I am about to come to my 21 months of my $34 dollar plan ($4) being the plan, Just called and said they will give me a new phone by next month.
Is the phone possible to sell or will it be locked to my sim? I'm thinking of getting the nexus 5. Any barriers or anything I should be careful of? Disregard insurance and warranty for resale? I don't think vodafone offer the nexus 5 on their plans.
Hi Aerona
Off topic; I cannot comment on the specifics of your posting.
If you are renewing your contract, you may be able to bargain with them by telling them that you're looking at other carriers. You do need to know what else other telcos are offering, though.
We did this recently when going from Three (I think!) -> Vodafone, and they gave us a couple of months free.
Just a thought!
Thanks, I will try this, just say I want to change plans to a new company? I'll use amysim
With Vodafone you will find that the phone is locked to the Vodafone network (not your sim card). What they do is actually write off what is left owing on your last phone to get you to sign a new contract (with a free phone?) to keep you as a customer. If you go with the new contract (new phone) then demand that they "unlock" your old phone from the Vodafone network as you would have effectively finished with that particular contract (that phone). You should not have to pay anything for this service! I believe this can be done online but get the store staff to sort that for you.
Myself, being on an old 3 plan that was taken over by Vodafone I prefer to buy my own (unlocked) phones (or pay them off then demand unlocking when paid in full), so I retain my original contract. I pay only 22c per landline calls for 10 minutes and cannot find any plans that do better than that for me … $20 plan per month too ($20 includes the calls not covered by the free Vodafone to Vodafone calls). I have also attached another mobile ($10 per month) to my account that also has that same call rate attached to it. I don't even have a landline phone myself as in an outer suburban area that attracts std rates to most areas … crazy … far more expensive than running a few mobile phones.
Yes, they offer me "free" phones with new contracts too but it just doesn't work out beneficial to me at all; far better off I buy an unlocked phone and keep that plan I have. Having a $30 bill for two mobiles a month is not a problem for me and I can save the extra for a new "unlocked" phone.
I have used prepaid deals over the last 2 years as I find them much cheaper than lock-in contracts with my call patterns.
But back when I was on plans, what would happen is that with 3 months to go, sure enough, the carrier would start offering incentives to re-sign for another 2 years. But those offers became MUCH better once I was out of contract. During one visit to a store, a salesman even offered me a new model handset that was not even available on my plan for free, provided I signed a contract on the spot. I didn't.
I would recommend getting your current handset unlocked, as it is always handy to have a spare that will work on any network.
Re the Nex5, I just got mine and I really like it. And take a look at some prepaid deals, there are good ones to be had out there for OzBargaineers.
I have my son on a pre-paid $20 per month "International" plan, (only 25mb of data though). It offers free Vodafone to Vodafone calls, so if my post-paid $20 plan free minutes (300) is getting low I often use his mobile. His usage pattern means the $20 doesn't get used up, so if I top it up before the 30 day expiry date the credit is rolled over. He is still using an old small slide Nokia 6500 as it fits neatly into his jeans pockets. He doesn't want a new mobile; quite happy to wait until he gets home to use the laptops and iPads. Myself, I still love my Galaxy SII (but I carry a handbag).
My elderly mother's mobile is on the $10 plan attached to my $20 plan. She prefers simpler mobiles and purchased a cheap flip Nokia with larger keys. She still pays for a landline though (Telstra) because it makes it convenient for others (outside Vodafone) to call her.
Phone is locked to Vodafone and if you are signing new contract try to bargain for handset price but unfortunately these days it is hard to get any good deal from Vodafone, I tried to negotiate with Voda yesterday for new contract but they did not negotiate at any thing.
Perhaps check online to see if there are better offers there or go one step ahead and ring them. Quite often the store people will offer something quite different from what online offers and also ringing them in person. Once you suggest you are ringing others for quotes they usually up the ante.
hi sorry to intrude, but im nearly on the end of my 24month contract as well (currently 23months)
was wondering does vodafone ring you about renewing or should i ring them?
im on the 49 cap plan right now and was hoping to get the htc one.
what should i negotiate with?
reception? buying phone outright is cheaper + other plans?
If you are paying off a phone with your contract they usually make offers to write off existing debt for phone to purchase another one … with a new contract. You can unlock that mobile on the Vodafone website; it should not incur a fee! I think the last few months of the contract, say 3-4 months to the end is the time they would do that. With no phone payment included in the contract I don't think they would do much, but perhaps the time to ring and see what better offers they could make you, especially if you are looking around for a new contract etc… If I were you I would not jump in and take first offer they make; I never have and eventually they have come up with something better to offer (over the phone … they may have to speak with a manager etc and ring you back). I would ring other telcos too to compare. It has always been cheaper for me to buy a phone outright and continue with my old (3) plan. Free phones usually end up costing you in other ways; you really have to sit down and work out the math. Vodafone reception (uses Optus) has not been a problem for me but some rural areas really have to rely on Telstra. Seems like you have to barter with everything these days. I do the same when our insurances fall due each year and never end up paying on the first invoice. The companies always seem to find ways to make you a better offer.
thanks for your reply !
though i have been a customer of 4 years with them so im hoping that will make it a little better
but yeah with new plans with higher pricing it makes it harder to negotiate.
one thing i do like about contracts is that the phone repair is quite convenient compared to buying it online. and say if i was to buy a htc one for 700 + a 30 monthly plan itll equate to around the same as a new contract.
hopefully this will turn out well haha
Yes, it is a tough one mentally to compare all these plans, lol. If you are content with your plan then demand you stay on the same plan (I did and I am still on the old 3 converted to Vodafone plan … pay 22c for 10 minute calls to landlines), and they offered me a Galaxy SII (the SIII was just coming out) at a cheaper price than paying cash for it. Seems to me they will fight to keep you with them. I am near the end of 24 months on the phone and they are keen to offer me a new phone to stay with them and write off the remainder on the phone. But, big but, I will not do so by losing the plan I am on, because I don't know anyone else on a 22c for $10 ($20 plan with only 1GB data but plenty for me for only emails and occasional YouTube or eBay … don't do Fakebook). Ps. I don't really understand the dual arrangement Vodafone (3) has with overseas countries but when my mother rang me on her mobile from UK (last year) there were no charges incurred at all … just to throw a spanner in! I am just as confused as the next person.
i dont mind the new plans as i dont use all the included value anyway, but i just hope they can get rid of handset fees.
if im gonna go on contract , i hope there isnt a handset fee. otherwise i wont go on contract haha
I am not in a hurry to get another phone anyways. Since don't think they will offer a new phone free with the same contract plan I am on I shall stay with the Galaxy SII. Did ask son if he wanted a new mobile (or my SII) but he simply doesn't so to my mind I cannot justify upgrading to a new phone. I shall probably buy a new unlocked phone outright next time … unless of course they allow me to stay on the same old plan. They did try (many times) to get me to accept a new plan; have been an absolute nightmare for them! I find their customer service people very prompt and helpful especially when we have made mistakes on downloading; that makes all the difference to me.
Good luck (and be another nightmare)!
did you initiate the call first?
haha my plan ends in december 30th
no calls so far. i was planning on calling and asking when my contract ends and saying that i was thinking of leaving. see what they will do for me. do the play hard to get plan haha
No, they were emailing me constantly with "last minute" offers for months to change from 3 to Vodafone. Then, the phone calls started. They really pulled out all the stops to retain the original 3 customers and I did have 3 plans ($20 plan which was $22 with 3, $10 plan attached to that and a pre-paid plan for son) with them. I kept deferring to the final days refusing to go with them unless they kept mine and the $10 phone plans on the original plan structure. Then they discounted the Galaxy SII price too by about $100+!
Only negative changing from 3 to Vodafone was losing the combined call credit of the post paid plans. That meant I could use the $10 call credit if my mother didn't use it so I had in effect $32 landline/mobile phone value at my disposal. Basically my mother rarely uses up the value of her $10 a month but at least she makes good use of the free Vodafone to Vodafone calls.
Only suggestion is to check online, on the phone and in stores to see if there are different offers in any of these places. Sometimes the best offers are only online etc. In my situation the best deal came over the phone.
I am by nature very wary of some of these new plans; have known some that generate some enormous bills. All is not as good as it seems sometimes. I'd hate to be out shopping for plans again; too much hard work! I wouldn't be surprised if there was some pre-Christmas sales offers about on the phone and plans though. It may be best waiting to see what is happening about then but I really couldn't say. Know anyone in Marketing or Sales?
i called them before and only managed a discount of 3 dollars.
Doesn't seem much I must admit, but if it is $3 off each month better than nothing I guess. I am not expecting anything better myself when my contract is up a few months into the new year; just hope I can keep my current plan still. At least you are free of any contracts and can look around to see if there is something
more suitable out there for you. You can always take your mobile number with you to another provider too. I like the free calls we have in my family, second most appealing component, but I believe other telcos have similar offers. Vodafone did run a big sales campaign with thoss SGIIs $29 plans etc, many of which must be coming out of contract soon. Would think they would be offering more free phones to continue contracts… I guess I shall have to wait and see.
Hi J-Jan,
Wish I had your 3 set-up for calls! You seem very knowledgeable- can you please answer a few queries? :)
My situation is the same as the other person- my 24 mnth. ends in Dec. I got in on the $0 upfront SGS2 deal- so nothing owed on the phone. Does that mean it's mine at the end of the term?
When you unlock- and they send you the code (I did that part) can I unlock any time afterwards? I haven't yet as I'm still trying to figure out what to do.
My current plan is the $29 for calls + $4 for 700mb extra data (200mb comes with the phone plan). I never use up the phone bit- the data is more important, atm.
Knowing this, is there a better plan/carrier for this scenario? Voda hasn't rung me- maybe because of the $0 phone deal?
Thanks so much for any info you can give me. This is actually the first mobile I've owned- ever- so I'm out of my depths.
Cheers!
PS- I did get one of those Huawei Ascend deals a couple of days ago- & got an unlock code for that, as well. My son uses Amaysim, but if there are good "family deals" or multiple phone deals- that would be an option (if they exist?).
Hi
I don't really know a lot about the plans; only the ones I currently have. I forgot to mention earlier I pay the $4-5 for the extra data like you and also the gst on top of everything at final bill debit. I like the way everything is itemised on those bills. Vodafone did try to get me to go on that $29 plan (with free mobile) but I hung out to the end as I really wanted to keep my landline call rate (22c per 10 mins) … and attach additional mobile $10 plan to that. That extra mobile doesn't ever get close to the $10 spend though.
Rest assured once your mobile contract is up that phone is yours and they are obliged to unlock it for you. I have heard some telcos charge for that but hope Vodafone doesn't do that. Check out Vodafone' s website; section there how to unlock it. I think you need imei number to do this. They send you a code to enter into your phone. I unlocked all our 3 phones but not this last one SGII yet. I am sure if you took it to a Vodafone shop they would help you do this. I have walked in with questions several times and they have all been happy to help. Customer service is what it is all about these days! I cannot say for sure but I believe your current plan will continue as it is without the contract stopping you from taking your number with you to another telco if you find they are better. That saying I would expect (though i cannot guarantee) that Vodafone would come up with something nice to get you back on contract again. I was just very fortunate that Vodafone was trying very hard to retain those old 3 customers like me. Good luck - time to compare some mobile plans… there are so many out there it must be difficult to find the one that's best for you. While Vodafone keeps our 3 plans then I shall stay with them .. but if not I'll be out looking too.
Some telcos have offered some 'friends and family' deals but I don't know anything about them; you'd but to ask. Vodafone offers free (Vodafone to Vodafone) calls .. I get 300 mins each month on my post paid plan but I often use my son's pre-paid one as it can make unlimited (Vodafone to Vodafone calls)…International pre-paid plan only $20 per month, but his has high call rate.
Phones are never locked to the SIM, but may be locked to the carrier.
Go to http://www.vodafone.com.au/unlock any time and unlock it for free (for contracted phones).