Take a look on terms of your mobile phone contract

Do you want to know what you signed for? Take a look on terms of your contract by visiting our page about terms and conditions of contracts on mobile phone. We will answer the most usuall questions if you have some specific ones you can do so by writing to us on email in the Contuct us section of the website.


Tariff downgrades: terms Case study Tariff upgrades: terms Best upgrade: tips Return and exchange policy Cancelation, termination of a mobile phone contract Buyouts: terms Cashbacks: terms Format of a 30 day notice to cancel the contract Trade ins





When can you downgrade your tariff on a mobile phone contract?

You are allowed to reduce your line rental depending on two crucial things:

Your network: O2 or Orange or ... Length of your phone contract: one month, 12 months, 18 or ...
For twelve months contracts you are allowed to downgrade your contract on the following conditions:
O2 after the first 9th month, T mobile after the first 11th month, Vodafone after the first 9th month, Three after the first 11th month and Orange after the first 6th month of your mobile phone agreement Virgin mobile after the first 6th month Keep in mind that you are only allowed to move down one step at a time. So, if you were on £35 p/m, you can only go down to £30 p/m not £25 p/m.

For 18 months contracts downgrade conditions are as follows:
O2 after the first 9 months, T mobile after the first 17 months, Vodafone after the first 9 months, Three after the first 17 months and Orange after the first 9 months of your mobile phone contract Virgin mobile after the first 9 months

Again remember that your network will allow you to move down only one step at a time. So, if you were on £45 p/m, you can only go down to £40 p/m not £25 p/m.

For 24 months mobile phone contracts remember the following terms of downgrade:
O2 after the first 9 months, T mobile after the first 23 months, Vodafone after the first 9 months, Three after the first 23 months and Orange after the first 12 months of your mobile phone contract Virgin mobile after the first 9 months

Again remember that your network will allow you to move down only one step at a time. So, if you were on £45 p/m, you can only go down to £40 p/m not £25 p/m.

For 36 months mobile phone contracts Orange will only allow you to downgrade after 18 months of your line rental. I will add some more information to 36 months connections soon. At the moment the networks are just introducing 3 years contracts. So, not much information is available.

If you are stil usure about how to downgrade your line rental read the following case study with detailed explanation of steps in reducing the monthly mobile phone contracts.



Case study: The way from £45 to £25 per month can be rewarding


Pete had an 18 month mobile phone contract on Vodafone for11 months. Suddenly, he realised that he boughtan expensive Nokia 8600 luna. The phone was new so he had to pay 45 pounds line rental. Here is what he has done to save on his normal contract:


Step 1: Start saving, reduce the bill

He called up his customer service which is 191 from the Vodafone handset (If you are a different network customer and dont know your cs number use our networks page to find it out) and asked to reduce his line rental to the lowest possible. The answer was you could only move down to £40 with loss of some minutes and text messages stayed unlmited as before.

Step 2: Keep on saving ...

In a month time Pete called Voda again asking them to cut his bills further and got his line rental down to £35 and only then he realised that actually he was not even using that many minutes and textes. So, the reduction was only beneficial to him.

Step 3: Reduce further untill you reach the bottom line

After three more downgrades he found out that he had reached the bottom £25 per month the lowest price plan he could get with Vodafone. He had some basic package of 250 minutes and 100 texts but that was more than enough for him. He rarely used the mobile phone anyway.
What has he won?

In total Pete gained some value out of this cost reduction trick. In fact, he saved the followings:

12th month --- £5 13th month --- £10 14th month --- £15 15th month --- £20 16th month --- £20 17th month --- £20 18th month --- £20

Total gain comes to £110. He did not lose anything but minutes and texts which he did not use in the first place. So, for him the reduction way was quite an enjoyment.

Note: If you are planning to buy a new mobile phone on monthly contract, consider this whether you need a very expensive phone. For most working people the answer is "No I want a reliable, durable handset". In that case choose lower tariffs from the beginning. You can find some lower tariff contracts here.

When can you upgrade?


You might want to upgrade your existing tariff or upgrade your mobile phone device for several reasons:
Not enough minutes Not enough texts Older handset Desire for a particular mobile phone

Different networks have various terms concerning upgrades. Below we have presented a short explanation on when and how you can upgrade your mobile phone device:

Orange and Three
For upgrades Orange and Three are the best. They can give you a free handset 90 days before your actual contract ends.

Vodafone, O2

If you want a new handset on Vodafone, O2 you can do this 60 days before your agreement with the network finishes.

Virgin mobile and T mobile
Virgin mobile and T mobile will only upgrade you one month before the end of your contracted period.Pay attention, your last three, two, one month will be added to your new upgrade length. So, if you had a 2 months left on your Orange 18 months contract and you have upraded for another 18 month period your upgrade will finish in 20 months from the date of your purchase Nowadays, you can even upgrade your mobile phone online. To upgrade your handset click here.
Hints on how to get the best upgrade deal




As you approach the end of your contract period
you will be looking to upgrade your handset for a new one. As usuall most customers do not pay attention on what deal they are getting with their upgrade. They just get a brand new handset and they are happy enough to forget about other benefits they could potentially have. There several things that you may improve when you get your new upgrade deal:


Package of minutes and texts Several add-ons: free or half price Accessories Another handset for free Discount on your monthly line rental Free insurance for some period or for the whole duration Cashback etc

So what do you need to do in order to get part or all of the benefits above? Follow these rules and you will be just fine:

Rule 1: Know when your upgrade is due
So many people have missed out on their upgrades because they did not pay enough attention on the dates. You should know exactly when you will be eligible to upgrade. This knowledge will help you to prepare for the bes upgrade possible. So, you know exactly when you can change your mobile phone, fine

Rule 2: Work with several companies
Obviously you have signed up with one company but when you upgrade your handset you are free to choose who you want to upgrade with. The only condition the dealer company should have a better deal on the same network. Lets say you an Orange contract with Orange direct but you could get upgrade on the same Orange contract with:

Orange direct Orange online Phones4u online upgrades on Vodafone, Orange, Three Phones4u direct Mobiles2yourdoors provides upgrades on Vodafone and Orange Carphone direct Carphone online upgrades on Orange,O2, Vodafone, Three, Virgin media, T mobile e2save gives upgrade options on T mobile, O2, Three and Orange Mobiles.co.uk provides online upgrade on O2 and Orange etc

The list can go on forever but believe me all of these companies provide different upgrade options.

Rule 3: You are a valuable asset for companies, remember this
As soon as you speak to the upgrade team on the phone, tell them the options that you have got with their rivals and let them think how they can better your existing deal, if they dont come up with a better solution they will lose you as a customer. Most of the time choke in some little accessories like bluetooth headsets, memory cards and so on. When they have already inormed you about the best deal they could do, do not agree yet. Tell them that you need time to think and that you will call them again. Write the name of the person and his extension (reference) number for the call. Next time when you call you will not have difficulties to find your person with your best deal.

Rule 4: If you dont ask you dont get
After you have had a list of best deals from all possible companies just call them and ask for more believe me this works if you ask for more you will get more. For companies it is not a big deal to give you some more accessories or some more cashback, cheaper line rental they want you as a customer in the long run. Use this to your own adavantage. Do not limit yourself to what you could ask, go on and on untill they say sorry that is all we can do, we can not do more. There it is time for you to say ok. Take your favourite handset for free, enjoy talking and texting and get lots of accessories and discounts creamed up with cashbacks.

For those who are ready to find their best deals on upgrade, you can start negotiating upgrades here:

1. Mobiles online 2. Phones4u upgrades on Vodafone, Orange, Three 3. Mobiles2yourdoors upgrades on Vodafone and Orange 4. Carphone online 5. e2save T mobile, O2, Three and Orange

When and how can you return, exchange your mobile phone?
Return period: 14 day or? Usually most of the merchants give 14 day period where you can return your mobile phone with the contract. Online it is slightly different, the most merchant usually give 7 working days to return the phone, only some networks give 14 days. So make sure you know what is your exact return period for the merchant before you buy your phone on contract or pay as you go.
Exchange and more
If it is just the handset type you are not happy with, or the color or some fault has happened to your phone (just want another brand new product) you should be able to exchange your phone within 28 working days. All 7 days, 14 days and 28 working days do not include weekends and banking holidays. To change from monthly contract to pay as you go click here. If your coverage is not good you can ask the merchant to swap you the contract with a similar one with a better coverage. You can check the coverage for all different networks here.

How can you end your mobile phone contract?


As I mentioned above, you have 14 days to do it. Make sure you return the phone by recorded delivery with all the paperwork and receipts. I advise to make a copy of the documents and keep them with you untill all your contract has finished. If you are out of 14 working days to return your phone, unfortunately you are liable for all 12, 18, 24 month payments that you agreed on. You could still change your phone if you are in 28 days zone.

After you have done all of the three recommendations you can be sure that you will not have any extra bills or any extra charges. No one will ever upgrade you without you knowing it.
Three things you must do for terminating the mobile phones contract:

Call your customer services and inform them about your decision to cancel the contract with your network. If you do not know the customer service number of your network provider visit our Networks page. After you have done this call, make sure to write down the name of the person you were talking to and the reference number for the call. If you have bought your mobile phone agreement direct from the shops you need to go to the shop and give them a notice that you are planning to stop the contract. This will help to cancel any third party add ons that you signed for together with the contract. Again make sure to write down the name of the sales person or the store manager's name for future reference. Give the network a 30 days written notice. This is a formal request to stop your pay monthly agreement. Send the notice by recorded delivery and make sure to keep one of the copies of this letter with you for future reference.


Below you will find a form which you can use to give a 30 day formal notice to terminate your agreement with the network. How to buy yourself out of your existing conract?

Ok. Let us say, that you have 6, 4, 2 or even 8 month left on your existing 18, 24 month contract. Still, you want to change your mobile phone and get the mobile phones best deal. In that case, you can use the following tips:

Reduce your line rental to minimum, if you can not do it in one step do it 2, 3, 4 steps Sum the bills (say if you have 4 month left on your contract and pay £15 per month, the total liability to finish your contract would be £60) Find the best mobile phone deal online with necessary amount of cashback When your existing contract comes to an end give the network 30 days written notice and finish the agreement If you want to keep your number, get P.A.C. code and transfer your mobile number over. Click here for best deals online with cashback to buy yourself out. Make sure you know what kind of disconnection fees may be wih your network. Three for example charge their customers for early disconnection. So make sure you check all the fees and charges before you dissconnect.



How to give 30 days written notice to finish your contract


Generally, by requesting your PAC (to keep your number) code, you are requesting the disconnection of your contract. Here is the information that you need to make a written reques to finish your agreement with the network:

Your full name
Your mobile phone number
Your full billing adress
The date of the dissconnection
Include that you need the PAC code (if you need to keep your number)
Your signature
(Your date of birth would be preferrable too)

Here is a sample that you can use, just copy this into your word file and include the adress and your number and your personal details:

Full address
of your networks
dissconnection
department




Dear ---Your Network--- disconnection department representatives,




I would like to request the dissconnection of my existing contract with the following mobile phone number ---Your number--- starting from ---enter today's date---. Also, I would like to request my PAC code to be sent to my billing adress which is:



---Enter your full billing address here---





---Your name---

---date---

---signature, date of birth if you want to add---


Note: After you send this letter make sure you call the network and confirm that they have received it. Also a good idea is to post the letter by recorded delivery so that you know that it is there. In 20-30 days call your network and confirm that they are disconnecting your line. Use your cashback from the new deal for payment. Here you can find the best deals with maximum cashback and chequebacks from one of the best retailers Phones 4 u