pay off contract-any alternative

[zoodemon]

hi, i'm about a third of the way into my online 100 contract and have hit financial hardship, due to chronic illness. I asked o2 if there was anything they could do to help. They said i had two options, either switch to online 50 but starting a new 12 month contract, or cancel but pay the penalty. It's been suggested that i could cancel the direct debit and that then they would have to treat it as a debt. It may then be that they'll give me a bit longer to pay it off. Didn't get that impression from them though.

I appreciate it's a contract and it's tough luck on me. I want to keep a moby for emergencies, as pay as you go, and it might be that i can resurrect my old phone for that.

Does anyone else have any ideas what i can do to perhaps pass the phone and contract onto anyone else or sell it. Not sure how legal either of those are. It's a moto v3 razr black by the way.
cheers

 

[woody67]

You could try and get a friend to take on the contract. In fact online 50 is an excellent deal for frequent texters (ie kids).

I am not sure how much O2 would enjoy the publicity if they did pursue a genuine hardship case through the courts. But then again this may not be an option if the stress would be no good for you either!

I would try to speak to someone a bit higher up the food chain at O2, and try and reach a compromise

The phone may have a good value if you sell it, as it is unlocked. This may help to set off any remaining monthly rental.

Either way, best wishes and I hope things turn out OK.

 

[Gullanian]

Right a letter to the top, explain your situation, they wont turn you down.

The monkeys at the bottom do what their told, ask people further up the feeding line and they have the power to do more.

 

[zoodemon]

so basically you're saying i can unlock the phone and then sell it?
Expect a moto v3 with accessories would make a few quid. That might be an idea. As for the online 50, as i really need to reduce my outgoings, and now i'm not working i'm hardly using my phone, it is an expense i could do without.
I'm sure they would let me pay off the contract over a longer period if i cancelled but essentially i'm still paying for nothing as i guess i'd lose service and phone. I know it's my fault but, it still grinds a bit. Is it legal for me to unlock the phone? And would doing so finish my usage with O2? What i'm saying is will unlocking it make it unusable until i put a new sim in it presumably?

I think i will write to the nice peeps at O2 and see what they say.
Thanks

 

[woody67]

An O2 contract phone should be already unlocked and useable on any network. And it is yours to sell whatever happens with the contract

 

[zoodemon]

since when have o2 contract phones been unlocked. Is there anyway i can verify this? Seems they don't go for as much as i thought anyway. One on ebay sitting at £50. I've found the address for their customer service office anyway so i'll send them a heartfelt plea. cheers

 

[petecowie]

Remember that even if a phone is currently £50 the activity will happen in the last 30 mins, you are better to look at completed auctions rather than current running to get an idea of price. Can;t you reduce the tarrif to a minimum without restarting the contract?? Also how much are your monthly fixed charges? I would expect a Black RAZR in good condition to go for £100-£130. Do you have the box etc this always helps get the price up.

Pete

 

[jian]

since when have o2 contract phones been unlocked. Is there anyway i can verify this? Seems they don't go for as much as i thought anyway. One on ebay sitting at £50. I've found the address for their customer service office anyway so i'll send them a heartfelt plea. cheers

O2 phones have always been unlocked as are Vodafone.

Only T-Mobile and Orange lock their handsets.

 

[chrislad]

Are you sure? I was on a Vodafone contract a couple of years ago and the phone was definitely locked.

 

[Daddy k]

either sell the phone circa £140 if in great nik and use that money to pay off contract,dont pay in bulk just reduce tarriff if poss (you can 6months into it)then pay bill as it comes.pick up an old phone/spare phone/cheapo payg or something and put your sim in that and just use ur free part of contract ur paying for.
or use money to buy out of contract
or see if a family member or close friend would like to take over, dont tell o2, just giv em a ring tell em u want to change dd details.
that way with a bit of look by the end of your contract you may be in a better personal position/financial position and youl be intitled to new upgrade/deal from o2 and in there good books with no bad debt.

 

[zoodemon]

oh right so i could keep the sim, and sell the phone paying off approx 75% of what i owe, plus i still get calls and text on my relacement moby. That sounds good. I'll let you know if o2 come up with anything.
Yeah been looking at the prices on ebay, seems some sell well others not.
Helps to know my moby is unlocked. Is there any way i can verify this? What would i have to do, put another sim in from another network?
Yeah moby is in fine condition and have all accessories and bluetooth stuff with boxes.
Cheers

 

[Daddy k]

just put another networks sim in.if its locked go down a local market theyl unlock it for £5-£10.
just use a cheap moby. then hopefully ur situation will improve by the time the funds from v3 run out.
just please keep an eye on ur usage! dont wana have to read in here uv got bailiffs at ur door coz u got big bill n its my fault lol.

good look hope things pick up for urself soon

ps if ur paying for insurance cancell that too to save money as u dont need to worry bout loosing a phone u aint got hey

 

[zoodemon]

had an e-mail back from o2 saying that all o2 monthly contract phones are locked to their network. Can i not just borrow a sim from a mates phone to see if that works or would that cause other problems? The v3 i was looking at on e-bay actually went for £160 which was bloody good i thought.
Gonna try and repair my old a800 samsung and use that with my o2 sim.
Cheers

 

[woody67]

I have two current o2 online contracts, one 11 months old an one 6 months and both phones are unlocked - one is a black v3 too.

I wonder when they started to lock the phones?

 

[zoodemon]

maybe thay are just saying that to discourage people from switching. They also said they could unlock it for £35 lol. They never mentioned whether i could or could not sell the phone. Anyway i'll check it with another sim. Does it have to be a new one or can i just try any other network sim? Will it cause problems when they try and put it back in their phones? Also as ll my numbers are on my sim, do they stay on if putting in another phone? I'm guessing that's the idea but i'm clueless when it comes to these things. cheers

 

[chrislad]

Try any other sim in it. It won't cause any problems. If it's locked, you'll see a message like 'Incorrect SIM' or something like that. If it is unlocked, you'll see the network logo show up.

 

[Daddy k]

ignore o2! if its locked go to a market/independant phone shop and get it unlocked for £5-£10 tell o2 to stick the £35 charge up their narrow band pipe

 

[zoodemon]

hi, well it turns out my Monthly contract o2 Moto V3 was unlocked although i'm not sure it is now. My friends orange sim worked fine, so i switched my sim into my old (previous orange but unlocked) phone. All was working well until i tried to set up the phone lock. Got blocked out and ended up with my sim blocked. Got a puk code from o2 which works. Only thing is that now everytime i turn on my V3 i get asked for my sim code. It then says sim unlocked and finds the network.
I can't find a setting to turn it off so does this mean that my v3 is now locked?

Maybe it's because i've done a master reset to clear the codes in readiness for sale. Guess i need to get another sim card in it to find out. What a pain.

 

[chrislad]

That sounds like a phone security code.

Basically, it brings up a code every time a new SIM card is put into the phone. Just turn it off. I'm not sure how Motorola do it, as I hate their phones and software, and I wouldn't touch them with 50ft pole.

 

[jimmymac87]

your can switch that code off - its a default setting with O2 that most new, and unblocked sim cards ask for the default pin.

Best thing to do if O2 aren't much help is:

1. Drop your tarriff to absolute minimum as soon as possible
2. Sell your phone on ebay, with all accessories etc.
3. Keep the money safe just solely to pay your contract off - and give your 30 days notice at month 11, so it can be switched off as soon as possible!

Hope this helps

BTW: Some O2 phones do come locked; but these are usually only exclusive or O2's own phones. Other than trying a different sim in the phone, check the box. If it is an o2branded box - it is most likely locked, if it is a generic box (i.e. just photos of the phone, and descriptions etc) it is most probably unlocked. It is true T-mobile and Orange, and three generally lock all their phones, and Voda and O2 don't - but sometimes direct Voda stock is locked already too.

 

[Ludicrous69]

Yeah I have a contract with o2 and my handset is unlocked

correct me if I'm wrong but I thought handsets were the property of the network until the contract expired, only then are you able to do what you like with the handset

 

[Daddy k]

Yeah I have a contract with o2 and my handset is unlocked

correct me if I'm wrong but I thought handsets were the property of the network until the contract expired, only then are you able to do what you like with the handset

some people are too inocent for their own good!

as far as im concerned ur doing nothing wrong as long as u didnt open the account freaudulently and not pay just to get the phone

 

[s1hastie]

I will give you £100 for it if you want a quick sale. LMK.

 

[Ludicrous69]

Hehe, I'm far from innocent

S1hastie, Are you trying to add insult to injury?

 

[s1hastie]

Not at all mate. Just trying to help out. Thought I would be cheeky and give it a try let me know if you change your mind.