New pay monthly (17-Oct) *not* on Refresh tariff

[Anonymous]

I recently joined o2 on a £38, 2-year pay monthly contract, which started on 17-Oct.

Before buying the phone (through www.mobiles.co.uk) I saw on the o2 site that "all new pay monthly contacts" would be on refresh tariffs.  However it appears this is not the case:  I've confirmed today that mine is a standard tariff.

According to the 02 online chat help, I have two options:

1. Stick with my standard tariff contract

2. Send back the phone within the cooling off period (still have ten days left), cancel the contract and start over again.

Option 1 is no good because I'm intending to upgrade my phone every year.

Can anyone confirm that I really am left with option 2?  i.e. I can't keep the phone and swap on to a Refresh tariff.

[MI5]

You can only get refresh directly from O2 - Not from any other sites or traders.

[jonsie]

You would have to return the phone and cancel the contract so look at the T&Cs of the supplier.

[Bambino]

Your option 2 is your only option if you want to upgrade every year. You'd have to check your return options with mobiles.co.uk before you do anything.

[MI5]

Also factor in the fact that your tariff will be cheaper now than the equivalent refresh tariff.
Another option is to sell your current phone after 12 months and use it towards paying off the remaining contract (£456) and take a new one then.
Even on refresh you would still have to pay off the phone plan in 12 months time.

[Anonymous]

OK thanks all for the confirmation - I'll check return terms and conditions with mobiles.co.uk

[MI5]

The same refresh tariff is £5 a month more (£60 year).

[jonsie]

Good luck, let us know how you get on

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Having checked the return policy, I need to send back the phone this week for a full refund. Then I pay a bit extra (£99 up front instead of £29) to get on the equivalent refresh tariff.

l'd rather just keep the phone, pay the extra £70 and be switched to refresh. The end result is the same but I guess I'm being naive to think it should be so easy.

On another subject, the new Note 4 is awesome

[MI5]

Your choice at the end of the day.
You still have the option of selling the phone towards the contract pay off after 12 months and remember in future that ONLY o2 can offer refresh.