buy a phone before or after xmas?

[s a m]

(title too short to write Christmas rather than xmas)

I am looking to get the new Samsung D500, switching from o2 online to an Orange tariff.

Orange have the same tariff, for the same price, with better service. They apparently will give me about £30 - £50 for my old phone, plus £50 if I get referred to orange from a mate (and the mate gets £25) so I will do that too. My o2 contract runs out in 1 days time.

O2 will release the number no problems, and I then have to pay 1 months o2 contract in advance, but that’s normal.

Do you think its alright to go and get the phone and new contract from orange now?

Or… should I wait till after Christmas, will there be better deals out?

I am going to try to push for a free Samsung D500 (it may be free anyway, but if its not, I don’t plan to pay extra for it) and I am going to try to get a deal on the contract as a switching customer – I’m told they will do this if you ask nicely and demand a better price!

Thanks for the advice.

[condor]

I know nothing about phones....but probably best to wait till the New year now

Best offers were end of November...to try and get the punters in...now is the time to sell anything. January and February are dead in most retail businesses....that's why they have sales

[Jon C]

s a m said:

Orange have the same tariff, for the same price, with better service.

My God, O2 must be really cack then, if Orange customer services are better....

[SiH]

Jon C said:

s a m said: Orange have the same tariff, for the same price, with better service. My God, O2 must be really cack then, if Orange customer services are better....

I had my phone stolen last Friday, and I must say Orange were first class in their treatment of me. I reported it stolen at about 6pm and they had a replacement phone couriered to me by 10am the next morning. They were also extremely helpful on the phone. I guess it all depends on which particular operator you get.

[wolves_wanderer]

Jon C said:

s a m said: Orange have the same tariff, for the same price, with better service. My God, O2 must be really cack then, if Orange customer services are better....

Never had even the slightest problem with them in 8 years. They even replaced an uninsured phone for me a few years back.

[Jon C]

When my phone (contract) got dropped into a hot cup of coffee, I sallied down to the orange shop, to be met by a man whose immediate reaction was to get his phone out his pocket and dial customer services. (I could have done that, so much for Orange "phone trainers" then). The woman (I hesitate to use the word "Lady) informed me that my Orange care package had run out two days before. When I suggested that had they told me, I would have renewed, I was met with silence. She then suggested that I could have a free update. OK, fair enough, what can I have? When I was told that none of the phones available had a radio (which I used quite a bit), I said "OK, no problem, have you got one the same as my old one?" I was treated like some kind of luddite. The only phone available with a radio was going to cost me another £110 quid, in addition to signing up for another year. When I said that this seemed a little steep, i was told "Well sir, your account activity is not at the enhanced service level threashold". I asked if this meant that my 40 quid a month was less important to them, I was told to either pay up, or piss off!

When I got through to the manager, and asked if this call had "been recorded for improved customer service and training purposes", quelle surprise, it hadn't.

This episode turned me from a loyal, happy customer, into a commercial terrorist, who now warns people away from their nasty organisation at every opportunity. This did, of course, also include my then employers purchasing department, who took this into account when renewing the contract for the 400+ mobiles the firm ran at that time.

>> Edited by Jon C on Wednesday 15th December 12:49