I’m with Vodafone. Need to stay with them because Vodafone is the only network that works reliably where I live.

Called Vodafone to try and get an upgrade (Free Nokia 5800). The best they could do for a free handset on my current tariff was a 24 month contract with a £5 reduction to £15/month for 20 months. Not bad at all, but I have been with them for several years and have 3 other contracts, home phone and broadband with them. I was about to sign up thinking this was a good deal, but only marginally better than the deals available to new customers.

I called Dial-a-phone for an upgrade. I will now be getting a new 5800 handset on an 18 month contract keeping my existing £20/month contract, but with £120 cash back. This turns out to be the equivalent of £13.66 a month and the duration is 6 months less. In comparison, Vodafone wanted £100 for the handset on the same 18 month contract.

If Orange worked in my home I could have had 3 times the monthly minutes for the same money.

Why is it that a reseller can do a better deal than the service provider?

Me thinks that Vodafone aren’t looking after their loyal customers!

I’m cancelling my two 30 day contracts as they have been of marginal benefit and am looking for an alternative broadband/home phone supplier.

Why is it that a reseller can do a better deal than the service provider?

Because they are willing to take a cut in profits to pull in a new customer and they rely on existing customers who are bothered about flash phones or are too lazy to punt around for their bigger margins.

BT Cellnet (remember them) were giving me the runaround a few years back at renewal time so I told them to poke it and moved to Orange. I’ve been with them a few years now and my phone is up for renewal again and they’re being a little tight with what they’re offering so it may be time for another move.

If you go back to Vodaphone with the offer that you’ve had, they might match it.

also might be worth looking at Tesco or one of the smaller players – I’m sure one of those uses the vodafone network (just can’t remember which…)./

i spoke to o2 the other day and they are offering crap phones and same deal i told em to poke it 😉

Expect a call from Vodafone tomorrow offering you what you want oh wait too late.

Tesco use O2.

IIRC Its ASDA That ghost onto Vodafone.

Spongebob – When you phone up to cancel they’ll put you through to their ‘Cancellation Department’ which often has people who are authorised to offer you much better deals than the automatons who work the normal renewal line.

Just out of interest Spongebob, whereabouts are you??

Do you get to keep your number with Dial-a-phone these days…iirc you didn’t used to be able to.

Just get the PAK Code, and you cna easily migrated yer number..

Yep, ring Vodaphone and tell them you’re thinking of moving. Ask for the PAC number so you can keep your current number. That generally puts you though to an agent whos first question is “why are you leaving” normally followed by “is there anything we can do to make you stay…..”.

As above, the cancellations department always offer you a better deal.

Is the ‘cashback’ offer from dial-a-phone via vouchers? If so, that is how dial-a-phone can offer it for less – a friend who used to work for 3, said that 70% of people never claim their cash back. When I was with Dial-a-phone the fist thing I did was make calender entries and set reminders to send the vouchers off.

This was a handset upgrade keeping my existing contract, same number, but the reseller was providing the handset. I haven’t had to pay anything. There didn’t seem any point in going back to Vodafone to get them to match it as the deal was in effect coming from them anyway. Vodafone also charge a fiver for delivery whereas the Dial-a-phone delivery is free.

I called the Vodafone cancellation line previously because I know they are authorised to give bigger discounts, but i spoke with them a few times and they just weren’t making much effort. I kept hearing the word “no”!

As I said before, i’m stuck with Vodafone unless I buy an expensive repeater. Other networks work OK outside my place and in some parts of my house, some of the time.

Yep the cashback is in the form of 3 vouchers and i will be setting up reminders. I bought my original contract through Dial-a-phone and went through this process before – no problem. It’s not a deal that would be good for someone who’s a bit forgetful or disorganised. I guess there is a certain amount of hassle, but IMO it’s worth it for the £120 carrot.

Spongebob – Actually phoning up and asking for your PAC number may motivate them a little more than “I’d like an upgrade and I’ve seen this elsewhere”.

Vodaphone call centre staff hear folk asking for better deals with the threat of folk moving their business and I’m sure they’ve got some stats on those who make threats and don’t against make threats and do which makes it profitable to fob you off at the first hurdle.

Ask for your PAC number and if they don’t offer better then move.

You can PAC your number to a PAYG sim, and then instantly apply for a PAC code on that which you use to start a ‘new’ contract with your original provider.

Recognised loophole which can be useful if you need to stick with a particular provider and they are going all “brand new customers only” on you.

I just hop between Voda and O2 when I want a decent upgrade.

I will remember the PAC tactic next time thanks!

i’m with vodafone -quick tip tell them what you want (price/minutes) don’t ask them. I just quoted what i could get with another provider.

I got my bill down from £25 per month to just over a tenner.

The first person i spoke to wouldn’t do anything, so i just rung back a couple of days later and another person was very good and sorted me out.

Vodafone will not transfer a PAYG number/PAC to a new contract. I tried that before.

I think I will look out for a cheap repeater, or maybe I’ll have moved in 18 months!

Yep Will, I did tell them what I want and what other providers were offering. As you say, if you get a willing salesperson, you can do a deal. Two of the girls I spoke to offered me less than the deal they had offered me first off. You would have thought they would keep a record!

As longterm customer paying them a pile of money each month, you wouldn’t have thought that it would have not been so difficult to get a deal. I reminded them of this, but it made no difference. It’ll be their loss only when I switch £45/month’s worth of business away from them in 30 days!

spongebob – I was on the point of doing this through mobile phones direct. Voda contract -> O2(or any) PAYG -> New Voda contract.
.
When I asked them if there was any problem with doing this, they said “Not at all Sir!!!! Well spotted, that is the loop hole!!!!”

Dave, they obviously lied to me then! They would take a PAC from any SIM except their own PAYG SIMs at that time. I guess they have relaxed that restriction now. Technically it was never a problem, just Vodafone not looking after their own customers!

My phone number is the same one I’ve had on PAYG with Vodafone from about 5 years back or more.

I wanted the N96 they refused to give me it for free on package I wanted so asked for PAC. Next day I get a phone call offering me a free N96, free postage, more minutes than I wanted and unlimited texts for less than I was willing to pay.

Just remember as soon as you go with one of the 3rd party dealers you can’t go into the Vodafone shop to whinge about stuff like the phone not working or your billing being all messed up.

I use to work for orange back in the day and had customers constantly whinging that there phone was broken or the bill was too much or it needed charged (yes really!) Nothing to do with the network, but they see Orange or whoever on the screen and march into the nearest Orange shop as soon as anything goes wrong. Besides Vodafone is about to go down the pan soon, Orange is owned by the French Government.

Update – just got a mail from Dial-a-phone saying my order has been cancelled. Apparently Vodafone said their status criteria had not been met on this occasion!?

I called Dial-a-phone c.s. as I didn’t fully understand what this meant. Got an automated service that eventually put me through to a message saying the same as the mail and that the operators couldn’t help me any further. Then it hung up. I’m glad the deal with them collapsed!

Called Vodafone and they came up with a £15/month deal, free handset, free delivery and on an 18 month contract this time. They couldn’t answer why the order had not met their criteria. £105 of their previous best offer!

So it cost me another £1.33 a month than the Dial-A-Phone deal, but I won’t have to faff about remembering to redeem vouchers.

I won’t be going into any Vodafone shops to whinge about billing etc, there’s the free customer services line for that, but thanks for your perspective ShinyRedOrange. Can’t imagine the largest mobile operator – Vodafone going down the pan any time soon, but we’ll see.

If your mobile contract is up for renewal it’s worth looking at Quidco

http://www.quidco.co.uk

It’s a cashback site. I used it recently when the wife’s mobile contract was up for renewal and we got £70 cashback and a free PS3, which I then sold for a few hundred quid.

As an employee of one of the major networks my suggestion is to steer clear of the smaller resellers. If I had a quid for every customer escalation that I’ve handled over the past few years where customers are promised cash back etc then the retailer either goes under or just blankly refuses to honour the deal… I tell you I’d be a damn sight closer to owning an Orange 5 than I am now!

Top tips – get it in writing, make sure you understand all of it before you sign, keep every bill they send you ( you will probably need them to claim cash back),

Finally, call your existing provider, tell them about the deal you’ve been offered and see if they’ll match it. If you’re a decent spending customer then they’re bound to want to keep you.

it’s a brave man that uses a reseller. You end up paying a lot more in my and the experience of most people I know that have used them. Surprising amounts of what you got through your major player contract for nothing suddenly became chargeable or subject to big rate increases. That said 3 months ago I bought myself out of a vodafone contract as their service level was appalling for me.

never again for me.

Hey spongebob,

Don’t know if its too late but I’m with Vodafone and I got a 5800 foc in the last month.

My contract was up for renewal and I phone Vodafone and asked what was on offer, knowing I wanted the 5800. They would only offer one if I paid £55 and upgraded to £35 per month on a 18 month contract.

I then went to their on-line store where I went through the Upgrade My Mobile option and got the phone, 3 months 1/2 price rental and some free texts and calls on my existing price plan and a new 18 month contract for free.

The phone arrived the following day and it’s great.

If it’s not too late give it a try. I don’t think there’s a link between their on-line site and their telesales.

Best of luck.

John

I haggled on my renew.

Reduced from £27 to £23 500 mins and unlimited text and LG renoir.

Phone seems ok but miss my N95 8g-that was easy to use.

Will give the LG a bit more longer.

Well i had used the reseller for my original phone several years ago with no problems. Perhaps I was lulled into a false sense of security due to prior experience, but Dial-A-Phone C.S. was rubbish this time – completely non-existent! I ended up getting my phone though Vodafone and i reckon I got a pretty good deal. Reading recent threads, I feel much better about this. If these cowboy outfits are so lame, why do airtime providers give them the time of day?

I’m approaching the end of my contract with Voda, and was hoping this thread might prove informative…..but I’m still confused. Maybe I’m just brain-tired.

Anyway, if Voda goes down the tubes, and I’ve just signed a new contract, what could the consequences be?

Never having used a Nokia, would the 5800 be a good introduction? If I had to choose beteween that and a B’brry Storm, what would the consensus be among you?
Would either of these handsets play MP3 files downloaded from iTunes?

What happened to Motorola?

Do you know the way to Tiger Bay?