Cheaper to buy phone outright?

[Anonymous]

After being an O2 customer for several years I decided to look at upgrading to the iPhone 6.

I found a pay monthly option of £9.99 up front + £48/month for the iphone 6 64GB

O2 says that the device payment part is interest free over the 24 month period, making the device cost of the plan (619-9.99)/24 = £25.38/month. Subtracting this means the airtime portion of the tariff is £22.62/month.

However, looking on sim-only contracts, the EXACT SAME minutes, texts and data is available for only £20/month...

Where does this extra £2.62 come from, since the device repayment is "interest free" ?

It would be cheaper to purchase the phone outright and get a cheap monthly sim-only contract, for example, the 3 network offers similar for only £10/month, meaning over the course of the contract I would save over £300 by switching to 3 instead of O2!

[Cleoriff]

Hi

I can only speak from my own experience. I bought my Note 3 sim free and pay £20 a month for an unlimited calls /texts tariff and 3g data (O2) Over 12months

Mine certainly worked out cheaper than buying it with the phone included...

Edited to add.... I would presume the additional £2.62 is vat related?

[Anonymous]

Looking at it another way, the same allowances are available for £20/month, so this makes the device cost a total of (48-20)*24 + 9.99 = 681.99, which is 10% more than the cost of buying it outright at £619!

[jonsie]

We always advise people to go for the best deal as long as the network coverarage is good in the home, where you work and where you travel. P&G sims are the best way to check coverage.

I always buy sim free and get a sim only deal, much cheaper.

[Cleoriff]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Looking at it another way, the same allowances are available for £20/month, so this makes the device cost a total of (48-20)*24 + 9.99 = 681.99, which is 10% more than the cost of buying it outright at £619!

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Of course it very much depends on where you buy your phone from and how much you pay. I was lucky enough to source a deal for the Note 3. It cost me £325 to buy outright....:smileywink:

[MI5]

Yep, I agree.
I buy phone sim free and take a simo as it works out cheaper overall.

[Bambino]

Buying a phone sim free also guarantees that it will not be locked to any network, nor be encumbered by network bloatware, although I have to say O2 doesn't do much of that. A sim free phone will also ensure, particularly in the case of Android phones, that you will get software updates direct from the phone manufacturer, which are usually rolled out in a more timely fashion, rather than having to wait for the network to test an update.

[Anonymous]

Paying for the handset over 24 months is favourable to most who cannot afford the upfront cost of a top-end handset.

Phones from Carphone Warehouse are unlocked too!!

[Anonymous]

So in conclusion if you're thinking of upgrading to the iPhone 6, buy it outright and find a cheap sim only plan on another network instead of the poor deals available on here! And you'll be left with an unlocked phone and £300 to spend on whatever you like!

Whilst it is, as you say, favourable to pay over a 24 month period, O2's offer of "interest free" is completely false, because there is an extra charge tacked onto the tariff!

[Bambino]

Buy outright if you have the income to do it. Some people, as redtitbit has pointed out, don't have that kind of cash lying around.

Some of O2's sim only plans aren't too bad, but if you've found better from another network, that's where you should go. Price shouldn't be the main thing to guide you, though. Signal coverage where you live, work, and play should be your main concern.