Do you like throwing money away? If so, let us know and we'll be round in a flash. If not then you should get a nice hot drink and read on...
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months you should know what OnRecycle is all about - recycling your phones and gadgets and making you a little richer along the way. If you're about to renew your contract and have a phone you won't need any more, check out what price you can get for your old phone and make yourself some money from your previous investment.
At the same time you should really have a think about what your next contract is going to do for you. The Smartphone makes up about 46% of all phones used in the United Kingdom, so almost half of the UK has a phone that can do much more than call Aunt Doris. Network providers caught on to this a long time ago and began to create contracts tailored to the specific needs of the person, and although it sounds good on paper, it's not always put to good use. Have a think about the contract that you're on right now. Do you use your minutes, texts or data to their full capacity? If you use all three to the point where your network provider is texting you non-stop to remind you how close to to your limits you are - rock on! If not, think about the things you use the least and tailor your contract to suit you.
Check out your last few bills, between 3 and 6 months for the best idea of what you use. Hopefully your bill includes an overview of how many minutes, texts and MB's you've used so you can just list the numbers in a row and get an average figure. Generally it's minutes and data that cost the most per contract, so here's some examples to get you started...
High call capacity but a fear of Facebook? You may find the best contract would be higher minutes but low data. If you literally have no need for data, turn the data option off - or you'll find your phone connecting to the 'net behind your back and ramping up huge charges. You can get unlimited minutes but your contract might then come with lots of texts and data included.
Middle of the road caller and browser? You should be able to find out how many minutes and text you've used plus the data you utilised from your previous bills and make an educated guess on what type of contract you'll need. You may be happy with 100MB of data and a few hundred minutes and texts. Beware of overdoing it on the data one month - if you might need more data then give your network provider a call and ask them to add some to your allowance.
Can't face the world offline? Data is by far the most costly part of your monthly bill, but you can make it cheaper by either choosing a network provider who specifically lets you use lots of data or buying an add-on that'll cover you for the whole month. You will find add-ons between 500MB and 1.5GB across the providers. You should also take note of what applications use data on your phone. Facebook and Email applications will make connections all day and slowly chew away at your remaining megabits. Change the automatic download settings wherever possible to the longest period possible or just manual/off.
Your contract allowance will also dictate the amount you pay up front for your new mobile phone. If your contract has loads of minutes, texts and data thrown in then you might end up with a free phone at the cost of an £800+ two year contract. If you can afford an up front fee of around £50 to £100 you will notice the contract amount will reduce and save you more money in the long run. £100 up front for a £6 per month reduction will save you £20 overall, it might seem like small change but it make sense if you've already made the decision to save yourself a bit of money.
If you can't face all of the number crunching involved, have a look at this online bill checker, approved by Ofcom and featured on the BBC. If your network provider is supported, it can automatically log in to your online account and let you know if you need to change any aspect of how you use your phone or consider making changes to your contract. Bill Monitor told me I was under using my contract (I already knew this, so had already made changes to my contract last month at the earliest opportunity)...
Finally something for those of you in long term contracts (over 12 months). It's quite likely your monthly payment has been set in stone for the first 12 months of your contract; but your network provider will be happy to reduce you to the next tier down after month 12. This might even have been a selling point of the contract itself, where the eagle-eyed salesperson knew you were bordering on walking away but threw this little cherry on top to sweeten the deal. An example reduction would be a 900 minute tarrif to a 600 minute tarrif, but retaining the text and data allowance. One such reduction would save you £6 per month. That's £72 for the year - excellent!
Want the best price for your old phone? Check us out https://www.onrecycle.co.uk/sell-my-phone/
