So what is Pay Monthly?
What is a contract mobile phone?
A contract phone is the phone you receive as part of a service contract. Rather than pay for the phone outright, then buy the service, you buy the service and the phone is provided as part of the deal. The contract will cost a bit more per month, but you won’t have to pay the full cost up front for an expensive device.
Should I get a contract phone?
The Device
The biggest advantage in getting a contract phone is that you don’t have to pay the full cost of a phone up front. There may be a small service charge, but it will not compare to the hundreds of pounds that the device itself goes for in the retail market.
If having the newest device doesn’t matter to you, you can still get a great deal on an older-model contract phone, with the same kind of savings.
The Deal
When you lock into a contract with a company, they know they’re going to make money from you for the full term of the contract. That’s good for them. To attract you into committing to that contract, the cost of your phone and service will be a lot less than if you purchased the same data features as a pay-as-you-go service. The company gains a stable customer, and passes on some savings to you.
The Sweetener
Not enough to entice you? Mobile companies often offer free gifts upon signing the contract, like hands-free sets, vehicle mounts, vouchers and cash-back schemes. Sometimes gifts come in the form of partnerships with other companies, for food or entertainment discounts.
Monthly contract phone Vs sim only phone
Yes, the up-front cost is much lower when you sign up for a contract deal. Keep in mind though that the total cost over the full contract period will likely be higher than if you had purchased the phone outright and purchased a sim only deal. Sometimes this difference can be hundreds of pounds.
Still, if you are unable to pay the full price of a new phone (which is now approaching a thousand pounds for some models), but want to have one – this is a practical solution.
Contract phones with bad credit
Issuing the phone and data to you is just the same as offering you credit, and mobile providers will do a credit check to make sure you will be able to keep up with payments. If you have a poor credit rating, it may be difficult for you to get a contract and you may be forced into a month-by-month sim only contract that uses your own phone.
Poor credit isn’t the end of the world though – you can take steps to improve it. Google “How to improve my credit score” for tips on how to get started.
Research your new contract phone
Whether you’re receiving a mobile phone as part of a contract deal, or buying one outright and going sim only, it is important to choose the right phone for you.
First, don’t rush it. It’s exciting to be getting shiny new phone, but if you select one that’s wrong for you, you’re still stuck with it until the end of your contract, or until you can afford a different one. Either way, the joy of your new purchase can get deflated pretty quickly.
Step one is to research what’s available. Make a chart with the phone models across the top and the following features down the left hand margin.
Pay Monthly Price
Technology moves pretty quickly, so you don’t want the oldest thing out there, or many apps and features won’t work on it. That said, do you want to dish out for the very latest thing, only to have it no longer be the latest thing in a few months? Somewhere in the middle might suit you, where you have a new phone with all the features, but because it’s not the very latest model, you could save hundreds of pounds.
Size, Shape and Design
Choose the style you like, and that suits what you do. If you are often in a rough environment, get one that will hold up to some abuse (and a good case will help). If not, something sleek and elegant might be just the thing.
Mobile Phone Operating System
The choices are iOS or Android. iOS is more stable, and allows you to easily connect all of your Apple devices. It does tend to be more expensive though, and less customisable. Android comes with a lower price tag in most cases, and is more customisable, but can have (relatively rare) stability problems will look different on different devices.
Phone Specifications
New phones will likely be able to do more than you’ll ever need them to do, but make sure that it has enough memory and processing speed to keep up with your mobile lifestyle.
Now look over your chart and your top choices should be pretty clear.
Compare contract phone networks
If you’re a light user, there will be networks that offer cheaper plans based on a smaller data need. If you’re a heavy mobile user though, you’ll need a plan that gets you all you need, and doesn’t break the bank doing it. Just because a certain provider has a package designed for heavy users, doesn’t mean it compares well against similar packages from other providers.
Just like you did when choosing the phone itself, chart out the features of the service, and make a well informed choice.
Another key factor is what the mobile signal is like , in the areas you frequent the most. For example, I once had a phone on EE that was terrible where I lived, but ok mostly everywhere else, in the end I moved to Vodafone which had a much better signal where I needed it (and mostly everywhere else for that matter!). Use this link to check your coverage before signing up for a new contract deal.