Ee prices ridiculous high

[AJ1001]

Hi, I've been with ee then orange since 2008, but now, and in recent years the prices are nearly double of o2, etc, iam on a £35 contract,  and after speaking to the ee team all there can offer me is a lesser phone than I have, the a series for that price, with less mobile data, no roaming, and a longer contract, what is the point staying with ee, there is none, they say to speak to an adviser, to sort this out, of which I've done twice, but cannot improve deal, which is inadequate, why would anyone upgrade gor a worse phone and worse tariff, time to leave i wish i did it years ago

[bristolian]

Make sure that you've tested any new network in the locations you'll want to use your phone, and that it works as expected before moving.

EE has never claimed to be the cheapest network, but it does generally offer a reliable service which is not always replicable elsewhere. Some networks compete on price & added extras to make up for potential shortcomings in their service, and O2 is quite widely known for having poor data performance especially.

There will always be local variations, so check first - website coverage maps don't tell the whole story. Get a PAYG SIM, and test it in all the areas you'll frequent. If another network does then meet your needs, then great.

[AJ1001]

Thanyou for your reply, my wife is on o2, and the coverage is fantastic so I now I have no problem there, I know ee have never claimed to be the cheapest, but there are not even conpetitive, has donald trump put tarrifs on ee, for a loyal customer for over 17 years, there is no incentive to stay with yourself, as I said before, if I can't get an upgrade for £35, unless it's a lower standard phone, when I can get the latest phone for that price with all of the other networks, it seems a no brainer, as I ive been reading there are thousands of other customer who feel the same, is ee only for the  stupidly  loyal customers. 

[bristolian]

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@AJ1001 wrote:

there is no incentive to stay with yourself

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To clarify, I'm not EE staff. I post here as a fellow customer just like yourself, albeit one with a career background in the telecoms industry.

The experience with VF & O2 can vary depending whether you're broadly in the east or west of the UK.

[AJ1001]

I understand mobile coverage varies around the UK, however this does not exclude ee   where it is not fall prove,  all mobile companies claim they are best in certain criteria 

[bristolian]

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@AJ1001 wrote:

all mobile companies claim they are best in certain criteria 

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Absolutely right they do! The marketing departments wouldn't be doing their job otherwise.

O2 tends to come out well in any survey where user perception & best value are the criteria. The latter often shared with 3, due to their budget focus.

EE tends to perform well when actual network testing (4G/5G availability, speed tests) are involved, with VF or 3 coming in second, depending on the specific criteria. Marketing reflects this.

You absolutely pays your money & takes your choice.

[Schockwave]

@AJ1001 , what has Trump got to do with it? Nothing, as EE is a UK network and Trump is American……

[Chris_B]

@AJ1001  Out of interest what phone are you looking for at ?   All the networks now offer a spit bill for the device and airtime and while you’ll get an airtime contract below £35 you’ll not get say the lasted device with that cost. 

[Matt_124]

Prices will be only be comparable across networks on the same type of plan with similar features and allowances over the same tenure.

Up until relatively recently (last year or two)  most EE plans will have been bundled contracts with one combined price for both Device and Airtime over 24 Months.

The new evolution of this on EE is Flex Pay, where you can split your payments over 24 or 36 Months, with the device being on an interest free fixed sum credit agreement. You have a separate Device and Airtime cost on these plans, adding up to a total price, which is the standard direction the industry is moving in also. 

On first glance online, the prices of Samsung and Google devices between the other network you've mentioned and EE are not too dissimilar for the same type of plan over 36 Months, and are most definitely not "double". Alongside this, EE typically lead with Unlimited Data on their plans but other options are available. In some cases Unlimited is cheaper than a Fixed Data allowance due to promotions.

The issue you may be encountering is if you are only eligible for or being offered the choice of 24 Month bundled plans with EE (this could be a variety of reasons) and not Flex Pay, while being offered up to 36 Months elsewhere.