SIM Only Contracts – How Do They Work?
SIM only contracts have gathered a lot of attention over the last few years, with many people looking to them as a great money saving way of getting a mobile phone. If you are unsure about of the ins and outs of these deals, then you have come to the right place.
There was a time when there was only 2 different deals for getting a mobile phone. Either you commit to a contract with a company and have a reduced or free handset as part of the deal. This means that you could have a rather good mobile handset for a fraction of the price, as long as you are willing to pay the monthly premiums. More and more contracts are starting from as little as 18 months, so you will be locked into that length of time, so choose wisely.
The other method of buying a mobile phone, is to buy a handset that comes with a SIM card for a particular network provider. PAYG has always been a favourite for people who want maximum flexibility with their mobile phones. It means that they will only be able to get a phone that they can pay for up front, but with the ability to pay from month to month only what they use. So if you have a tight month financially, you don’t have to put money towards your phone.
Market leaders O2 came up with a plan to have almost the best of both worlds. SIM only deals were introduced by the company in 2007 with a view to giving choice and flexibility and savings to the customer. These types of deals have enjoyed a steady increase in popularity over the last few years.
The actual contract length can be a minimum of 30 days, which allows them the option to change plan, or even network after those 30 days has run it’s course. Trial and error is a good way to describe it, as you may find that one month you are with one company on one tariff and you don’t particularly like that one. You can then swap and change until you find one you do like, if in-fact you ever do! It is also a win situation for the company as these kinds of deals attract lots of customers every day, month, year.
The only drawback is that, though the SIM is free, you will have to pay the retail value of the handset, so depending on your tastes, this could set you back quite a lot of money. Looking it at the long run though, the savings made through this style of deal, outweigh totally the other two options.
So if you are one of these people who don’t like to be stuck with the one company and like the ideal of saving money, then these UK SIM only contracts could be for you. There is also a good chance that if you have been turned down for normal contract phones in the past, that you could still be able to get a SIM only deal phone, which in turn would help you better your credit rating in time.
