Is there likely to be any cheaper contracts available from T-Mobile UK?

[chum_2000_uk]

Anyone else think that £49 for the cheapest price plan with insured handset is a bit expensive? In particular the £9 T-Mobile want for phone insurance.

that means you pay £162 over your 18 month contract for the insurance alone, and I'm guessing you would have to pay an excess if you do claim for the phone? Nearly £900 in total for the contract. No wonder the handset is free with free delivery!

I noticed on the T-Mobile site they are offering discount on the plans with other handsets, for example the Flext 40 and Combi 35 with internet both get a 10% discount bringing them down to a more reasonable £36 + insurance.

Are there any independent companies that will insure handsets for a more reasonable amount per month? I thought £5 a month for my N95 was daylight robbery! How can T-Mobile justify £9 per month!? Surely there can't be many people who take out a contract for 18 months and dont have handset insurance? I personally cant remember the last time I had a phone that lasted me more than about a year without becoming faulty.

I am tempted by the G1, but honestly dont think I can justify spending near enough £50 a month on a phone contract. What do you guys here in the UK think?

[ariesboy]

Fyi

1 gbp(£) = 1.63 usd ($)

for those of us in the US and wanna know.

[chum_2000_uk]

Thats crazy... was about 1.57 when I checked a couple of weeks ago... maybe I should withdraw some cash from my poker account! :D

[Shaun]

The usual web'n'walk plan on flext and combi is a so-called 'unlimited' internet access with a fair usage cap of 1gb. With the G1 it's the Plus version which has a 3 Gb limit.

[maclondon]

with me they said there was a 6.99 or 8.99 insurance - she put the 6.99 on which i can cancel - i have free phone insurance from my bank.

[johnsto]

I spoke to a guy in the Bromley T-Mobile store and he said there's not going to be cheaper contracts for a couple of months, which seems to sit with the free-internet option on current £40 offers expiring in mid January.

Also, before buying phone insurance check your bank account. I was surprised to find my ordinary LloydsTSB account has phone insurance included as standard, I was paying CW £7 a month for a year before my bank manager told me that! Since cancelled CW's insurance of course :)

[rodmace]

The usual web'n'walk plan on flext and combi is a so-called 'unlimited' internet access with a fair usage cap of 1gb. With the G1 it's the Plus version which has a 3 Gb limit.

3gb may not be good enough for me...:(

[abirkill]

I spoke to a guy in the Bromley T-Mobile store and he said there's not going to be cheaper contracts for a couple of months, which seems to sit with the free-internet option on current £40 offers expiring in mid January.
I bought my G1 on a cheaper contract (£20 per month) yesterday, in store. Obviously you don't get the phone free though!

My store had a list of prices for the G1 on all Flext and Combi tariffs, just like any other phone - the only limitations were no PayG, and WnW isn't optional.

[Shaun]

to maclondon - you may want to doublecheck your insurance with your bank. If it's anything like Barclays, they will not insure anything that would qualify as a business device - Symbian and Windows Mobiles are not covered - Android might be okay, but it couldn't hurt to check.

[johnsto]

I bought my G1 on a cheaper contract (£20 per month) yesterday, in store. Obviously you don't get the phone free though!

My store had a list of prices for the G1 on all Flext and Combi tariffs, just like any other phone - the only limitations were no PayG, and WnW isn't optional.

Wow, that's pretty good. Will have to pop back on Monday and double-check the guy knows what he was on about, as I'd gladly buy one for £20.

How much did you have to pay extra for the handset?

[abirkill]

£199 :(

Still works out a fair amount cheaper over the 18 month period though, so it's a better deal if you have no friends like me ;)

Plus I prefer to pay a up-front sum than commit to a larger monthly payment.

That was for the cheapest plan though (£15 combi + £5 WnW), gets cheaper the more expensive the contract (as you'd expect).

[johnsto]

No luck getting the same deal here. They stubbornly wouldn't offer anything but the £40pm contract. Pants.
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