iPhone owners 'overpaying on contracts

[3GScottishUser]

iPhone users are paying for twice as many minutes as they need, according to new research.

The study, by Ofcom-accredited price comparison site Mobilife, found the average user pays for 662 minutes per month, in spite of the fact that they use a average of 300 minutes during the same period.

http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/News/14349/iphone_overpaying_contracts.aspx

Comes as no surprise really as far too many folks only consider the monthly cost rather than the total they end up paying and the networks know a high percentage of their customers won't use the bundled minutes they have agreed to pay for.

[hecatae]

why dont sites gives sources.... goes to find the mobilife link, as i've not seen a iphone 4s available for free on a £30 contract

[3GScottishUser]

why dont sites gives sources.... goes to find the mobilife link, as i've not seen a iphone 4s available for free on a £30 contract

Here's where they got the information from: http://www.mobilife.com/blog/

[hecatae]

just played with mobilife's bill analyzer, confirms I dont use 95% of my package: https://www.mobilife.com/bill-analyser/

I pay £5.21 a month, the cheapest they would offer me is £9.99 a month to save money...

[3GScottishUser]

just played with mobilife's bill analyzer, confirms I dont use 95% of my package: https://www.mobilife.com/bill-analyser/

I pay £5.21 a month, the cheapest they would offer me is £9.99 a month to save money...

Ahh.. very good. Was that a retention deal? They can only compare valid advertised tariffs I suppose.

I can't seem to beat Talk Mobile (Vodafone Network) for SIM only. £12 a month on a 6 month SIM Only buys 600mins/month U/L SMS & 750MB of data. On the Vodafone network! I'm thinking of keeping my phone for a little longer this time and saving some cash.

[hecatae]

It was a join up offer buy t-mobile, think it's meant to switch to £10.21 at end of the 24 month term.

Yes sim only may be the way forward.

[Hands0n]

Just iPhone users? Really? So no other make or model of smartphone + contract is delivering more bundled minutes, texts and data than the customer actually uses?

Isn't the reality that people buy to a price that they believe they can afford, paying scant attention to the bundle itself apart from the actual handset that they desire? Isn't it also reasonably fair to say that the established tariffs do not offer very much variety, their bundles being in bands across all of the handsets.

The only real way of getting exactly what you need in terms of minutes, texts and (possibly) data is to go PAYG. But then that is generally the more expensive option.

SIM-only is often a cheaper alternative because the handset subsidy is removed from the tariff (mostly) - but then the customer is faced with having to source their own handset which may be cheaper as a TCO proposition but requires up front funding, not always available in these difficult financial times.

Personally, I decide a figure I want to spend and look around for what I can get for it. I really don't care if I don't use the bundle. What I really do care about is having sufficient buffer to not go out of bundle where things take a decidedly expensive turn.

[Ben]

Yeah, much cheaper to have too much 'inclusive' than to regularly run the risk of going over.

I can imagine iPhone users do end up with more than they actually need, as a good many will take a tariff that minimises the upfront fee. The iPhone being rather expensive, it does tend to end up on the pricier tariffs.