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CPI question

Anth

Super Pro Member
The news papers today are posting doom and gloom warnings about the CPI increase in 2023 saying its going to be the largest on record and everyones bill will go up by an extra £120 per year as a result.

I was thinking, and thus starting this topic to see if my logic is correct or flawed.

But if you waited until a day after the CPI increase and then signed up the day after on a 12 months contract. Would this mean you would never be hit by CPI increases ever?

And if I am correct, is there a set day when the CPI increase kicks in. I believe its sometime in April. But is there an exact day?
 
You only get hit for the period after the application of the CPI increase, so if the application date is 1st April then if you order on 2nd April it will be 12 months before you get an increase if the advertised starting price is untouched. Hence why its best to currently have 12 month or shorter contracts, unless the price is really low then 24 month contracts have hidden costs.
 
Considering keeping the iPhone 12 for a further year (out of contract) move to Lebara SIM - £57 a month (obvs was paying off phone) with EE - down to £25 month unlimited. Might use the difference to 0% fund a new IPad mini with John Lewis for 12 months. Then Nov 23 re-evaluate phone situation.
CPI increases (mid-contract price increase) a factor in that. Also 14 is so much more expensive as is a 13 for not much more.
Will it become better to finance phone seperate? 0% for Apple of Samsung and cheaper MVNO SIM?
 
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Personally I've always preferred to keep the device purchase and airtime/service costs seperate.

Only once (buying an iPhone 3GS) did it seem to make sense to take a contract which funded the phone, as at that stage it wasn't possible to get a reasonable deal for data as PAYG.

At that time the only way to get an iPhone at under "list price" was subsidised within a contract.

Subsequent iOS devices have been outright purchases (or "interest free" from Apple) but I tend to be on the "trailing edge" of models.

I've currently got one of the Lebara 1p/month SIMs (thanks to those who pointed this deal out) but I'm expecting a massive increase at the end of February 2023 and to re-examine the market at that point.
 
Personally I've always preferred to keep the device purchase and airtime/service costs seperate.

Only once (buying an iPhone 3GS) did it seem to make sense to take a contract which funded the phone, as at that stage it wasn't possible to get a reasonable deal for data as PAYG.

At that time the only way to get an iPhone at under "list price" was subsidised within a contract.

Subsequent iOS devices have been outright purchases (or "interest free" from Apple) but I tend to be on the "trailing edge" of models.

I've currently got one of the Lebara 1p/month SIMs (thanks to those who pointed this deal out) but I'm expecting a massive increase at the end of February 2023 and to re-examine the market at that point.

With my Z Flip4, it actually worked out ~£200 cheaper over the 2 years to go on contract than it was to buy it outright, even taking into account the £250 trade in for one of the old phones I have laying around.

This is the first time I've ever got a phone on contract, in fact, it's the first time I've ever bought a phone within a year of it being released!
I normally buy a last gen phone when the prices drop, but it was actually still cheaper getting the Flip4 on contract than it was getting a Flip3 outright
 
Which package and operator was that yolosnail?
 
Which package and operator was that yolosnail?
I got on Three via Affordable Mobiles.

I could have got it for just under £800 all in with 100gb on Three, and if I wanted unlimited data it would have been around £820.
But I decided to go for the lower up front with the higher monthly so I'm paying £35 a month for unlimited and it was £45 up front.
Those figures don't take into account the annual increase, but for the one I chose I think it works out at around £925?

If I bought it outright, trading in an old phone I could have got it for £700 (now £750 as they've lowered the trade in bonus), and I currently pay £18.75 a month for my Smarty unlimited plan, so over the 2 years that is £450, giving a total of £1,150.

Now, granted, with that I would have got 'free' Galaxy Watch, and I could probably flog that for £150, but that's just a faff.

If I waited another month or so for Black Friday 'deals', it might well go even lower, so I probably didn't pick the best time to buy lol

And, hopefully my maths checks out so I don't look like a right numpty!
 
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But if you waited until a day after the CPI increase and then signed up the day after on a 12 months contract. Would this mean you would never be hit by CPI increases ever?

And if I am correct, is there a set day when the CPI increase kicks in. I believe its sometime in April. But is there an exact day?
Depends on the supplier. Plusnet, for example, publish this guide.

But the problem with your idea is, Plusnet won't sell you service on a 12 month contract: it's 18 or 24. Nor will most other of the large providers these days.

If you want to avoid these rises then you can take service from a smaller provider who doesn't have these CPI+ increases, and/or only has a 12 month contract term, and/or who doesn't increase your price to higher "out of contract" rates. But you will probably find that the initial price you pay is significantly higher, not surprisingly.

There's no free money to be had. The larger ISPs are using the CPI+ trick to make you see a smaller number, and therefore think you're paying less, at the time you sign the contract. It's a cut-throat market, so when one does it, they all have to follow.

It's nothing to do with inflation, or needing to cover their increasing costs as they claim - because you'll notice that they continue to sell to *new* customers at the lower price, while you're paying a higher one.
 
Just for fun I put in a claim for the free watch anyway (shy bairns get nowt and all that), thinking I could just play dumb if it was denied, and one of the 'team' approved the claim.
Wonder if I'll actually receive it, or if an actual person will look over the claim before they send it out and realise I'm not actually eligible.
 
Just for fun I put in a claim for the free watch anyway (shy bairns get nowt and all that), thinking I could just play dumb if it was denied, and one of the 'team' approved the claim.
Wonder if I'll actually receive it, or if an actual person will look over the claim before they send it out and realise I'm not actually eligible.
Watch has been dispatched today, so looks like it's a better deal than expected.
 
Got my Galaxy Watch 4 today, so if I sell it that's £100-150 off the total.
So over the 2 years my Flip4 would only cost £775 with unlimited everything on Three.
 
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