April 2009 at 19:07

#13

CS (Colin S) wrote:

I’m in an Orange Contract at the moment: 600 mins, unlimited texts, unlimited internet useage, 20 picture messages per month for £19.95 per month.
Got myself a Samsung Tocco too - very nice phone, bit like the iPhone, however the Samsung Pixon is a step-up.

My Contract plan is officially called ‘Dolphin 35’ but through calling Orange Retentions, I got it down to £20 a month. Best thing to do mate, is phone Orange on 150, explain to them that you’ve been a loyal PAYG customer for a few years (say, 3 or 4), and you want a contract that will mirror your loyalty to the company.
This could / should work.

Posted on Sun, 12 April 2009 at 14:46

#14

CS (Colin S) wrote:

And Vodafone do 600 mins and unlimited texts for £30 a month, try calling them and see if you can get that any lower.
Contrary to what you might hear, the call centres have more power to get you a better deal

Posted on Sun, 12 April 2009 at 14:47

#15

mrs h wrote:

I’m with 02 - £15 per month I get 400 texts and ‘something apparently approaching not nearly enough’ minutes (my last monthly bill was £60). I got a bloody lovely phone thrown in though …

http://regmedia.co.uk/2008/02/11/w980i_scott.jpg

Isn’t she beautiful? :)

Posted on Sun, 12 April 2009 at 19:57

#16

CS (Colin S) wrote:

Ouch, expensive bills are never nice… mine peaked at £189 or something like that, due to using the web a lot.

Tis a rather nice phone, here’s mine:

http://www.geekcellulars.com/wp-content/gallery/20/samsung-tocco-f480-front-side.jpg

Posted on Sun, 12 April 2009 at 20:26

#17

Gav wrote:

I got the LG Arena but I’m not sure I like it - might take it back (I think I have 14 days to change my mind)

Posted on Sun, 12 April 2009 at 21:21

#18

CS (Colin S) wrote:

What tarriff did ya get it on dude?

Posted on Sun, 12 April 2009 at 21:53

#19

Gav wrote:

Cant remember - Racoon or something - I have 1000 minutes, unlimited text and land line, 500 mb data…

Posted on Sun, 12 April 2009 at 23:46

#20

CS (Colin S) wrote:

How much did that cost ya?

Posted on Sun, 12 April 2009 at 23:57

#21

Gav wrote:

free phone, £35 a month (9 months at £30)

Posted on Sun, 12 April 2009 at 23:59

#22

mrs h wrote:

How can you have a baby and still have 1000 minutes to spare on phone calls? Or £30 a month for that matter?! You must be doing something wrong. Or right …

Posted on Mon, 13 April 2009 at 04:53

#23

Beefgrinder wrote:

Does anyone know if there are any PAYG providers that have unlocked phones or won’t charge to unlock them? Basically I live in Germany now, but seeming as the phones on PAYG are embarrassingly shit and expensive over here I thought I’d use my next trip back to the UK to pick up a decent phone, and a UK number wouldn’t go amiss either. But if it’s going to cost me money to get it unlocked (costs €99 over here, but that’s just obscene German pricing for you) I might be able to get sth of eBay or sth.

Posted on Mon, 13 April 2009 at 09:18

#24

hoochalobster (Sarah) Super Moderator wrote:

Can you not get it unlocked while you’re in the UK as well? I don’t think it costs more than about £5.

Posted on Mon, 13 April 2009 at 09:20

#25

glen wrote:

if you dont use the fone much, dont bother with contracts

if you top up more than £10 a fortnight then i would probably look into it

but then again you do get a nice shiny fone lol

Posted on Mon, 13 April 2009 at 11:41

#26

Taunty Dan wrote:

I’ve just gone onto contract after being payg for about 5 yrs. Initially i was putting about a tenner a month on the phone, of late its been around the £20+ mark. So i’ve got one of them Orange Dolphin packages someone were on about, £14:95 a month for unlimited texts and 100 mins. And of course got a nice shiny new phone too. :) Word of warning: Itemised billing adds £2 to your monthly bill, and its automatically added unless you notice it and tell them otherwise. Sneaky bastards.

Posted on Mon, 13 April 2009 at 12:41

#27

Squall wrote:

My Nokia 6220 Classic in Grahite / Black :cool:

http://www.gadgetanalysis.com/UserFiles/Image/Mobiles/Nokia/Nokia-6220-Classic.jpg

Looks old but its basically an N95 without WIFI :)

Posted on Mon, 13 April 2009 at 14:44

#28

g (Does everything start with destruction?) wrote:

mrs h wrote:

I’m with 02 - £15 per month I get 400 texts and ‘something apparently approaching not nearly enough’ minutes (my last monthly bill was £60). I got a bloody lovely phone thrown in though …

Isn’t she beautiful? :)

Yeah, same phone i’ve got, can store a hell of alot of music.

Posted on Mon, 13 April 2009 at 16:08 in reply to an earlier post

#29

mrs h wrote:

Really good sound too. There are only 2 things that annoy me about it. Firstly the damned camera lense is in a really stupid position so I keep taking pictures of my finger. Secondly the position of the bit where the normal headphone jack attaches to the Sony bit is way too high up, which means the headphones are useless for anything else. Unless it’s just me.

Seriously, when you go to take a picture do you have to fanny about trying to hold it differently or is it just me being an idiot?

Posted on Mon, 13 April 2009 at 17:55

#30

mrs h wrote:

Taunty Dan wrote:

Initially i was putting about a tenner a month on the phone, of late its been around the £20+ mark

In fairness you are never off that damned phone, though are you? Dennis says he hates it when you call because he can never get you to put the phone down.

Well not first anyway :p

Posted on Mon, 13 April 2009 at 17:59 in reply to an earlier post

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