O2 unveils its revolutionary O2 Custom Plans

[Marjo]

• O2 custom plans give customers complete control and flexibility over how and when they pay for their device
• Customers can select their airtime plan, choose how much they pay upfront and how they want to spread the remaining cost of their device– from 3 months up to 36 months

From today, O2 pay monthly customers will have a new way of paying for their devices with the freedom to tailor an individual plan to suit their needs and lifestyle, choosing how much they pay for their new device upfront combined with the ability to spread the remaining cost of their device from 3 to 36 months, all at 0% APR.

This means every O2 customer gets the best value regardless of their contract length and will never pay for a device they already own, proving once more that O2 is the true customer champion as the only UK mobile network operator to offer this level of flexibility and transparency.

This latest innovation builds on O2’s flexible tariffs, launched last November, which give customers the ability to increase or decrease the cost of their airtime plan each billing month, depending on how much data they anticipate using.

To help customers explore the different ways that they can tailor their plans O2 has launched an online calculator.  Using the calculator, new and existing customers can flex their upfront costs, contract duration and airtime plans to understand which option best suits their individual needs.

Nina Bibby, CMO, O2 said: “In 2013, we revolutionised the market with the launch of O2 Refresh which separated the cost of customers’ device and airtime plans.  Our custom plans mark the latest step in breaking away from one size fits all approaches, recognising that all our customers are different and individual, and so are their needs. As the first UK mobile network operator to offer this level of transparency, flexibility and control we’re giving even more power to the consumer.

“Our revolutionary custom plans give new and upgrading customers the freedom to tailor an individual plan to truly suit their needs and lifestyle, with the added peace of mind that the plan they sign up for will continue to be right one for them.”

O2 devices are also now supplied unlocked from their sim and regardless of how many months customers choose to repay their device cost over, the total cost will remain the same. With custom plans, O2 does not penalise customers by adding interest or charging early termination fees, and customers are free to pay off their device in full, at any time. Furthermore, customers who want to upgrade can unlock the value in their latest device via O2 Recycle.

Customers can keep track of their data usage through the My O2 app.  Data usage in the UK will be updated on the app every 30 minutes, while data usage in Europe may take up to 24 hours to update.  This enables our customers to keep check their monthly usage to ensure they’re on the best value airtime plan for them and make the decision if they need to move their tariff up or down to suit their needs.

Custom plans are available on all pay monthly devices. For more information on custom plans, visit: www.o2.co.uk/custom-plans

[Anonymous]

I’ve just signed up to a custom 36 month plan but I highly doubt that anyone will stick to the full term. If the phone breaks after the warranty expires, they will likely just pay what’s left & upgrade to a new device

[pgn]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I’ve just signed up to a custom 36 month plan but I highly doubt that anyone will stick to the full term. If the phone breaks after the warranty expires, they will likely just pay what’s left & upgrade to a new device

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Then what is the point? 

You are paying the price O2 charge for the phone, which is inclusive of their not inconsiderable markup over buying it outright elsewhere, only to retain the ability to pay it off early...  Makes no sense. The price we pay for flexibility, I guess. 

[jonsie]

I worry about the young people or the parents of younger children who sign up for the latest phones and are then paying for three years and unless they have the means to upgrade, their phones will be sadly so much out of date with the way technology is advancing. Sometimes the price you pay for flexibility can be far to much. £1000 upwards for a new phone? Five years ago we would have laughed at that and said no way would we pay that.

A simple mid priced phone will do exactly the same things these top end phones will do and your average user wouldn't have their life changed for better cameras and a faster operating system.

My phone is old technology when put alongside these new beasts but does most things, if a little slower. The camera suffices for what I require and I'm not one for streaming but I doubt I would notice the difference or enjoy a film any the less if I did watch. Sky Go for the football streams well enough when I do watch at the weekend.

[Glory1]

I agree with you @jonsie. To buy high end phones for children is, for a kick-off  ridiculous. No child needs a high end iPhone or Samsung because their frends have one. Parents need to know and use the word no. 

Most people will, I think, buy a phone over 3 years, for the lower monthly psyments. And then keep the phone for 3 years or find the money from somewhere to pay off the device and upgrade. Simple really, if you want a high end phone, whatever the reason, you have to be able to pay the airtime over 2 years which is covered by the warranty too. If you can't afford it don't buy it.

I looked at the monthly payments on my new phone carefully, a special offer up to 7th March helped my decision. If I thought for a second it was too much for me to pay, I'd have carried on with my old phone or looked at a cheaper model. The only reason I went for a new phone, in the first place, was my old one was dying. It wouldn't last another month let alone a year. So the option to carry on using it wasn't actually an option for me.  As I use my phone like most of you use your desk/lap tops, my phone gets more use than yours. Its my PC, iPod, gaming machine, TV catch-up service and streaming service and, of course, my entry into the forum. It's on and in use 12 hours a day every day. The only exception to that is when my friends and I get together for a meal, normally once a month. At that time none of us has our phone on.

I have no problem with people buying new phones over 3 years if that's their choice. But they have to remember that their phone is going to be out-of-date long before the 3 years are up. And that they need to find a lot of money to pay off the phone if it's high end like mine, if they want to upgrade early. Trouble is many people buy first and think later. And, as you say @jonsie they don't all need a new phone, high end or not!

[welshsteve76]

We talk about phones being out of date within 2-3 years of them being released.  This is crazy when you actually think about it.  Who here replaces their laptop or PC every 2 years because it's out of date? 

[Glory1]

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@welshsteve76 wrote:

We talk about phones being out of date within 2-3 years of them being released.  This is crazy when you actually think about it.  Who here replaces their laptop or PC every 2 years because it's out of date? 

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Good point @welshsteve76.  Speaking personally, I upgrade every 2 years purely because by then my phone is knackered and starting to do some weird and wonderful things it shouldn't be doing. Not because it's out of date.

If my phone is still working okay after 2 years, then I would look for a SIMO plan and keep it. I did this with my Note 4 as the only phone I wanted to upgrade to was the Note 7. And we all know that story. So until I found a phone I liked I went SIMO. Upgraded when the S8+ was available.

[welshsteve76]

I planned to keep my OnePlus 3T when my contract run out last autumn, but my son needed a "new" phone and my OnePlus was still going strong after 2 years of use, so I upgraded to Huawei P20 Pro as there was a deal on it (and the fact that O2 offered to pay off my last 3 months of my airtime contract).

He still has it now and it's fine. Not sure if I'll keep the Huawei when I'm due for renewal towards the end of NEXT year. Not because I don't like it, because I do, it's a brilliant phone. More because of all the "hooha" over Huawei.  I'd quite like to go back to OnePlus.

[gmarkj]

I think that most of the "hooha" around Huawei is around the commercial side of their business @welshsteve76.
Certainly from an American point of view, their worry is that there are additional components not on the spec sheet in routers/modems/switches that could be used to intercept traffic.
In terms of consumer products (ie phones) the worry is more around the software side and if there are back doors in their OS so that devices can be used without owners knowledge/consent. That can be bypassed (if you are that concerned) by flashing your phone with different software - although that has its own perils...