My Sim Only Contract With Three Expires In October, Should I Give 30 Days In Sep

[Guest sibon]

Topic: Sorting out a new phone deal for Rich.

 

I did this a few months ago, but from EE. Here’s my suggestion.

 

Text PAC and your date of birth DDMMYY to 65075. This will generate a pac code and tell you how much you need to pay to get out of your contract. You can do this as often as you like. I did it about 8 times to see when I didn’t have to pay a release fee.

 

Wait until your release fee is zero.

 

Then go to Giff Gaff if it suits you. Or choose another provider. I went to Sky mobile, because I can roll data. I don’t use much when I’m at home, but I use loads on holiday. So rolling data works well for me.

 

I wouldn’t bother to negotiate with 3. At best they’ll only match whatever deal you find. So you’ve nothing to gain.

 

Hope that helps.

[Mr Allen 0]

14 hours ago, sibon said:

Topic: Sorting out a new phone deal for Rich.

 

I did this a few months ago, but from EE. Here’s my suggestion.

 

Text PAC and your date of birth DDMMYY to 65075. This will generate a pac code and tell you how much you need to pay to get out of your contract. You can do this as often as you like. I did it about 8 times to see when I didn’t have to pay a release fee.

 

Wait until your release fee is zero.

 

Then go to Giff Gaff if it suits you. Or choose another provider. I went to Sky mobile, because I can roll data. I don’t use much when I’m at home, but I use loads on holiday. So rolling data works well for me.

 

I wouldn’t bother to negotiate with 3. At best they’ll only match whatever deal you find. So you’ve nothing to gain.

 

Hope that helps.

I'm on Sky for TV, because I can't get Virgin (and wouldn't if I could, 18 months ago I was on their mobile service, don't even get me started on their pain in the butt "customer services"!)

 

On a SIM Only contract based on their TV ads, I think it's £30 a month for unlimited everything, which is half as much again as I'm paying now.

 

I'm half considering going back on EE for their Xbox related offers though, I'll do some research, the only reason I left in the first place was because they didn't have the phone I wanted come upgrade time  

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Mr Allen
More detail.

[Mr Allen 0]

15 hours ago, sibon said:

Topic: Sorting out a new phone deal for Rich.

 

I did this a few months ago, but from EE. Here’s my suggestion.

 

Text PAC and your date of birth DDMMYY to 65075. This will generate a pac code and tell you how much you need to pay to get out of your contract. You can do this as often as you like. I did it about 8 times to see when I didn’t have to pay a release fee.

 

Wait until your release fee is zero.

 

Then go to Giff Gaff if it suits you. Or choose another provider. I went to Sky mobile, because I can roll data. I don’t use much when I’m at home, but I use loads on holiday. So rolling data works well for me.

 

I wouldn’t bother to negotiate with 3. At best they’ll only match whatever deal you find. So you’ve nothing to gain.

 

Hope that helps.

So at your suggestion I did the PAC thing, they sent me the code and said if I leave now the termination price would be £115.03! Que? There's about 4 and half months left on the contract till October 11th! And it's a £20 a month contract.

 

Oh well, I'll try again nearer the time.

 

[Guest sibon]

1 hour ago, Mr Allen said:

So at your suggestion I did the PAC thing, they sent me the code and said if I leave now the termination price would be £115.03! Que? There's about 4 and half months left on the contract till October 11th! And it's a £20 a month contract.

 

Oh well, I'll try again nearer the time.

 

That’s about right. They expect you to pay the rest of the contract up if you leave early.

 

Do it again in a couple of months. 

[The_DADDY 3,475]

6 minutes ago, sibon said:

That’s about right. They expect you to pay the rest of the contract up if you leave early.

 

Do it again in a couple of months. 

This is one of the reasons I prefer pay as you go. You may not always get great deals but at least you have the freedom to move suppliers any time you like. 

[Guest sibon]

6 minutes ago, The_DADDY said:

This is one of the reasons I prefer pay as you go. You may not always get great deals but at least you have the freedom to move suppliers any time you like. 

It’s often more expensive though. And you have to pay up front for a phone.

 

My current sim only deal is just for 12 months. It’s cheap as chips and I can change it up or down as I wish.

 

The only difference between it and Giff Gaff is that I can’t move supplier.

 

I guess there are pros and cons with both types of account.

[The_DADDY 3,475]

7 minutes ago, sibon said:

It’s often more expensive though. And you have to pay up front for a phone.

 

My current sim only deal is just for 12 months. It’s cheap as chips and I can change it up or down as I wish.

 

The only difference between it and Giff Gaff is that I can’t move supplier.

 

I guess there are pros and cons with both types of account.

My bold. 

You know I never even considered that. I tend to keep my phones until they die or are murdered by the kids (tragically lost 3 phones this way😢) 

For this reason I only ever go for sim deals. 

Should I need a replacement phone I usually buy one in the £100 to £150 range then just use my existing sim. 

 

 

[RollingJ 2,041]

£5.00/month for unlimited calls/texts - never use data on the phone as I have a 24GB/24month data-only SIM in the iPad for when I'm out(and the current one cost £23) - which I will probably not get again, but you never know.

 

iPhone 8 cost me ~£110, and will be kept to the end of its upgrade cycle and probably beyond, like the 5 it replaced.

[Mr Allen 0]

37 minutes ago, The_DADDY said:

This is one of the reasons I prefer pay as you go. You may not always get great deals but at least you have the freedom to move suppliers any time you like. 

Fair point but when I was on PAYG 20 years ago I was going through £20 a month in top ups, so in effect it works out more cost effective to get a £20 a month contract then you get all your minutes and texts, and a bit of data.

 

Also since then mobile phones have improved to a point that I don't need an adaptor for it to work with my hearing aid.

 

 

[Mr Allen 0]

35 minutes ago, sibon said:

It’s often more expensive though. And you have to pay up front for a phone.

 

My current sim only deal is just for 12 months. It’s cheap as chips and I can change it up or down as I wish.

 

The only difference between it and Giff Gaff is that I can’t move supplier.

 

I guess there are pros and cons with both types of account.

That's why I'm considering GiffGaff, I've seen some decent reviews of the service, but in the unlikely event it turns out to be bobbins, I can leave with no penalty as it's a 30 day rolling contract.

 

 

[Guest sibon]

4 minutes ago, Mr Allen said:

That's why I'm considering GiffGaff, I've seen some decent reviews of the service, but in the unlikely event it turns out to be bobbins, I can leave with no penalty as it's a 30 day rolling contract.

 

 

I’ve used it before. It’s very good.

 

Uses the O2 network.

[The_DADDY 3,475]

13 minutes ago, Mr Allen said:

Fair point but when I was on PAYG 20 years ago I was going through £20 a month in top ups, so in effect it works out more cost effective to get a £20 a month contract then you get all your minutes and texts, and a bit of data.

 

Also since then mobile phones have improved to a point that I don't need an adaptor for it to work with my hearing aid.

 

 

I can't begin to imagine what it's like to be hearing impaired so I bet that's a big benefit of modern phones. In your experience is that the case for even the cheaper mobiles or do you still have to buy a reasonably specced phone to avoid the need for adapters? 

11 minutes ago, sibon said:

I’ve used it before. It’s very good.

 

Uses the O2 network.

I agree. Usually really good coverage. The only times I struggle to get a signal is when I'm in a large supermarket like my local Morrisons. The coverage is shocking then.