Mobile Phone Contracts Data usage

I was nearly homeless a few years ago after a awful relationship breakup. So I downgraded everything one thing I did was get off a contract phone and went pay as you go, things are getting better slowly so looking at phone contracts again, I’m not sure what data plan would be good what’s a typical data plan, I don’t think I will be a heavy user maybe sneaking a peek on xvideos and uploading to twitter and video calls occasionally.

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I’m not to fussed about the latest phone so I just buy mine second hand and upgrade the phone when it breaks. I use giffgaff sim which isn’t a contract but buy there goody bag bundles which work well for me. I get unlimited txt and calls and 10gb data which is more then enough as I have wifi at work and home. That bundle costs £10 a month.
I can’t justify paying these crazy contract prices. Most people are paying over price because they have the latest phone. I have the iPhone 12 and it’s more then enough for me.

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Hiya I was homeless in 2013 and lost my mobile contract. I use Giffgaff, no contract needed. For £10 a month I get unlimited texts and calls and 15gb data. Even with all the long walks I do never need more data. I don’t know any contract that would offer all that for £10, but good luck in your search :blush:

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Thank you alll​:slightly_smiling_face::+1:
I have a really old mobile right now definitely on its last legs, I’m not bothered about a top of the specs phone. Android is good enough.

I get unlimited texts, calls, Netflix binge and 12gb for £14 per month. However, I mainly use my home wifi now so I barely even need that much data. In fact, I’ve never been anywhere near the limit? Think I only use about 2gb per month.

Like @Deanna32 I don’t care about the fancy, expensive models. All the gadgety bits trickle down eventually to the new affordable models anyway. Basically just paying all that money for the brand in the end. For my last 2 phones, I paid less than £150 (Huawei and Motorola) brand new and just took out the SIM only contract. Make sure you’re happy with the specs like storage, RAM and camera too.

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I have O2 unlimited texts and mins, 15gb data which is doubled to 30gb of data because I have wifi with Virgin Media and thats for £8 on sim only.

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Maybe do a comparison thing and then see if you can get a new customers discount on a contract by saying you was quoted cheaper somewhere else :nerd_face:

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I’m on 100gb and unlimited everything for £20 a month, I go out at least 4 or 5 times a week for hours listening to music from YouTube videos and the radio.

Honestly I would get away with having 25gb a month but price wise on my network it’s like £18 for 60gb or £13 for 5gb a month so it made sense to me just to get the 100gb

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Thanks everyone​:slightly_smiling_face: I will start looking, I am stuck on vodafone as other networks just hasn’t got that good enough signal where I live.

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I would never get a phone on a contract. It changes how the contract appears on your credit score. My advice is to buy a phone and then just a SIM only contract if you really want a contract.

VOXI, Lebara Mobile and Talkmobile are the mobile networks that use Vodafone as their network, so perhaps look at what they can offer. I’ve not used any of them, so I don’t know if they are any good.

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@KinkyMira Thanks I didn’t know that about the credit score, I was looking at VOXI but didn’t know about the other two.

How does it work with the likes of VOXI is anyone with VOXI? I see you can slowly buy the phone like a contract or you can buy it all in one go.

I used to pay I think £18 for 50gb on a rolling monthly sim only contract with Virgin mobile. They have a data rollover system so most months you’ll end up having more than what you sign up for. They used to use the EE network which I loved for the speeds in my area. When they changed network provider I switched to Utility warehouse (they use EE as well) and now I’m paying £18 for unlimited data. I can order more unlimited sims for £12/ month though so if someone you know needs to upgrade too that brings the average cost down. I’ll probably add my partner to it soon.

Biggest dislike about utility warehouse was their sign-up process. They try their best to get you to switch other utilities. Oh, and I think they’re like a pyramid scheme (or Multi level marketing company) too. I’ve steered clear of all of that and it’s been good so far. Huh, I’m sitting here writing a post about utility warehouse… I should maybe get a pyramid scheme referral link for you all :joy:

Edit: Virgin mobile switched to vodaphone.

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Since they merged with O2, Virgin mobile are cancelling their contract with Vodafone, so they’ll be O2 shortly.

Asda mobile is on Vodafone and a friend reckons they are decent.

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@teacake you would laugh at me, I visited the phone shop and told them i was looking for a phone, surprisingly to make phone calls. Not bothered about data /text. The shop assistant looked at me gone out. I have an existing contract at £8.00 per month.

I have an unlimited contract because i wanted a certain phone and it was the best option at the time.

I use my phone as a mobile hotspot for work as well as for both personal and business calls.

I dont think I’ve ever gone over 7 or 8 GB usage a month and that includes uploading large amounts of data in remote locations.

You can always go with someone like Giff Gaff, start on one package and then change it up or down as you work out whats best, ratger than sign ip to a sim only contract for a fixed amount.

@steve19 was the shop assistant young by any chance, probably not use to people making calls​:joy:

@Rob36 Cheers I will start looking at those websites at the weekend. It’s definitely a hard one to think of what data package would be best you don’t want to go under but at the same time you don’t want to be paying for something that is never going to be reached.

Spot on there @teacake

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@teacake they are usually really good and discuss what you use and recommend a plan.

With mine we get a text saying when any of us is low and have a cap so can’t go over so no extra charges. If it’s not enough you should be able to up it really easily. Most companies offer all free calls & texts then data gets charged and priced in increments.

If you can buy your phone outright and get a sim only plan… that will save you in the long term.

Good Luck.

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If you are able to, buying the phone upfront and going with a sim only contract is a great option.

My sim is GiffGaff and they use the O2 network. I’m on the £10golden ‘goody bag’ and I get 15GB of data and unlimited texts and calls. I’ve never even came close to using all of my data before but they give you an extra 1GB for free if you do use it all for the month.
You’re also not actually bound into a contract, you can cancel at any time for free, or you can change which ‘goody bag’ you need month to month if you need extra data some months and less data others.
You can set up a recurring direct debit so you don’t need to worry about forgetting to pay the bill. If you change which goody bag you want the payment is adjusted accordingly.

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Thanks @CurvyJilly & @chelsea29

Think I will look at finding a phone I can buy upfront :+1:

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