Mobile phone rip off - hints please

[beeholeclaret]

I know its my own fault but for various reasons I've taken my eye off the ball since the turn of the year and trying to put a few things straight.

I got a new phone deal with EE in Feb 2021 and signed up for a deal costing £45 per month for 2 years which expired in 2023. I received no reminder from EE that my contract had ended and that my phone had been paid for so I have been blissfully unaware that I could've had a SIM only deal costing a lot less per month.

Ive just logged onto EE and checked details and it appears that I use just 1.35GB of my 100GB monthly allowance. I have used phone minutes of just 66 mins per mth and sent 35 texts sent in the last month.

Ive just checked my bills for last 4 months and they have collected £62 / £59 / £52 and £52 by direct debit.

When I logged on they said there was good news and as my account contract expired over 150 days ago. For a moment I was hoping for a refund but no it was just the offer of a new phone which I dont particularly need at the moment.

As my usage is relatively low (Im retired now and more often than not I can use whatsapp linked to home wifi to send messages plus chat / also Facetime etc) I'm wondering what my best option would be for a SIM only deal. People are suggesting Tesco which looks to be approx £10 per month. Money supermarket offers others at £5 / £6 per mth.

Any ideas / suggestions would be most welcome.

Any pros and cons to look out for in switching from EE to elsewhere?

Thank you

[karatekid]

Smarty . Rolling monthly contract on sim only. Various packages available for under a tenner which would suit your usage.

[Claret3495]

Have a look on Martin Lewis MSE website. I've just left a similar situation to yourself, was paying £30 a month for sim with phone, contract ended and I don't want another new phone, so swapped to a sim only deal for £2 a month for 6 months (and £6 a month thereafter).

This is the webpage: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheap ... /sim-only/

[cockneyclaret]

I've just come out of contract on EE and was absolutely shocked at the prices now for a new phone.
Fortunately I've been with EE for years and called them to discuss a sim only deal, said what I wanted and within a few clicks the guy said "£10pm ok"
Just remember the website offers deals but the sales team can always better what you see online

I have seen cheaper deals with other companies but because I want decent 4g and 5g connection I wouldn't change. But then I guess that depends where you live.

[bfcmatt]

I know its my own fault but for various reasons I've taken my eye off the ball since the turn of the year and trying to put a few things straight.

I got a new phone deal with EE in Feb 2021 and signed up for a deal costing £45 per month for 2 years which expired in 2023. I received no reminder from EE that my contract had ended and that my phone had been paid for so I have been blissfully unaware that I could've had a SIM only deal costing a lot less per month.

Ive just logged onto EE and checked details and it appears that I use just 1.35GB of my 100GB monthly allowance. I have used phone minutes of just 66 mins per mth and sent 35 texts sent in the last month.

Ive just checked my bills for last 4 months and they have collected £62 / £59 / £52 and £52 by direct debit.

When I logged on they said there was good news and as my account contract expired over 150 days ago. For a moment I was hoping for a refund but no it was just the offer of a new phone which I dont particularly need at the moment.

As my usage is relatively low (Im retired now and more often than not I can use whatsapp linked to home wifi to send messages plus chat / also Facetime etc) I'm wondering what my best option would be for a SIM only deal. People are suggesting Tesco which looks to be approx £10 per month. Money supermarket offers others at £5 / £6 per mth.

Any ideas / suggestions would be most welcome.

Any pros and cons to look out for in switching from EE to elsewhere?

Thank you

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/

[ChrisG]

When I was in the UK I used Voxi. 25gb, unlimited calls and text for around a tenner a month. It's owned by Vodafone and uses their network, just a lot cheaper. No contract either, you can stop it after 30 days.

[Caballo]

Is the Phone locked to EE (is that even a thing anymore)? Might narrow your options a bit.

[groove]

Sim only deal Giffgaff £10 a month.

[Inchy]

When my contract ran out a couple of years ago on my iPhone I just got a sim only deal with virgin (now run by 02).
£8 a month for unlimited call and 5 gig of data

[Jakubclaret]

When I was in the UK I used Voxi. 25gb, unlimited calls and text for around a tenner a month. It's owned by Vodafone and uses their network, just a lot cheaper. No contract either, you can stop it after 30 days.

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/mobile ... /vodafone/
People think the MVNO are cheaper when you are looking at the official parent website but if you look elsewhere that's not the case.

[ChrisG]

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/mobile ... /vodafone/
People think the MVNO are cheaper when you are looking at the official parent website but if you look elsewhere that's not the case.

They are excellent prices, however every one of those is a 12 month contract, the one I mentioned was 30 days.

[ChrisG]

Is the Phone locked to EE (is that even a thing anymore)? Might narrow your options a bit.

I don't think they are generally, but if they are, you can just request a code off your operator which unlocks it.

[claretonthecoast1882]

Giffgaff 30 day contract

https://www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-deals#monthly-rolling

[Quickenthetempo]

I thought phone companies reduced your bill when you had paid your phone off?
There was a big fuss about it years ago.

[Dyched]

This happened to be about 4 years ago with EE. Requested a pac code to move my number to 3, got a phone call and they blew 3 out of the water with a great deal. 2 years on happened again but I just switched to a sim only deal.

[Clovius Boofus]

I moved to EE a couple of weeks ago from Plusnet. They are basically the same company, but I wanted Wi-Fi calling, which Plusnet Sim Cards don't provide.

£10.00 per month for unlimited calls/texts with 10GB. I only use around 4 or 5GB per month. 24-month contract though, if that bother you, but it was fine because I wanted to stay with the BT infrastructure as I find it provides the best coverage for me. The Sim Card popped through the letterbox the next day, and it was a painless switch over with the PAC Code.

[dushanbe]

Lycamobile have recently switched from 02 to EE and have some outstanding deals at the moment.

[ClaretDiver]

I thought phone companies reduced your bill when you had paid your phone off?
There was a big fuss about it years ago.

Nope, still happening with the big companies, shickong behaviour!

[Rick_Muller]

Firstly dont sack off EE for your own mistake. Call them and explain how disappointed you are (at you own mistake) in the fact they took money off you and see whether they can sort you out a new deal. I managed to get my phone contract for nearly "free" for about 6 years with EE mainly because I complained about an issue when I first joined them and the customer service team applied some monthly discounts to my account for the duration of my contract. At the time it was a £18/month 18GB Unlimited calls and text and they applied £17.50 of monthly discounts. I kept the contract running until very recently and only changed because I wanted 5G for my new iPhone.

[Fretters]

SIM only for around £10 a month and buy your phones refurbished. Back Market is a good site for that: https://www.backmarket.co.uk/en-gb/?gcl ... QUQAvD_BwE

[Somethingfishy]

My contract with EE expired at the end of June. I have a Galaxy S21 on 31 a month with 40GB data. The prices quoted for an upgrade were shocking.
They wanted 60 up front and 60 a month for 5GB (I only use about 3) for a Galaxy S23.
So I pondered Sim only as my phone is fine and in really good nick. Again quite pricey..certainly compared to Smarty.
That was where I left it..hoping I'd get a better offer once out of contract to keep my custom. No. No phone calls..no emails and no change on upgrade cost.
Then either my Google Home was listening to me or cookies found their way to FB. An advert for Samsung popped up. They were offering £150 off the S23 and added money off for the trade in. Worked out I could get the S23+ over 2 years for 25 a month with 50 upfront. I've joined Smarty and that is 12 a month for 100GB. A significant cost saving from what EE were offering me as an existing customer.

[Guppyspotter]

Go on to uswitch, type in your parameters.

For yours you should be paying under £5 a month sim only. Get EE to unlock your phone which they will do and ask for you PAC code. Job done.

[claret2018]

Smarty . Rolling monthly contract on sim only. Various packages available for under a tenner which would suit your usage.

Just signed up to this and halved my existing sim only deal. Thanks!

[IanMcL]

I have a sim only with 3 for 12 a month
Unlimited data.

[beeholeclaret]

What a brilliant site this is. I love the football updates and chat but it is almost a social club with up-to-date news items ( without all the crap on social media / FB having to authorise / deauthorise cookies etc. ) and all manner of other points of interest and issues of the day.

I am just posting to say a big thank you to all of you for your above contributions which have shaped my thinking before I make my decision regarding my phone. I think we are being well and truly ripped off by many of the big companies so its nice to be able to fight back some times.

Ill let you know how I go on after considering my needs and options.

Thanks once again.

[beeholeclaret]

Further to above just to confirm that I have now agreed a SIM only 12 month contract with EE my existing provider. 5GB download per month which is way in excess of what I normally use. Also unlimited texts and call time. This for a monthly sum of just £8 per month.

I am pleased with this as I didn’t have to do anything apart from confirm details and the call centre staff member sorted it in 10 minutes.

They told me I hadn’t responded to their texts so it wasn’t their fault that the expensive contract had carried on for an extra 4 months. I said I wasn’t aware of any such texts. After I had rung off I checked my texts and of course they had never sent any apart from confirming my monthly payment.

Lesson learned so diary note made for future although for £8 per month it could carry on forever.

Thanks for all the hints and tips which gave me the info I needed to negotiate with the robbing swines

[Bosscat]

Further to above just to confirm that I have now agreed a SIM only 12 month contract with EE my existing provider. 5GB download per month which is way in excess of what I normally use. Also unlimited texts and call time. This for a monthly sum of just £8 per month.

I am pleased with this as I didn’t have to do anything apart from confirm details and the call centre staff member sorted it in 10 minutes.

They told me I hadn’t responded to their texts so it wasn’t their fault that the expensive contract had carried on for an extra 4 months. I said I wasn’t aware of any such texts. After I had rung off I checked my texts and of course they had never sent any apart from confirming my monthly payment.

Lesson learned so diary note made for future although for £8 per month it could carry on forever.

Thanks for all the hints and tips which gave me the info I needed to negotiate with the robbing swines

Very similar to our BT Mobile sim only deals

[Lowbankclaret]

Posts like this are really good. Phone contracts are things I don’t check to often.
I was out of contract 18 months ago and went SIM only with 3, seem to think I was paying £15. Just because I read this thread, I just checked how much I am paying now and it’s somehow now £25.30.

Time to act, lots of great info on here I will use on my return to the UK. Should easily be on a contract less than a £10. Thanks people.

[Whitgord]

Just be aware that however cheap your sim only deal is they all get increased every April by the RPI and a bit more, even if you think they are fixed for however many months.