Just a few days ago I mentioned a great deal on a SIM-only plan for a friend. I have become the go-to person for “geeky” things and that also seems to include mobile phones, plans and contracts. Just last week I also helped my wife renew her contract as she’d got to the end of her two-year deal and was looking to get the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.
In the end, because she’s a big Spotify fan, she renewed with Vodafone, however you don’t necessarily have to accept renewal deals. Sure, if you are the sort of person who has simply renewed with the same provider each time, leaving might seem like a scary prospect – but it really isn’t.
If you’ve chosen to leave, ensure that you have all the relevant details with you before you call to cancel. Ensure that your new deal doesn’t have any “gotchas” (such as high roaming charges or a lack of tethering which you might be getting now) and make sure that you’ve completed your current contract so that there’s no surprising exit fees. I’ve detailed the process in the past and websites such as Broadband Choices will let you compare and search for SIM-only deals, contract deals and phone offers. It’ll save you the leg-work of going from website-to-website or shop-to-shop. Just punch in how much data you expect to use, how many minutes you think you’ll consume and the monthly cost you’d like to pay and it’ll sort it all out for you.
You can also have a look at websites such as HotUKDeals, which – thanks to a thriving community of deal-hunters – will show you spot offers on handsets and plans that you might be interested in.
There’s also cashback sites to consider, and it’s definitely worth opening up a calculator app to do some sums – see how much your prospective deal is going to cost you over the course of the one-year or two-year term. Also consider whether you’d like to pay off some of the contract cost up-front – this’ll help reduce your ongoing payments and it’ll seem like less of a “hit” per month.
Then, when you do call up, don’t be swayed. There’s always two teams within any mobile network that’ll ALWAYS answer the phone quickly. Sales and retentions. Retentions are full of lovely people who will do their utmost to reduce the “churn” on a mobile network. They don’t want you to leave, and they’ve got a certain discount or a set of offers that they can offer you depending on your history with them and what phone you’re looking at upgrading to. So, if you’ve made up your mind and just want the magical “code” to let you move your number away, just tell them that you’re getting a mobile phone from work and you don’t need a new deal. They should let you go fairly easily.
Of course, every now and then you will get a really good deal from your current provider. If you’re happy with their coverage and their service, then the reduced price might swing it – but it’s always worth doing some research first.