Broadband & Mobile Phone

Broadband and mobile phones - we all need them, but sorting out the various ramifications of contracts and allowances can be a right royal pain in the backside, can't it?

My broadband contract is up in a couple of weeks, so I have had the obligatory - 'Are you happy with our service, and might you sign up for another year?' phone call from my current provider - O2. I let the guy do his full spiel, and tell me what he was prepared to offer me, and then I said I couldn't talk now as I had to get tea for the kids. :D Poor man - it's not really fair to play with them like that, is it? But I wanted to stall for time and see what I could sort out viz a vis my mobile phone (which is also with O2) before I committed to another year's broadband.

The reality is that I have actually been very happy with the broadband service they provide. When I first started writing this blog, my broadband provider was Virgin. I didn't have a single problem with them until it came to the time (in 2008) for me to move house. We were moving in with Mum for a while (I didn't know how long) so would be using her broadband (which is with TalkTalk). I tried to explain this to Virgin, but they still insisted I continue to pay them the entire monthly fee, to do nothing but retain an email address. I didn't think that was fair, so I terminated the contract.

When we moved here, I had no option but to go with BT broadband as there wasn't even a phone line in the house, which meant no other provider could 'see' the property on their systems. The service from BT was so crubbish, that I didn't even last the whole 12 month contract. The wireless reception from their super-whizzy router would not even hold a connection two rooms away, let alone up a flight or two of stairs. Eight months into that contract, I terminated it and went over to O2 who had won all kinds of awards for their broadband service.

The fact that I'd also got my mobile phone contract with them meant that I paid a discounted price on the broadband. However, it is more expensive than some other providers - I am still waiting for them to 'unbundle' at my local exchange, which will cut my broadband bill considerably. After my last 18 month mobile phone contract with O2 ended, I went over to a rolling month-to-month contract as I had no problem with the phone I was using. The prospect of a new broadband contract though, gave me a bit of extra 'clout' when it came to negotiating on a mobile phone deal.

I blogged a while ago about the whole saga of my previous phone descending into a catatonic state, and the shenanigans involved in getting a replacement. I have had that replacement phone for 17 months now - it's been great: Lovely phone, and I very much like the touch screen. But because that phone was a replacement handset (and a refurbished one at that), it came with no software, leads or 'words' - I had to find my own way with it. I had a mooch round on the net and looks at reviews of all manner of phones, but you know what? I like the one I've got. No.1 is using an old phone of mine (after having broken her previous two - tsk) and has a hankering for a touch screen model. I wondered what sort of deal I could get on a new handset like the one I've got now so I could have a new one and she could have my current one?

I called O2. I told them my broadband deal was 'up' and that if I couldn't get a good phone deal, I'd be taking my custom elsewhere. I told them about the research I'd been doing, which told me that Virgin could offer me 'x' and 'y'; that T-Mobile could offer me 'z' and 'xx'; and that Orange could offer me 'yy' and 'zz' on the same handset. The woman to whom I spoke gave me the words she's allowed to tell me - which weren't competitive words. I said I could do better and would therefore like her to transfer me to the person who could give me my PAC code so I might change to another mobile operator.

I found myself put through to Amy in the Retentions Department. I like the people in these Retention Departments - they know they've got to offer something good, or you're off. She listened to what I had to say. I mentioned Virgin, T-Mobile and Orange. I mentioned the broadband situation. I mentioned that I'd been using a refurbished phone for 17 months. It seemed to do the trick. Amy offered me a brand new Samsung Tocco (F480i), on a 24 month contract, which gives me 250 anytime minutes (to any other networks and landlines), along with unlimited texts for the princely sum of £10 per month.

I liked this deal. I liked Amy. I said 'yes please, I'll take it'. Amy sorted out the dispatch and the new phone was with me a couple of days later. I was busy that day so didn't have time to play with it, but the next day I got it out of its box. I charged and inserted the battery. I inserted my SIM card, and when asked, entered my PIN Code. The phone then presented me with a numerical keypad and said 'Network lock'. Erm ... pardon? I went online and used the O2 'Live chat' facility to chat to a man named Frank. He didn't know what it meant either and advised me to email them, saying I'd get a response within 24 hours. I didn't get a response within 24 hours, so I called them. I spoke to a couple of very helpful chaps who said 'oh dear ... that's not good' and 'that's not something we know how to fix, so we'd better send you a new one'. :(

The new one arrived the next day, and guess what? That had exactly the same problem. I called O2 - they apologised, said 'oh dear' and sent another new one. Guess what again? Yep, the third one had exactly the same fault as the first two. I called O2 again. This time I spoke to Chris in Glasgow. He said there was no point them sending yet another handset as there was obviously 'an issue' with these phones at the Samsung end of things. He said they could send me a different phone if I liked, but I didn't have a second choice. (I've since been doing some research - does anyone reading this have a Nokia 5800 or X6? If so, are you happy with it?)

The situation at the moment is that Chris is going to call me back this week and let me know what's happening. But in the meantime, I am having to use my old phone, which means No.1 didn't get my current phone as her new phone (are you still with me?) for an extra birthday present, as we'd thought.

The chappie from the broadband department called me back a couple of days later, and I accepted his special deal (12 months broadband for the price of 10 months), but I'm not overly happy with O2 at the moment. Can you blame me?

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