Leaving O2 (anyone else feeling the same?)

Anonymous · ‎02-09-2009

I know this has been discussed a few times before but i just wanted to see if anyone was getting the same impression from O2 that i have been getting?

I have been an O2 Pay monthly customer for 6 years , my average monthly spend across this period has been £50 a month. before taking out the monthly contract i was a PAYG customer for 3 years regularly updating my phone and topping up at least £20 a month.

I have had no problems with the service recieved, and the contracts offered have always been good value and provided me with a choice of handsets and options..... untill recently that is!

The reason i have now decided to leave O2 is because they are basically giving me no choice.

The contracts are no longer competative and the choice of handsets is currently by far the worst on the market. If you dont want a iPhone there is very little to chose from, and what is on offer is outdated.

My last contract expired in May, i enquired about the iphone but for what i wanted it was to expensive and decided against taking the contract but was willing to wait for new options to arrive and switched to the £20 simplicity to fill the gap in contracts and see what O2 would have done once the second quater came to and end.

What they did was nothing! There are very few new desirable handsets and nothing has been offered to me by O2 (basically i think their is little interest in holding onto customers who dont want an iphone or something similar). So basically i have only one option left move to orange or vodaphone and actually get some choice.

Im pretty dissapointed i dont really want to leave O2 but there is nothing on offer i want and no sign of this changing. 4 months down the line and the choice of handsets still hasnt changed.

Is anyone else finding the same thing when it comes to remewing thier contract??

Anonymous · ‎02-09-2009

I roam a lot and much as I wanted to leave O2 (I'm fed up with constant 'network busy' messages in the City of London), they seem to be the most competitive for roaming in Europe.

- £50mb data roaming for £50
- 25p / min calls and free to receive when roaming in EU (for £9.99 / month)
- free roaming texts at 4:1 ratio out of your allowance

I've spoken with other networks and they can't get close to pricing like that, which saddens me as I really want to leave! Can't blame you for going though, especially if you do roam.

Anonymous · ‎02-09-2009

OP, if you're going due to the fact o2 aren't doing retention deals any more and have a poor choice of "upgrades" then I fear you won't do any better with another provider.

Have you actually studied the deals of o2's rivals? Do you really want to sign up to a 3 year contract with Orange, for example, to get a decent phone? :mansurprised:

I've found over the past few years, if you have the money up front and will be keeping the handset for a while, that going onto Simplicity and just buying your own phone either SIM-free or PAYG is cost-effective. Even if it wasn't you have a choice of pretty much any handset you want.

I would never again rely on o2 or any other provider to sell me an "upgrade" (I quote the word because their new phones are generally downgrades nowadays).

Save up. Buy exactly the phone you want and a SIM only deal, is my advice

SV

Anonymous · ‎02-09-2009

Strange_visitor its not related to retention deals, i have been offered deals by O2 but on phones such as the nokia 5800 which is now pretty out dated and at a contract price well above what is being offered by other networks (it was at least £15 more than Orange IIRC).

Its more to do with the lack of new handsets being made avaliable, Outside the iPhone there are very few affordable desirable handsets being made avaliable to O2 customers.

I have looked at all deals from other rival networks and they simply win out because they can offer me different handsets. For example, Samsung Jet £30 a month 600 minutes 3000 texts unlimited data and web free phone avaliable on both Orange and Vodafone over 18 months. Very reasonable affordable deals.

Can o2 match or better that? No simply because they dont stock the handset, same with the N97, Samsung Pixion 12mp, HTC hero the list goes on. Thats the main problem lack of choice, which is what consumers expect now days.

Also in theory you plan to buy the handset outright is a good one (and may well work for some people like yourself) but consider:

Samsung jet Handset £300 over 18 months is £16.67 add that to my £23 simplicity deal thats £39.67, costing me nearly £10 more than picking the phone up from either Orange or Vodafone.

N97 handset £439.99 over 18 months £24.44 add that to my £23 makes £47.44 costing me again more than i would be spending on other networks.

Once you factor in the fact i have to actually save the money to pay up front and then wont be able to possibly negotiate any loyalty discount as my average monthyl spend will be so low whats the point?

This post is not designed to slate O2 and not a rant, as i said I like O2 and the service they provide but im not going to blindly follow on if they wont make an effor to give me value for my ££££££.

Anonymous · ‎02-09-2009

Why don't you upgrade through P4U instead? They can offer the Jet on o2 tariffs.

Personally I stay with a network for customer service and am happy to pay more per month to get better service. Its the same with most things that you get what you pay for, some networks offer the world and its wife, but they just don't come up with the goods in terms of service, and thats often why they have to offer so much, just to tempt people in.

Anonymous · ‎02-09-2009

Why don't you upgrade through P4U instead? They can offer the Jet on o2 tariffs.
Personally I stay with a network for customer service and am happy to pay more per month to get better service. Its the same with most things that you get what you pay for, some networks offer the world and its wife, but they just don't come up with the goods in terms of service, and thats often why they have to offer so much, just to tempt people in.

I cant seen the Tarrifs for o2 on phones4u online, they only have Orange and vodafone (they probably have them in store but you tend to get online discount), but if i switch to phones4u wont my contract and account be managed by them instead of O2 anyway meaning i will still have to switch which is what i will have to do anyway?

As for paying more for customer service in this day and age you really shouldnt have to, also i have friends and family on other networks and they recieve just as good a service as me (in the case of Vodafone latley it has been better than 02 when my GF has been dealing with them).

So your telling me if O2 slaped an additional £10 (hypothetically speaking) on your bill a month and limited your options you would gladly pay?

If you value the service that highly then thats fair enough, whatever works for you, but i dont think what i recive now (which IMO should be standard for any company) is worth an additional £10.

Anonymous · ‎02-09-2009

wanty works for o2 so she may be a little biased

However, I'm not - every time my contract comes up for renewal I look around, do plenty of research and still resign with o2. I've always had a decent signal, good customer service etc.

I've got friends who are on Orange or T-Mobile who have reception probems here in Leeds and scare stories of poor customer service.

The handset may be shinier but the grass isn't always greener

Granted, as I no longer bother with upgrades I'm basing my judgement purely on 5 years of customer service, decent prices and good coverage.

Moving to another provider, I may gain, I may lose, but it's not worth the risk to me. I know what to expect from o2 and they'd have to go downhill fast for me to look elsewhere.

SV

Anonymous · ‎02-09-2009

wanty works for o2 so she may be a little biased

Not when it comes to me as a consumer. Yes I want a bargain like anyone, but I'm happy to pay extra if I feel I am getting value for money. Like an ISP, its all well and good getting it for £5 a month, but if when it goes down you have to speak to an Indian call center who can't understand the problem and take a week to resolve it I'd much rather pay £20 a month and get fantastic support. If o2 don't come up to my standards then I would leave like a shot even though it means I'd be paying a heck of a lot more (losing my discounts).

If you take it out instore through P4U, just urm and arhhh a bit and they'll start throwing in some deals such as cashback or free accessories. I can tell you now they do the Jet, the Pixon12 and pretty much most new phones on O2 instore. Your contract will be with P4U but your network, billing and customer service (so long as its not a problem with your contract) will all be handled by O2.

Anonymous · ‎02-09-2009

wanty works for o2 so she may be a little biased

Not when it comes to me as a consumer. Yes I want a bargain like anyone, but I'm happy to pay extra if I feel I am getting value for money.

I agree wanty. No offence meant, the reference to your "bias" was tongue-in-cheek.

SV

Anonymous · ‎03-09-2009

First of all I never buy phones from a provider's range, as I choose my phone and then a provider that can give me the best deal for my requirements.
All my phones are unlocked, so they can be used with any sim card, as I strongly believe that locking phones is immoral, you wouldn't buy a car that you only can fill up at BP petrol stations, or would you?
I think mobile phones and provider contracts/PAYG should be 2 separate things.
1.) Choose the mobile phone that comes closest to your needs, then
2.) Choose the provider contract/PAYG plan that comes closest to what you need and is the most cost effective one.

I personally will change from Vodafone to O2, as they offer the best deal for the iPhone I now have, despite the fact that O2 signal is very bad (no signal downstairs, maybe 2 bars upstairs), but VF is much better. That's rural England for you.