Cheap Mobile Contracts – A False Economy?

The variety of mobile phone tariffs available on the market these days is remarkable, and can seem like a confusing and complicated place to navigate through. 

It’s tempting to go for the cheapest contract you can find; after all what difference can it make? It’s surely the most affordable?

This is not always the case.

The Myth of a Cheap Contract

Unfortunately, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. A cheaper contract will contain a smaller allowance than a more expensive one, and this is to be expected.

‘But I don’t use that much, so I can live with a smaller allowance,’ you may think. For some, this may be true, but the vast majority greatly underestimate just how much they use their phone.

Call Charges

For example, a plan with 100 minutes sounds like it would be plenty for a light user; this actually works out to just over 3 minutes of call time per day. Go over this allowance and you will be charged, on average, 35p per minute.

Therefore, if instead of 3 minutes a day, you talk for 6, and end up using 200 minutes instead of your allocated 100 that month, you will be charged an extra £35 on top of your line rental.

In fact, these call charges will probably cost more than the line rental itself! 

Text and Data Charges

This is similarly true of going over your text allowance. At 12p per text on average, 10 extra texts will add £1.20 to your bill each month.

Data charges are where most people get stung worse. The latest mobile phones are incredibly data hungry, updating your email, news and social network feeds constantly. Many mobile contracts now include at least 1GB data, but cheaper ones often contain little if any at all.

Data Usage

If you had a contract with 250MB data, and considered yourself a light user, you may think you were covered. In actual fact, 250MB would only allow you each day to;

• Browse 10 web pages
• Read 50 BBC News pages
• Read and reply to 20 emails
• Watch a 1-minute video on YouTube
• Upload a photo to Facebook (Source: three.co.uk)

A lot of people will do far more than this each day on their phone, such as downloading apps, e-books, commenting on Twitter and Facebook etc. Go over your allowance, and you may be charged up to £1.54 per day, which could add an extra £46 to your monthly bill. 

You will also experience loss of functionality as your data usage get capped if you go too far over.

What to Consider

• When looking for a new contract, take the time to really look at your mobile phone usage. If you have 200 minutes but regularly go over by 50 minutes, consider taking a contract with 300 for an extra few pounds a month rather than constantly paying out of bundle charges.

• Similarly consider your data usage. Don’t underestimate what you think you’ll be using your phone for, particularly if you are new to smartphones. In general with high-end handsets, you should be looking at tariffs with 1GB or higher (some even include unlimited data).

In most cases, by paying a little extra each month and getting the right tariff to suit you, you will save yourself a fortune in the long term.

Call our UK-based Business Specialists now to discuss your options : 0800 049 6023

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Tablet Etiquette At Work

Every man and his dog now owns a tablet of some description, thanks to falling cost prices and technological advances making them more portable. 

However, we’re still getting used to tablets in everyday life.

At first, tablets in the office were a bit of a novelty, something intriguing, with the brave few early uptakers daring to use them in meetings generally mocked for being pretentious. But a few short months later, it is the minority that attend a meeting without a glowing pad of electronic magic.

Using Your Tablet in a Meeting

Tablets can be very useful at work, from instantly being able to display presentations and media to a group of people to finding emails related to the topic at hand.

They can also cause considerable annoyance as users become engrossed in their cyber world when their focus should really be elsewhere.

Checking on all of your social media sites is pretty poor form in a meeting, particularly if you’re blatant about it. Same goes for doing your shopping or downloading games. Save it until later.

Using Your Tablet At Your Desk 

In all honesty, if you have a desktop PC, there really isn’t a case for having your tablet turned on and sitting on your desk next to you. Arguments can be made over the fact the additional screen could sync with your incoming emails or update you with the latest stock prices, but we all know that in reality you just want to stream Sky Sports to it while you work.

If you are going to do this, be discreet. There’s no need to flaunt that you’re sat at work watching the latest results come through. Keep it muted or wear headphones, and pay attention to what’s going on around you.

Using Your Tablet on the Commute

Obviously, this one is for those of us who have to pack into a tube or train to get to and from the office; if you’re driving or cycling, it’s not a good idea to be playing with your tablet!

As I mentioned, everybody seems to have a tablet these days, or and e-reader, or just a very large screened phone. Step onto any train at rush hour and almost every single commuter’s face will be illuminated by a screen as they read the latest book they’ve downloaded on Amazon’s recommendation. This is totally fine, particularly on the Tube where eye contact with a stranger is a mortal sin, however there are some dangers to being completely engrossed.

One in particular is attempting to read when you’re having to stand. With often jerky movements, I have seen trains send people flying across the carriage more than once when they’ve been too busy reading or scrolling to actually hold on to something. Secure yourself before your latest ebay purchase.

The other is becoming completely oblivious to anyone else in the carriage. Standing right by the door and not moving a millimetre when they open will not win you any friends, especially when fifty people are trying to pass through you to get on and off the train. Remember that on public transport, you too are a member of the collective public, and should afford others the same courtesies  you would want for yourself.

Tablets are having a massive influence on how we go about our everyday lives, and this influence will only increase as technology speeds along its highway of innovation. As long as we remember that there is a physical world beyond the screen, their usefulness as a tool has no limits.

For tablets and phones for your business, call us on 0800 049 6023

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Case Study – 33 Joints

Licenser and distributor of young fashion brands in the UK and Europe, 33 Joints needed control over their outgoings

How many users were there?

21 in total, each with individual requirements for their handset, from email and internet capability to a simple talk and text

How much was their old contract costing? 

£4,500 – £5,000 per month (on average)

What were the main objectives of changing the deal? 

• Reduce monthly cost
• Fast and reliable internet
• Emails on the go
• Better visibility and control over monthly spend

How much does their new contract cost?

£1,500 per month (on average) – a £3,000 saving

What did we recommend?

The New Contract

• A full review of their tariff structure
• Introduction of the O2 BlackBerry roaming bolt-on for data use abroad

The New Handsets

BlackBerrys to make use of the roaming bolt-on

iPhones for UK based team

Strong, durable devices for those that didn’t require the latest techonology

Total Saving 

£84,000 over the life of the contract (compared to their previous 24 month contract)

See how we can help.

Call our UK based Business Specialists on 0800 049 6023 for a quote

Visit us at Carphone Warehouse Business

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Working From Home – A Guide

So the weather outside is frightful, and you’ve convinced your boss to let you work from home… With so much opportunity for distraction, how do you stay focused?

As our technology improves and becomes more accessible, our reliance on a work environment is diminishing. There also seems to be an increasing frequency to factors hindering our travel, from floods, to snow, to gridlock, all which may mean employers may actually benefit from allowing their staff to work from home more often, saving on man hours and overheads and avoiding unplanned days off.

However, to a generation as yet unused to this perceived freedom, this can be a whole new environment where you have to create your own drive and boundaries.

Don’t…

• View a day working from home as a day off. You need to get that thought out of your head right now. While spending the day in your PJs with a bottomless coffee and Jeremy Kyle on in the background may be enticing, it will distract you and you’ll pay for it later when approaching that deadline.

Do…

• Get out of bed, get dressed, by all means have a coffee but avoid turning the TV on. 

Don’t…

• Think you can get away with not communicating with the poor souls who’ve dragged themselves into the office, as they’ll be thinking you’re working incredibly hard and are avoiding distractions.

Do…

• Remain in frequent contact with the office throughout the day. How ever good your intentions are, your co-workers and potentially even your boss will think that you’re skiving. Call your boss first thing in the morning to discuss your objectives for the day, call once again in the afternoon to give an update, and remain on top of your emails throughout the day, replying promptly. 

Don’t…

• Suddenly discover that your house needs to be cleaned / the dog needs to be walked / a shelf needs to be put up / the fish needs feeding before you do that report your boss is expecting. In the comfort of your own home, you will have to fight against yourself trying to find distractions for anything other than actual work. 

Do…

• Plan breaks into your day. You are still allowed them, and if you know when they’ll be you can work towards them as a target. If you find yourself becoming distracted, it might be worth getting away from your computer for five minutes so that you feel refreshed and refocussed when you return. Just be aware that you’re not doing this every ten minutes…

Don’t…

• Treat your sofa / bed as your desk. The best of intentions can be decimated by a snuggly warm bed!

Do…

• If you’re not fortunate enough to have a dedicated office at home, set up a mini office space somewhere in your house. This can be on a kitchen table, a counter top, even a coffee table if you’re willing to embrace the bohemian within and sit on a cushion. This will really help you focus and get into the mindset you need.

Working from home is supposed to be a nice change from the office, but fully benefiting from it requires discipline.

UK population rises, expensive and difficult travel, and massive increases in property rental fees for businesses will all eventually need a solution, and with the advances in technology and communication, home working may well be it.

Just try to avoid the pitfalls so that you can take full advantage of this work culture shift.

Call us for a quote: 0800 049 6023

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Case Study – Fresh Fruit Distribution Ltd.

Based in Sheerness, Kent, Fresh Fruit Distribution Ltd deliver to clients in the UK and Europe. Their monthly contract was £204 but excess charges saw this averaging £1,200 

How many users were there?

10, on a sharer contract which didn’t allow the flexibility of bolt-ons

How much was their old contract costing? 

£1,200 per month (on average)

What were the main objectives of changing the deal? 

• Reduce monthly cost
• Fast and reliable internet
• Emails on the go
• Flexibility to add to tariffs as required

How much does their new contract cost?

£325 per month (on average) – a £875 saving

What did we recommend?

The New Contract

• O2 Business Solo plans for each user – this allows a clear and concise breakdown of usage so as to easily track spend
• Roaming bolt-ons for those travelling abroad on a roaming basis for cheaper, flexible calls
• Geek Squad Max Protection insurance – worldwide policy insuring them for handsets and accessories as well as featuring a track and trace function
• Also purchased an iPad (32GB Wi-Fi) which could be tethered to their iPhone when outside of the office using a bolt-on

The New Handsets

2 x Apple iPhone 4S and 8 x Nokia C3-01 (Gold Edition)

Total Saving 

£21,000 over the life of the contract (compared to their previous 24 month contract)

See how we can help.

Call our UK based Business Specialists on 0800 049 6023 for a quote

Visit us at Carphone Warehouse Business

Follow us on Twitter : @CPWBusiness