{"id":10876,"date":"2019-05-09T12:00:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T11:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/?p=10876"},"modified":"2025-02-18T08:32:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T08:32:25","slug":"how-to-avoid-being-overcharged-for-your-phone-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/2019\/05\/09\/how-to-avoid-being-overcharged-for-your-phone-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"How to avoid being overcharged for your phone contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having a phone contract can be really costly. Depending on the phone you\u2019re after and the usage you need, you could pay as much as \u00a3100 a month for your phone!<\/p>\n

Of course, you could pay a lot less – and we\u2019re here to help you with that! Check out our tips and tricks to avoid paying too much for your phone contract.<\/p>\n

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Buy refurbished<\/h3>\n

Refurbished technology is the easy and cheap way to get the latest technology you\u2019re after without paying an absolute fortune for it! Refurbished phones are phones that have been used but have been restored to the best possible condition so they\u2019ll work perfectly, but may show a few signs of use.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find that by buying refurbished phones from places like musicMagpie, you\u2019ll not only save yourself a bundle but you have the peace of mind of having a 12 month warranty. This means, if anything goes wrong in the first year of owning the phone, you can return it to fix the problem. Merely buying a second hand phone means you won\u2019t have this added assurance.<\/p>\n

Plus, you\u2019ll have loads of choice when it comes to the kind of phone you want to buy. All of the information is in front of you and you can take your time over making your decision. You might find an absolute bargain and get a phone your provider isn\u2019t able to give you!<\/p>\n

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Go SIM only<\/h3>\n

If you like the phone you have, or you\u2019ve got your eye on a device you can buy outright, it makes a lot of sense to opt for a SIM only deal. You\u2019ll only pay for the data you use rather than having to pay a handset off with it. You could see your current monthly cost drop by half!<\/p>\n

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Shop around for deals<\/h3>\n

When you\u2019re coming up to the end of your contract or thinking of changing over, take a look around and compare the prices different carriers are providing. It may be that your current one has the best offers so you\u2019ll know what to ask them about when yours runs out.<\/p>\n

Weigh up the cost of buying your phone outright and what you\u2019ll pay off per month. See what makes the most sense for you so you don\u2019t end up overpaying.<\/p>\n

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Avoid the latest devices<\/h3>\n

As beautiful as the flagship handsets can be, they are the most expensive. The latest phones are around \u00a31,000 or only slightly lower which is a huge price to pay for a handset.<\/p>\n

Yet you can avoid such a heavy cost if you simply don\u2019t go for the newest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or Huawei phone! Go back a generation or two to make some serious savings. Look into the features of slightly older phones, and if they do all you need them to do, why pay way more for this year\u2019s handset?<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find an older phone when you buy refurbished really easily; your carrier will only be able to provide certain generations and options as those phones are replaced.<\/p>\n

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Only pay for what you need<\/h3>\n

It makes sense to go through your phone bills and allowances over the course of your contract before you decide whether to jump ship from your provider. Dig a little deeper into what your allowance is, whether you\u2019re actually using it and how much it\u2019s costing you.<\/p>\n

If you have way more data than you get through in a month, work out what the best amount is for you along with calls and minutes. Your current provider might be able to work out a tailored deal for you, or you might find one that fits you better elsewhere with savings to boot.<\/p>\n

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See what your current provider will offer<\/h3>\n

There\u2019s no harm in trying to get a cheaper deal with your current network provider! They won\u2019t want to lose you as a customer, especially if you\u2019ve been with them a long time, and they\u2019ll do their best to get you a good deal.<\/p>\n

Make sure you know when your deal is ending. Your network might phone you themselves, but just in case they don\u2019t, have the date to hand. You\u2019ll want to get in touch with them about 30 days before it ends to be on the safe side. If you don\u2019t have a new deal in place when the contract does end, you could end up paying way too much for your contract as you\u2019ll still be charged for the phone, even if it\u2019s paid off.<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t go over your allowance<\/h3>\n

Do you end up paying more for your phone every month because you can\u2019t stick to your allowance? You\u2019ve got a few options: you can change your deal (depending on where you are with it a switch could end up costing you a lot), you can be charged more or you can put caps on your usage.<\/p>\n

Your network probably gives you a heads up when you\u2019re reaching the limit of your allowance for the month. When you get this nudge, be mindful that you could end up paying more. If it\u2019s becoming way too costly to keep overusing, ask them to put a cap on your data, minutes and texts so when you\u2019re out, you just have to make do. It\u2019ll help you manage your allowance in the future!<\/p>\n

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Found yourself the best SIM only deal? Don\u2019t miss out on a great phone – buy refurbished Samsung Galaxy<\/a> phones and other refurbished phones<\/a> from musicMagpie for a fraction of the price and a 12 month warranty!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having a phone contract can be really costly. Depending on the phone you\u2019re after and the usage you need, you could pay as much as \u00a3100 a month for your phone! Of course, you could pay a lot less – and we\u2019re here to help you with that! Check out …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10879,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2092,1553,1909,2093],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10876"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10876"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18066,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10876\/revisions\/18066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}