Is this mobile phone really free?

[oilman]

I am looking for a lower rip-off from my mobile phone company. I have looked at some deals, and came across this:


Item Price Quantity Sub Total Remove
Motorola V3i £0 £0
Anytime 500 + 250 txt (12 MTH) (£35.00/Per Month)
FREE CONNECTION
Free Insured Delivery
1 Year Motorola Warranty
12 Months FREE Line Rental
Voda Passport
30 Days FREE Mobile TV
Vodafone Pay Monthly SIM Card
3 Months Free Insurance (£4.95/Per Month) £0 £0
Free Insured Delivery - £FREE

According to this I see I get a phone with loads of calls and texts for nothing.

What don't I understand?

 

[Diyisfun]

Anytime 500 + 250 txt (12 MTH) (£35.00/Per Month)

 

[JohnD]

yes, the £420 they take off you in the first year will be a useful contribution to their profits.

 

[wedge69]

yes, the £420 they take off you in the first year will be a useful contribution to their profits.

But surely that's cancelled out by

12 Months FREE Line Rental

 

[sm1thson]

yeah, it can be, (or it could not be!) but you have to pay up the money and then you claim it back -if you stick with repratable compnies doing this it can go well (providing you remember to fill in the claim forms and send the bills back etc in the right time frames), with some companies people have struggled to get it back.

first they started doing cashback,but the level has gone up so it can outweigh the cost of such a contract. basically they can afford to do it as you are getting a £50(ish) phone rather than a £500 phone, for it to pay the average customer would need to spend £50ish extra on top (by going over on the minutes or sending mms' etc), plus the fact they sit on the interest as they hold your money as long as they can, and many forget to claim it back etc.

edit: make sure you double check tho! and use a repratable company there are lots of dodgy ones about! -some of which keep phoning me claiming to be my network operator and find themselves on hold for a long time

 

[JohnD]

Replace the word "Free" with the word "Included." My car came with a free engine.

 

[big-all]

yes, the £420 they take off you in the first year will be a useful contribution to their profits.

But surely that's cancelled out by

12 Months FREE Line Rental

i assume you mean the free connection!!!! just means theres no upfront fee

yes, the £420 they take off you in the first year will be a useful contribution to their profits.

plus the £54 insurance so if you think its a good deal at £39 a month with a free phone at the end go for it

 

[monkeyboy92]

Might be free for 12 months, but what is the total contract length ? Imagine there is a tie-in after 12 months.

 

[Diyisfun]

Might be free for 12 months, but what is the total contract length ? Imagine there is a tie-in after 12 months.

There wouldnt need to be a tie in, although they may say you cant give notice to cancel until you have had the 12 months

 

[JohnD]

It's free except you have to pay £35 per month, plus £4.95 extra after the first three months.

Is that what you call free?

 

[breezer]

I have a nokia something or other, it was free you name it, phone companies having been doing it free for years, but as was said, compare like with like, they do get the money off you eventualy

 

[Thermo]

chances are youll forget to cancel the insurance after the free period (thats if you can)