ukmtk wrote:Many thanks for the various hints on how to save money on mobile deals.
My top tips are -
1. Before you call your existing company do some research so you know what they are offering you is a good deal or not.
2. You will
never get the best deal from any telecom company's website going directly to it, e.g. typing the address in or from a search engine. As for going into one of their physical stores!
3. Look at comparison sites such as Uswitch, as weirdly they will take you through to the company's websites but will offer deals not visible otherwise.
4. Look at the cash back sites such as Topcashback and Quidco, but be aware that receiving cash back can be a bit hit or miss, so treat it as icing on top.
5. If you are out of contract you don't need to speak to anyone to get a PAC to transfer your number and cancel your contract, you can just text PAC to 65075.
The PAC is valid for 30 days, and undoubtably after you request it you will be contacted by your existing companies retentions team with deals to persuade you to stay.
If you don't use the PAC to move elsewhere then nothing happens with your existing contract, as it is only when you give your PAC to a new provider they use it to take your number over to them
and to cancel the contract with the previous provider using the 'Text to Switch' service.
6. Worth looking at are MVNOs who are separate companies such as Lebara, Tesco, Sky, etc. who pay to access the main telecom company networks, but they may not offer the full range of services that the telecom company does. You may care about such things, or you may not.
7. Then there are the telecom companies own discount brands, which are not MVNOs despite people thinking they are. GiffGaff is just part of O2 and Smarty is part of Three and Voxi is part of Vodafone and Plusnet is owned by BT/EE. These brands are where the companies can offer cheaper prices to those who are price sensitive without needing to discount the main brand. However again these discount brands may not offer the full range of services that the telecom company does.
8. Finally roaming. If you spend lots of time away from the UK it is worth checking what the roaming policy and fees are before you sign up. Some such as O2 still offer inclusive roaming in the EU, but it is generally now only the EU rather than older contracts that also included roaming in a wider areas such as Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland. Currently my phones are on a pre-July 2021 EE contract so I get the full Europe wide roaming included.