Posted by Bonovox
O2 transforms the way consumers can purchase the latest mobile phones with the launch of O2 Refresh
In a UK first, O2 Refresh offers customers the opportunity to get a new phone when they want, without having to pay out their airtime contract
O2 Refresh will be available in O2 stores nationwide from April 16
O2 today announces the launch of O2 Refresh, the first 24 month tariff to decouple the cost of the phone from the cost of calls, texts and data. O2 Refresh has been designed for customers to get a new phone at any time, without having to pay out their airtime contract. Instead, customers simply pay the remaining balance for their phone and then start afresh.
Complete transparency
When a customer signs up to O2 Refresh, they choose a Phone Plan and an Airtime Plan. By signing up to and paying separately for their phone and airtime, customers are given complete transparency, while paying the same overall as they would on a standard 24 month Pay Monthly tariff.
For those customers who want a new handset before the end of their contract term, O2 Refresh enables them to pay off the remainder of their Phone Plan and end their Airtime Plan with no termination fee. To make it even more affordable to get the latest smartphone, customers can trade in their old mobile for cash using O2 Recycle, getting up to £260 to put towards their new phone.
“For the first time in the UK, O2 Refresh will make it possible to get a new phone part way through a pay monthly contract, at any time – quickly, easily and cost-effectively.”
Feilim Mackle, Sales and Service Director at Telefónica UK
O2 Refresh also offers great long-term value for those customers who don’t want or need a new phone before the end of their contract term. Once the customer has paid the full balance of their Phone Plan, monthly payments dramatically reduce to just the cost of the Airtime Plan.
“Mobile phone technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, yet the way phones are sold has remained largely static,” said Feilim Mackle, Sales and Service Director at Telefónica UK. “Increasingly our customers are telling us that they don’t want to be tied to the same phone for two years and, with 4G coming to O2 this summer, we want to make it easier for our customers to benefit from the latest technology. For the first time in the UK, O2 Refresh will make it possible to get a new phone part way through a pay monthly contract, at any time – quickly, easily and cost-effectively.”
Choice of three plans
Customers will have a choice of three O2 Refresh Airtime Plans, which have been tailored to meet varying call, text and data requirements. For £12 a month, customers get 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 750MB of data; for £17, customers will have unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data and for £22 they receive unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB of data.
O2 Refresh has also been designed to give customers the flexibility to choose whether to make an upfront payment. The overall cost of the phone may be less depending on whether a customer chooses to make an upfront payment toward their mobile and which O2 Refresh Airtime Plan they opt for.
At launch, O2 Refresh will be available on a range of phones including the HTC One, Sony Xperia Z, Blackberry Z10, Samsung Galaxy S3 and Apple iPhone 5. Following the launch, O2 Refresh will be extended to include a wider range of phones, with a specific focus on high-end smartphones including the Samsung Galaxy S4*. O2 Refresh will be available in O2 stores from Tuesday 16 April and will be available online and over the phone in the coming months.
How O2 Refresh works
A customer buys a HTC One on O2 Refresh and chooses to pay £17 per month for their Airtime Plan and gets unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data. They then choose to pay £20 per month for their Phone Plan and pay £49.99 up front, meaning their combined O2 Refresh tariff costs £37 per month, the same as they would pay on a standard 24 month Pay Monthly contract**. The total amount they will pay for the phone is £529.99.
http://www.o2.co.uk/refresh
[ This Message was edited by: Bonovox on 2013-04-19 18:00 ]
Posted by Del
Wow, looks like this could be a good deal and a game changer for the way mobile contracts are offered in the UK, I think I may be visiting an O 2 store quite soon
Nice one Sean
thanks for the share.
Posted by Bonovox
Vodafone are also going to let customers upgrade to 4G with 70% off the contract for a new phone. Years ago in the early days of Orange they used to do early upgrade at anytime but you had to pay the full amount. it is good for someone who thinks they have got the wrong handset and feels stuck
Posted by Del
It would be great if the other networks, well EE does the same.
Posted by Bonovox
EE have had alot of bad complaints so far from customers just like Three did when they first launched
Posted by Del
Well luckily for me my T-Mobile contract runs out in September so it looks like I'll be right on time for the network pricing wars lol
But this O2 tariff does seem very good.
Posted by Bonovox
Yes if you can live with no unlimited data
Posted by Del
Yes, that's true
for me I do want to get a tariff with unlimited data, 3 UK is still looking good then
Posted by jcwhite_uk
From my understanding, you are basically taking out a 24 month sim only tariff and a separate finance agreement for the phone, a bit like you would buy an expensive TV.
Posted by Del
I think you've hit the nail on its head there, it does sound like that, I think there will be a lot of interest in this tariff though.
Posted by Bonovox
Funnily enough Orange used to do Orange finance with loans to buy phones. And the Orange credit card too. Soon we will see the networks offer banking
Posted by Del
And would you get a credit card off of them Sean
Posted by etaab
On 2013-04-19 21:34:00, jcwhite_uk wrote:
From my understanding, you are basically taking out a 24 month sim only tariff and a separate finance agreement for the phone, a bit like you would buy an expensive TV.
Bingo ! they're just offering what any intelligent person could simply think about doing as a bloody service !
O2, this is why I left them. They are behind the times with their ancient tarrifs and poor value for money. Oh and their terrible coverage.
Posted by Bonovox
Yeah they still only offer 500mb how ever much you top up on pay as you go. Same with Vodafone they offer unlimited calls who wants that in these data times??
Posted by Away
This tariff is just a fraud in my opinion, overpriced and for what? Even the most expensive one only offers 2gb of data. Last month I used that much in 4 days. 3 are by far the best network providers, even if their network coverage isn't the best. They have the fastest internet for a sane person to pay for, the most generous with many unlimited data plans and a decent price.
Posted by Bonovox
I do get great coverage in major towns and cities on Three but some smaller villages or countryside it's hit n miss. O2 i don't like them myself all they are good at is decent UK based customer service plus many perks of being with the network with other stuff and their marketing is good. But their value is poor. I used 1.5gb in 4 days last time i was with them. Customer service said to me 'Mr Burns your always on the net on your phone how come you used so much?? ' I just asked for the PAC code then. What do they expect have they not noticed the data explosion with smartphones?? Something Three understands.
Posted by etaab
Three's 3G network is good but does seem to be quite poor in coverage anywhere other than when in towns or cities. In the countryside its often none existent. In my experience anyway.
Their 2G, provided by Orange apparently, gives me good call coverage, but annoys me because my girlfriend who is on EE - same network, still gets better coverage.
Very rarely comes the case where I have coverage and she has none at all.
Posted by Bonovox
Read this,i know its unrelated but what a mess up
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2186074/Woman-left-27-000-debt-new-Orange-pay-mobile-withdraws-20-bank-account-TEN-MINUTES.html
Posted by etaab
That's really funny. Obviously a computer glitch and easily rectified but not good PR at all !
Posted by Miss UK
3 is a better move for me.,,,...
O2 suck lemons