O2 UK Refreshes its ‘Like New’ Refurbished Mobile Phone Scheme

Mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today “refreshed” their ‘Like New’ scheme, which offers customers the ability to take a refurbished mobile phone alongside a big discount and decent warranty period. The changes are largely said to reflect “huge savings and benefits“.

Just to underline that claim of “huge savings“, O2 are celebrating the refresh by offering a limited time discount of £360 on selected mobiles for all customers, as well as an additional £70 upfront saving on a number of phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S23 5G 256GB, for existing customers via the My O2 App. Both offers can be used in conjunction, meaning existing customers could potentially save up to £430.

Take note that the additional £70 discount will be applied to existing customers’ baskets when they select a specific phone (covering a range of recent Samsung, iPhone and Google Pixel devices) and a) Set the upfront cost of their device to at least £70 via the My O2 app, b) Select their desired phone plan length and tariff, and c) Paste the voucher code found on the My O2 app into the ‘Got a promo code?’ section during checkout by 15 July 2024.

New and improved benefits of buying a ‘Like New’ phone include:

➤ Money-saving: Customers can save up to £200 compared to buying the same model brand-new through O2, all year round.

➤ Better for the planet: Buying a refurbished phone instead of a brand-new one lowers the device’s carbon footprint, uses fewer virgin materials and helps keep devices out of landfills.

➤ They’re ‘Like New’: A phone will undergo at least 40 quality checks to ensure every screen, microphone, flashlight, volume key, speaker, camera, battery and fingerprint scanner meets the same or similar standard of a new phone.

➤ Peace of mind: Customers that purchase a Plus Plan contract get a three-year handset warranty and those on a Classic Plan get one years, just like they would if they bought a brand-new phone. And if they decide the phone isn’t quite right for them, they have 14 days to exchange or return it.

➤ O2 perks: According to Uswitch, O2 customers can save nearly £500 over the duration of their contract on benefits such as Priority from O2 and inclusive EU roaming – that’s higher than any other mobile network provider in the UK.

➤ Battery health: Every Like New phone must have a battery capacity that is at least 80%.

➤ Flexible payment: Customers can find a payment plan that suits them by spreading the cost of their Like New phone over three to 36 months and can flex their plan’s data allowance up or down each month with O2 Refresh.

➤ Next day delivery: Once the mobile is ordered, it will arrive the next day.

The refurbished Like New phones are currently available on both O2’s Classic Plans or Plus Plans and come with the same benefits as new devices. People could of course potentially save more money by grabbing a second-hand device from eBay or another auction site, but that arguably carries more risk because there won’t be a long warranty or third party checking to ensure the device you’re receiving meets certain basic requirements.