I recently went to Glastonbury Festival where I had my bag stolen. It had my phone in it, but I've since got it blocked. I haven't been into the store yet and spoke to them as I'd like to know what I can and can't ask for, because if I went in there without knowing what I can do I'd probably just roll over and let them muller me.

I'm in a £25p/m contract with O2. I don't really want to keep paying that if I don't have the phone that I'm supposedly paying for. The contract still has 12 months on it.

Would O2 let me change my contract? I really want an iPhone, and I'd gladly pay some money towards getting one, but don't really want to have to pay the entire amount... I wouldn't mind paying more for less texts/minutes, mainly because I don't really need the amount I'm currently getting!

I don't think I've worded this very well, but any help you give me will go so far. Thank you!

You are not paying for the phone, thats a gift for you signing up to a contract, so the contract still stands. Did you have insurance? That may be one area to look at! Otherwise buy a PAYG and stick your new sim that they send you in that.

Firstly its unlikely you will be able to get out of paying your current contract.

You have a few options:-

You may be able to uprgade to an iPhone if you are near the end of your old contract.

Buy an iphone (maybe try ebay ?) and stick your sim in that, make sure your sim will work first though.

When I lost my phone last year, i told the company O2 and they sent me a payg sim to use untill i got my new sim sorted and they sent me a free phone too but it was a very cheap naff one.

I then started a new contract and got a new phone and had to pay both untill my old contract ended, I was then able to swap my old number on to the new sim contract and Ive carried on using that.

Andy

andydd - Thanks for the swift response and info. Bit disappointed that I'll still have to pay the £25p/m despite not owning the phone that I'm paying for, but hey ho. I'm still going to ask if I can upgrade to a new contract, but I'm doubting that they'll say yes.

andydd - Thanks for the swift response and info. Bit disappointed that I'll still have to pay the £25p/m despite not owning the phone that I'm paying for, but hey ho. I'm still going to ask if I can upgrade to a new contract, but I'm doubting that they'll say yes.

The £25 is for your calls and texts etc. The handset was a "Gift" to get you to sign.

Something else that may come as a shock to you, If whoever stole the phone used it, you are liable for all the calls they made until you reported the phone as stolen, and if you cannot afford the bill, they mark a "default" on your credit file. This is all the nature of a contract mobile phones.

Until you complete your commitment, I wouldn't go near them for a replaement, unless you were insured. The easy way is simply to request a replacement SIM, and use this in an unlocked or PAYG handset of the same network. You can then carry on as before, and ugrade normally when the time comes (or depart for a different network).

The £25 is for your calls and texts etc. The handset was a "Gift" to get you to sign.

 

Something else that may come as a shock to you, If whoever stole the phone used it, you are liable for all the calls they made until you reported the phone as stolen, and if you cannot afford the bill, they mark a "default" on your credit file. This is all the nature of a contract mobile phones.

I've had the phone and sim blocked, and got a replacement for now.

I was browsing in phones4u yesterday, and one of the salesmen there said that they buy out phone contracts. He said that I'd need to come in and have a longer chat about what I can do from here, but it sounds quite promising. Do you know anything else about this?

Thanks for the help!

I've heard of them buying out contracts before, with yours having so long to run I don't know what they'd be able to offer you. Have a chat, keep your witts about you. Sales staff have their own agenda, normally they're wanting commision for a particular handset that they have on offer (either something obsolete like the I-Phone 3gs, a "b grade" (thats a phone that has been sent out and returned due to a reason other than a fault... example if someone ordered it over the phone and then cancelled within the 1st 7 days) or something cheap).

Let us know how it goes!

Could I suggest you forget about a contract? The P4U deal is based on leaving your contract 3 months early (max) and from memory, there is a network contribution that covers the cost of your last 3 months of non-use. A bit like the discredited 'cashback' schemes of old, but slighly more reliable.

If you've got 100& clairvoyance, get a contract. If you haven't - forget it - it's not as if your life depended on it, and anyway, with PAYG you can you a SIM in any phone you like - even older iPhones if that's your bag - and no squealing to a credit reference agency.