SIM only tariff

[Joe746]

I pay £21.36 for SIM only 5GB data, unlimited UK calls, unlimited UK texts.

I've seen I could move to https://www.lebara.co.uk/en/msm/p/441174 and pay <£5 per month with a contract that rolls monthly.

Please can somone who knows about these things explain what the risk is ?  The network used is vodafone but I'm wondering if I'm missing something?  If there's nothing to is, how to O2 get away with charging >400% more for the exact same thing ? 

[madasaf1sh]

@Joe746 

The reason is that Lebara are an MVNO and dont have any physical network to operate,  And its a free market companies can choose what they want to charge...  and the same thing happens with EE and Three's MVNO's even Vodafones own MVNO's Voxi and Talkmobile are cheaper than the network that ownes them

Some people like the Virtual Networks as they offer choice, some people prefer to be with the MNO .. 

All the details on cancelling o2 can be found here Guide: Cancelling Your Contract 

[MI5]

@Joe746 

If you can upgrade to a sim only, 

Use USwitch

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/o2/

Choose the deal you want

This will automatically redirect you to the O2 website

Just follow the prompts and choose the UPGRADE option

Complete the deal and nothing on your account changes except the tariff at the new cheaper cost

Payment date is the same and your next bill will be at a cheaper rate and will be made up of the pro rata cost of your old tariff and your new tariff

The change should show in My O2 within 24 hours

Volt benefits will still apply as will possibly a 3 month extra such as Disney+

[Oxonian]

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@Joe746 wrote:

I pay £21.36 for SIM only 5GB data, unlimited UK calls, unlimited UK texts.

I've seen I could move to https://www.lebara.co.uk/en/msm/p/441174 and pay <£5 per month with a contract that rolls monthly.

Please can somone who knows about these things explain what the risk is ?  The network used is vodafone but I'm wondering if I'm missing something?  If there's nothing to is, how to O2 get away with charging >400% more for the exact same thing ? 

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To answer your final question @Joe746, it is largely because of customer inertia and individuals not "shopping around" for a better deal. Martyn Lewis of moneysavingexpert fame has made a fortune out of getting people to compare deals, whether they be utilities, car insurance, Broadband or whatever ; he also stressed that large corporations do not reward customer loyalty. 👍