From May 2021 I had a SIM-only mobile phone contract going with EE - for 160GB of data, at their best speeds. It expired two years later, in May 2023. The service had simply run on. I paid for it, and got what I paid for, but EE had no enforceable duty towards me as I was out of contract.
The May 2021 contract had begun at £20 per month, but had gradually become more expensive as annual price increase bumped up the cost. It now stood at £26.98 per month, and although this still seemed reasonable value - at least when measured against EE's other offerings - I felt that £27-odd was definitely too much to pay each month. And next March, another hike to £28.48. I wanted to lop a few pounds off. At the same time, I still wanted EE's best data speeds.
So I'd been regularly checking, for many months past, to see whether any of EE's seasonal deals could tempt me back onto a proper contract again. None did, until yesterday evening, when I saw that they could offer me two best-speed deals: 30GB data at £20 a month, and unlimited data for £23 a month.
The first would save me £7 a month. For most of the year, 30GB would be quite sufficient. But that wasn't necessarily true of the winter months, when I'd always watch three or four favourite TV series that were screened at that time of year. I might then consume as much as 40GB of mobile data. I didn't really need an unlimited allowance, just to do that. But for just £3 more, it seemed the better choice. I'd still save £4 a month.
So I signed up for it: unlimited data at EE's best speeds, for £23 a month.
Actually, it wasn't completely clear what the gross cost of this new deal was. At first I thought it was £35 a month, with special discounts applied to bring it down to £23. But the deal's official name in the actual contract information suggested that the gross figure was in fact £33, with a bit less in the way of discounts, although the net monthly payment would still be £23. Puzzling, but not a worry.
I noted carefully that when the contract ends in August 2026, I will lose my discounts. To avoid a sudden hike in my monthly payments, I must therefore ensure that I arrange a fresh contract in good time.
Meanwhile, I am for now slightly better off each month, with absolutely no need to watch my data consumption. I won't be going abroad.
The price of the contract will of course increase to £24.50 in March 2025, and £26 in March 2026, and I will then want to take out a new contract to bring the cost down again. That shouldn't be difficult. I can easily sacrifice an unlimited data allowance for something smaller. And it may well be that two years down the line, EE and the rest will be fighting for custom in a saturated market - which means plenty of nice deals to consider at that time.
Anyway, I'm glad to be under contract again. It does give you an extra edge when something goes wrong, because EE's service obligations are nailed down tight and not at their discretion. And I've had the satisfaction of taming yet another overlarge monthly bill.
Sequel Of course, I immediately found an EE deal that might have suited me even better! But this one is good enough. I'm not going to worry about a pound or two.
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