[Q] Is buying a phone contract online safe? - General Questions and Answers

Hi,
Ive been with three UK for 2.5 years now and would like to upgrade my xperia x10 phone. Now the thing is that when I call three for my upgrade options I was given the following deals:
- Xperia T for £34 per month, 500 min, 5000 text, unlimited data.
- Nexus 4 for £28 with everything unlimited.
But the problem is that I found this deal online where I get the same Xperia T for a much much lower price at almost the same plan. When I asked this from three support they said not to trust them and they will start charging more after 6 months, or the phone is refurbished and many other reasons such as fine print problems..
Has anyone had any experience with this site? or has anyone been tricked like this?
Thanks

Well, hopefully someone will have some first or second-hand experience, but I'd try looking at customer review sites and see what people are saying (although you have to take it with a grain of salt - I've had some places/businesses I love get terrible reviews for things I've never had a problem with so...).

Related

*@@&%$ onestopphoneshop

Ordered my XDA 2 from the above.... 3 weeks ago
£119.99 and on o2 200
still hadn't arrived today, so I rang them.......
They had cancelled my order :evil:
and now want to charge me
£139.99 and 02 400.......... :evil: :evil:
So on principle I went somewhere else...........
so hopefully within the week........!!!! :lol:
(sorry to start on a rant, I'm usually quite fun!)
Hi Loony
I think that OneStop have made a mistake on their O2 tarriffs ..
The XDA II Is now listed (as you said) at £139.99 with O2 400 - monthly charge £30 per month
However the O2 website states that O2 400 is £45 per month. £30 per month is the equivalent price for the old advert which was O2 200 ....
So I wonder what you do get for £139.99 ? O2 400 or O2 200 ....
Neither - its the current O2 Double Up promotion.
400 minutes, and 100 texts for the first 4 months, then it reverts back to 200 minutes and 50 texts thereafter, and if you'll forgive me saying, it says so quite clearly on the Onestop site.
As an Olive Branch (only joking mates), what I can say is that Onestop are going against the grain, in that I once ordered a 7250 from them, and waited two months, not through them, but delays in Nokia just actually launching it.
By the time it was in, the price had dropped.
But Onestop insisted the price chargeable was at the point of order.
So I would put this to them, and point out that if the price drops, Onestop can and DO insist that customers pay the price when ordered, as this is what rules. So they should not have cancelled your order for no reason at all, and they price you pay should be the price at your original order.
Having said all this, the extra 800 texts would amount to some £80 so you are still saving in the long run, never mind the voice calls - I think they have re-rationalised their handset prices since moving from Singlepoint (rubbish) to O2 themselves as the Service Provider. O2 being a far better SP than Singlepoint, but NOT subsidising the handsets to the same degree...
mark.peters said:
Hi Loony
I think that OneStop have made a mistake on their O2 tarriffs ..
The XDA II Is now listed (as you said) at £139.99 with O2 400 - monthly charge £30 per month
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed... this is their current 'deal'
But the 'deal' I signed up for was £119.99 O2 200 +50 sms (@£25 month rental) + free year insurance, +free car hands free kit.... (pre mid march)
But due to a [email protected] up by them, I never got it, and they now refuse to honor that deal.... wanting me to pay for more expensive one instead :evil:
Told them to Stuff it (in principle) and have gone to another company at £139.99 on O2 200 +200 free net mins +50sms each month + insurance and car kit..!!!
Looking forward to playing with new toy (48 hours they quoted!!)
The Palm 3c is beginning to show its age..!!! :wink:
Fair comment mate - but two things...
Where was O2 200 50 SMS EVER £25 a month. No where I have ever seen, and trust me implicitly - this includes Onestop. This tariff has ALWAYS been £30 a month
Secondly, I appreciate your principals, but you have now cut your nose of to spite your face.
Becuase you are now paying the same amount for 200 mins and 100 texts, as you could have at Onestop for 400 mins for the first four months - or in simple terms, losing out on some whopping 800 free anytime, any network minutes. And that's a lot of money's worth...
But fair do matey.
Shadamehr said:
Fair comment mate - but two things...
Where was O2 200 50 SMS EVER £25 a month. No where I have ever seen, and trust me implicitly - this includes Onestop. This tariff has ALWAYS been £30 a month
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okey Dokey!
Shadamehr said:
Secondly, I appreciate your principals, but you have now cut your nose of to spite your face.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't flip very often, but when I do.........
Shadamehr said:
Becuase you are now paying the same amount for 200 mins and 100 texts, as you could have at Onestop for 400 mins for the first four months - or in simple terms, losing out on some whopping 800 free anytime, any network minutes. And that's a lot of money's worth...
But fair do matey.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
..agreed.......
Just got the feeling they cancelled me on purpose just to make me re-apply for the new rate........
I made my bed etc...........
They don't call me Loony for nothing. :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Yup the cheeky onestop bastids did that to me too. I had ordered it just before they changed the price and status said awaiting stock. 4 days later it had changed to cancelled!. I emailed them to say WTF, and they said they had emailed me 3 times asking for 2 proofs of ID as i'd had a phone less than 3 months form them before.
I didn't get this email, and they said as i hadn't replied within three days they cancel the order. I said you didn't really make much effort to contact me, they said what did you espect us to do. I replied well you have my email, mobile number home number home address!
3 days to reply to an email or they cancel your order, bollox if you ask me
I reckon its a case of offer went up lets screw people. I wont deal with them again, they are a bunch of 'coporate bankers'
it is a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face, but its ****ing them up the arse too losing customers. I'd never recommend them now over the attitude and way they treated me.
XDA-II said:
and they said they had emailed me 3 times asking for 2 proofs of ID .
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Same here.........
and I KNOW they were lying, as I had kept ALL my emails scince early march...........
Yes even the spam.!!!
I have said this before but its worth repeating, O2 has no customer service, the whole system is set up in favour of O2, O2 comes first, last and any point in between. A bunch of faceless bastards that wouldnt piss on you if you were on fire. Their online service is a joke, great prices but anything go wrong and the best you can hope for is a solicitors/debt agency letter telling you to pay up or go to court.
Let me be absolutely, and abundantly clear...
Anyone and their pet goldfish can tell you two simple things...
1)Onestop Customer Service is the pits.
2)Singlepoint customer service is the pits.
The world and his oyster however, can also tell you that this never stopped thousands of people taking out a new handset with onestop, and at that time, with sh*tty singlepoine as the <lack of>service provider.
Why? Cos they weren't bothered about Customer Service (if they were, they were mad or disillusional), and they weren't even really too bothered about the tariffs even.
The reason they did it (at least I hope this is why so many sensible people took such a course of action), is because they were generally after the latest handsets at the very cheapest possible accumulative price.
And this, and this alone, was the ONLY thing onestop had to their credit.
So in short, if you want that nice new handset at what is usually the cheapest possible way of ever owning it, then you go to onestop. But you NEVER EVER expect it to be plain sailing getting it,or an easy time, or stress free - cos Onestop are just not capable of that.
At the end of the day though, you need to go into it with your eyes open, and be realistic.
You don't EVER order from Onestop on the basis of service. The ONLY consideration is price.
And if service plays too much of a part for you, then you don't go to onestop.
This post is not to complain at anyone - far from. Just to remind all and sundry that you pays your money, you takes your choice.
And if you don't like the choice, then you don't pays your money to onestop folks, because service is a none starter with them.
onestopphoneshop
not to rub salt into the wound but onestop honored its £199.99 price for me. Still had to wait a whopping 4 weeks delievery though!
onestopphoneshop
not to rub salt into the wound but onestop honored its £119.99 price for me. Still had to wait a whopping 4 weeks delievery though!
I ordered a XDA 2 from them on the 18 of march, at £119 on o2 200.
After many phone calls asking why they had taken my money ages ago, but still no phone, it did arrive, 3 weeks later.
There is a single dead pixel on the screen. So i phoned up a couple of times to let them know I wanted it replaced, and as I was heading over to Crewe - I would personally deliver it to swap it.
This was accepted and I drove over. When I arrived I dealt with the most arrogant tw*t I've ever come across. He took the phone and said he would check if they were in stock (I had asked them to keep one, as I would definately be coming that day).
He then came back saying they dont seem the phone as faulty and thats the end of it. I can prove beyond doubt, that he did not even take the phone from the box.
This leads me to suggest they just didnt have any in stock. He was rude arrogant, and a total wa**er basically.
Any ideas what I can do before I talk to trading standards or possibly lawyers?
My advice - quickly find (or 'create' ) another fault with it - pulling the power half way through a ROM upgrade might be a good one.
Why?
Because one dead pixel is perfectly within spec.
I'm looking for the specific page in the manual that mentions acceptance levels, and what colours they are etc. As soon as I find it, I'll mention it here.
But one dead pixel is acceptable, so start thinking about Plan B.
Mmm - can't find it now in the manual, but it went into detail as to what colours were touching each other, what dead pixel specs were, etc etc.
I wonder if I was reading it from the website or something.
Nevertheless, one dead pixel is within acceptable limits.
so basically.... theres a dead pixel (that i can clearly see), but it isnt faulty? doesnt seem fair but hey
hmm.
well plan b, is go on O2 Insure Gold (which correct me if im wrong, is virtually the same as Orange Care), and a month later ask for a replacement.
clublander said:
so basically.... theres a dead pixel (that i can clearly see), but it isnt faulty? doesnt seem fair but hey
hmm.
well plan b, is go on O2 Insure Gold (which correct me if im wrong, is virtually the same as Orange Care), and a month later ask for a replacement.
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Click to collapse
Only if you do what I told you already, and create another fault.
Otherwise, you aren't quite getting it mate.
As much as i would see it as a fault too, one dead pixel is NOT accepted as a fault.
So all the insurance in the world ain't gonna help, of you are only using THIS as the fault.
You need to 'find' another fault (and I suggested a great one) - though I accept no responsibility however.
And if you do that, then insurance wouldn't even be needed.
Its the same with TFT-LCD monitors, there can be a certain percentage of dead pixels and its acceptable. Its still acceptable if its dead smack bang in the middle of the screen as long as it isn't over the stated number.
Thats no good to the user that has to stare at it all day.
Another fault is great, but be careful, as if they find you've made the fault, you'll be liable. Better fault would be to say that the screen keeps fading intermittently or something. Then if the test it, you can say well it was intermittent!
Careful with the insurance tho, don't you have to pay the first £50?
With OSPS, if the fault is within 28 days, then they have to replace with a new one. After that time, the unit is sent back for repair

Orange UK abandoned HTC?

My phone is on my company's business contract, so I have no choice but to be with Orange (UK). It came up for renewal about 6 months ago but they don't seem to have released a single interesting phone in that whole time. The Hero is the only phone that's even close, but it's so old now I don't really fancy committing to it for 18 months. The Touch Pro 2 was supposed to be out when I started looking but they withdrew it before I had a chance to get one. Later the HD 2 seems to suffer a similar fate. Someone from Orange phoned me last month to ask why I hadn't upgraded yet (obviously concerned that I was getting ready to leave) and she said the HTC Bravo would probably be out in March, which I later worked out was similar to a Google Nexus and so quite interesting. I phoned to check today, but they still have no idea if/when it will arrive.
Does anyone else agree that there's something a bit strange going on when they don't properly release a high-end smart phone for 6 months or more? I mentioned to them I was suspicious that they were just trying not to distract attention from the iPhone but, of course, she didn't offer any useful comment.
The main question is, does anyone have any idea what Oranges plans are regarding high-end smart phones? Is it worth holding out for them to finally release one of the many iPhone-eclipsing devices, or should I be trying to convince my company to open an account elsewhere?
I had been looking on Orange's website to see if they were offering the HD2 as an upgrade. As far as I know they still aren't even listing it but I got an HD2 through Phones 4 U as an upgrade and as a loyal Orange customer got a 10% discount on the Dolphin 35 tariff (albeit for 24 months) as well as the handset for £50 minus £50 for trading in ANY old phone.
The only downside is that I'm now wondering if I should have waited for Win Phone 7 if it's released as early as Sept...
I had been looking on Orange's website to see if they were offering the HD2 as an upgrade
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That reminds me, I meant to mention that the Orange Business website hasn't barely changed their HTC section since I first started looking. That includes the HD Touch Pro 2 which (as far as I can tell) was available for about 1 week, 6 months ago. Maybe they're just trying to make it less obvious to the casual observer that Apple is pressuring them to bury anything better than the iPhone.
I hadn't thought about third party phone shops for a Business account. Can anyone confirm that's an option?
I read somewhere that Orange UK are not doing WM till 7series comes out now
Seems like they're in no hurry with Android either. Since the Hero they've only gone further down-market (Tattoo), passing over several higher end possibilities.
Anybody care to comment on my pet conspiracy theory about cutting out distractions from the JesusPhone™?

[Q] Anyone got a Omnia 7 from T-Mobile yet ?

Order mine online last Monday, and not had anything from them so far. :-(
Have you tried phoning or emailing them?
I'm waiting on mine too. No exact delivery date given but told it should be within 2 weeks which means they haven't got a clue.
I did read a comment on wmpoweruser that they had to send the 1st shipment back due to quality issues as something was faulty on them. Don't know If it's true but could be the reason for the delay.
I also want to know if the Omnia 7 from T-mobile is locked?
I would have thought so but I thought you could always ask tmobile to unlock it for you.
Or easier still buy from a reseller online and it comes unlocked and it's cheaper, the only downside is 1gb against 3gb and not as fast speed but you can either pay 5 pounds a month to upgrade or chance your luck buy ringing them and ask to have the full speed unlocked. Say it's an android phone as that worked for some people.
Thanks chaps, I will give them a call on Monday and see what they say.
I was told by them that there were QC issues and the first shipment was returend to suppliers.
root beer said:
Or easier still buy from a reseller online and it comes unlocked and it's cheaper, the only downside is 1gb against 3gb and not as fast speed but you can either pay 5 pounds a month to upgrade or chance your luck buy ringing them and ask to have the full speed unlocked.
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What does this mean?
Sorry, I was in a rush earlier.
I meant If you buy the phone from a reseller it will be much cheaper but it will have a 1GB data allowance against 3GB when purchased direct. And you will get not get the full high speed internet, you will be throttled down.
You can phone them up and try your luck and they might remove the speed limit, If not you pay £5 a month to upgrade to the full speed and 3GB.
But compare the prices and It's not worth buying direct and resellers are normally unlocked with no branding.
Plus don't forget Quidco or Topcashback etc for extra money back, about £30 on average.
Phoned them again today, and they said they "might" get some in Friday :-( but they said that about today too.
Turns out the QC issue they had with the phones was with the packaging...
Oye. When they mentioned the Friday delivery they told 'but they still need to go through QC first' implying they don't expect them to ship tomorrow.
Well hopefully it should be sorted soon as a lot of people want that phone (inc me)
Bad news according to the buymobilephones twitter account. Says tmobile have informed them It will take up to 2 weeks before stock arrive
It's getting to a stage where the windows phone stock is as rare as kinect stock.
root beer said:
Bad news according to the buymobilephones twitter account. Says tmobile have informed them It will take up to 2 weeks before stock arrive
It's getting to a stage where the windows phone stock is as rare as kinect stock.
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Click to collapse
Sounds like real bad news for us who want one
Got a message from T-mobile, "my phone is in stock" , i need to call back to make payment.
Odd, I already payed online I thought. However I rang anyway.
Now, out of stock !!!!!!!!!!! I was not happy.
They only had a small number of units and I took too long to ring back.
I've now told them to send the next one they get, and take payment.
nope, got mine from orange in london cos i knew they had them. I was with t mobile but they said they had software issues and wouldnt be releasing the phone until it was sorted or something so being the impatient guy that i am i went to Orange (london)
T-Mobile do *not* have stock of the Omnia7. Three have had stock since Tuesday and Orange got stock today.
If you've ordered already, best cancel and go for Orange on next day delivery. You can still piggyback the T-Mobile signal, and you get free picture messaging too
Just tried T-Mobile again and they have no idea when the 'packaging' issue will be resolved. Wouldn't be surprised if Everything Everywhere is deliberately letting Orange get the initial sales for some reason.
Regardless, I couldn't get them to do an 18 month contract below £40, even though Buymobiles.net are doing it at 18 month £30.
I got bored and ordered from Orange - If you ring them and push, they will do the handset free on 18 month Panther 40 for £35 per month using a credit on your bill. You also get the standard orange benefit of being able to upgrade after 15 months.
The reason I did it is I'm very impatient and sick of waiting !
Mickey
Nice one Micky. Ordered mine online. Paid £99 with £27.50/month. Should save about £80 over the usual price, so happy with that
'Packagin issue'? That has to be the most idiotic reason to not offer a product at launch. Especially when it's the only winpho7 handset they offer.
thats wierd!
my omnia 7 came 2 days ago from tmobile?!!

[Q] Best One S Deal (UK) ?

I am looking to replace my HTC Desire with a One S when my contract ends in 3 weeks time. The best deal I can currently find is as follows:
200 min / 3000 sms / 500 MB @ £21.50/month (24 months)
Phone cost £39.99
On O2 network being offered by Phones4U
Anyone know of a better deal around?
Wait a couple of weeks until T-mobile get it and ask them to do a price match (or better it). I just did this with the Xperia S and they beat the current £21.50 O2 deal by nearly £100 (over a 24 month period).
sh500 said:
Wait a couple of weeks until T-mobile get it and ask them to do a price match (or better it). I just did this with the Xperia S and they beat the current £21.50 O2 deal by nearly £100 (over a 24 month period).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that is my plan
Have already refused the retention department's current offer. Just waiting for them to start stocking the One S (after April 5 presumably) and I will try again.
Yeah, as always the case, the first offer they make you isnt usually even tempting.
The second person I spoke to said "they were from a slightly different department" and therefore were able to better the original offer...hmmmm, nothing to do with the fact a competing provider had a better deal - oh and of course the customary threat to leave
I like the look of the One S but the screen resolution and 16GB limit on storage is off putting. I have to last the phone for the next two years so need to look ahead. The One X is simply to big (4.7") for me.
Not seeing many reviews on the net for either of the S or X.
What a difference a day makes. All the O2 £21.50 offers have disappeared today...!
ascot17 said:
What a difference a day makes. All the O2 £21.50 offers have disappeared today...!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.dialaphone.co.uk/phone/xperia_s_from_sony/?&cid=ppcgoo&gclid=CNPT9vKn9q4CFS4NtAodSzY7xw
There are still a couple of places doing them, although o2 direct is not one of them. Seemed a bit strange as to why they were much cheaper than all other providers. just a one week promotion i guess.
I meant the HTC One S offers, not the Xperia but thanks anyway...
Oh, I must have missed all of the £21.50 offers on the One S...
Current best deal?:
300 min
unlimited sms
250MB data
FREE phone
£21/month on T-Mobile from mobilephonesdirect
(Buy it through Topcashback and get £30.30 cashback)!

getting best deal on Three UK

Hi guys, my contract has got about 10 days left so i am able to upgrade. I was previously on the one plan for £30 a month (with a £5 discount) with a galaxy s2. I want the S4 however now the best they can seem to do is £35 a month (£2 off). I have tried multiple times to phone them today and speak to different people but with no avail. I need to stay on the one plan due to tethering, but would it be worth asking for the pac code to try to convince them into give me a better deal? :fingers-crossed: Thanks for your help guys . And also what deals did you guys manage to get with three?
*Update*
After 2 hours on the phone the Indian women was adamant the best deal she could do was if i waited a month and she could take £2 off a month. So i phoned to get my puc code and they said instead of leaving they could do £33 a month for the one plan which i went for

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