Fair device plan charges

[VickyVega]

I recently paid off my £4 a month device plan for an iPhone 5S nearly new.
I signed up to a new device plan for a ‘nearly new iPhone SE 32GB’ phone. My monthly plan cost has gone up to £11 a month so the nearly new phone is going to cost me a whopping £264 !!!
I did some research and for example Tesco are offering a Newark new phone with no upfront costs and similar data, minutes and texts for just under £15 a month vs my O2 cost of £25 a month. I’m within my cooling off period but I’d rather not leave O2 as they are a great provider and are one of the only providers that offer me great signal coverage. But am I being ripped off on the cost of my ‘nearly new’ phone, which by the way needs cheaging 4-5 tines a day !
What should I do?? Any advice greatly received
VV

[Bambino]

@VickyVega Tesco uses the O2 network. If a Refresh contract isn't important to you, which you wouldn't get with Tesco, then there shouldn't be much for you to think about.

[viridis]

Hi,

Firstly I'd just like to point out that Tesco mobile default tariff is set at 36 months, once you change it to 24 the price changes significantly.

Secondly, it's worth noting the inclusive minutes and texts, you can then go onto the o2 site and match that deal to make the cost this..

Which is the total amount of phone plan and airtime.

Of course the important thing to consider is how much you're paying for the actual device, which from o2 is infact this...

£3.42 per month, which makes your actual device cost a little over £80..

The rest is airtime, and £82 for the phone, is not exactly a RIP off when you look at how much the tesco device plan is (it equals £207 minimum) 

If you decided to buy a brand new SE on o2, it too would be cheaper for the actual device than tesco at £202

However, the airtime element is larger on o2 as opposed to Tesco

[jonsie]

It makes sense for you to return the phone within your cooling off period If the phone needs constant charging then the battery is shot or the set-up is all wrong. Bear in mind though that the cost of a nearly new is a fraction of the cost of a new iPhone, obviously dependant on the model and present availability. It seems from what you say that the phone is faulty as you aren't new to iPhones. The phone isn't fit for purpose. Return it and then do the maths, decide what's best for your budget and what you can justify paying in your own mind and go from there. Only you can really decide what's best for you.

Other members will contribute their own thoughts in the morning....but the phone definitely needs to go back whilst that is an option that's open to you.

[Cleoriff]

 I actually had no idea that the Tesco default tariff was set at 36months so thanks for pointing that out @viridis. It just shows the importance of checking the fine print and as the saying goes 'every picture tells a story'

Also, how lovely to see people had their brains in gear at silly o'clock, whilst I was fast asleep

Well done one and all.

Welcome to the forum @VickyVega

[VickyVega]

What a throughly thorough reply! Complete with graphics to sustantiate your points. However, whilst your points refuted my grumbles your point that O2 had a deal that was almost like for like in comparison to Tesco - nope! The £17 tariff only allowed 500 minutes whilst Tesco offered 5,000. The £15 deal with Tesco does commit one to a 36month contract, over the lifetime of the contract matching O2 I would have saved £240.
Anyways, it’s all arbitrary now because I dropped my phone and cracked the screen and with my cooling off period expiring in 4 days, I’m stuck with paying £264 for a second hand phone that’s about 4 generations older than the current market offering.
Still love your reply though. Who knew phone tariffs could be so juicy a topic

[VickyVega]

One other point - I’m paying £15 for my airtime (1GB, unlimited texts, unlimited calls), and £11 device plan.
That was the cheapest deal on the app. When I called to discuss today, they said they could reduce the device plan to £9. How come that deal wasn’t on the list of choices?! Pretty scetchy!

[viridis]

Why are you paying 264 for a second hand phone, when o2 sell it brand new for £202?

It's more than sketchy if your device plan alone is 264.