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It's for you-hoo
There are hundreds of different mobile phone tariffs, so how do you know which one is right for you?
Don't be greedy
There is no point choosing a tariff that offers thousands of free minutes if you only make the odd phone call. But if you are a text-a-holic then a choosing a tariff offering text bundles makes financial sense.
Dig out your old mobile phone bills and work out, on average, how many texts you sent, how many calls you made and how often you accessed the web over a month. You can then choose a tariff which suits your mobile phone usage.
No signal
Before you sign on the dotted line check the signal strength of the providers in the area you are most likely to use the phone in. "I can't get a signal" is not grounds for cancelling a contract.
Providers will be able to tell you whether their networks will work in a certain area although beware, they can sometimes overestimate the strength of their signals. To be sure check yourself by borrowing a friends phone or checking what network your neighbours have.
Don't upgrade for the sake of it
If you're happy with your handset you could get a cheaper deal if you opt for a sim-only tariff. However, if you are swapping providers check that your new provider's sim card will work in your old phone.
If you do want a new handset, then again choose one that has the features you really want. If you only want a phone to use as a phone then don't upgrade to an IPhone or Blackberry.
The cash-back trap
Many tariffs will offer cash-back deals. They sound brilliant however they are not always straightforward.
They can be notoriously unreliable as you will usually have to meet certain criteria before you can make a cash-back claim and it will be up to you to make the claim. For example on a twelve month contract you may have to send off your month 3, month 7 and month 11 bill to claim the cash-back or prove you have used a certain amount of minutes or text during the contract.
The better the devil you know
If you find a cheaper tariff with your new provider always check with your existing provider to see if they will match or maybe better the deal you have found.
Customer retention is important to providers so don't be afraid to ask - they can only say no.
Source: Time For Money