The Future's Bright... The Future's Not Orange (O2)

Member Name: Great_reviewer07

Product:	O2
Date:	12/07/09 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great customer service, cheap call and text rates

Disadvantages: Maybe aimed at a younger generation

02, formerly known as BT Cellnet is one of the leading mobile phone networks that offers both contract and pay as you go phones with excellent call, text and internet rates.

I'm a dedicated customer of 02, I've been with 02 now for about the last 2 or 3 years, I was formally with Orange but after having problem upon problem with them and their dire customer services I decided to switch over to the highly praised and recommended 02 network. I had been with them previously but that was with pay as you go however I'm now on a contract with them which I have had no problem with whatsoever.

I think that 02 try to aim the majority of their special offers and services at people aged around 15-30, they always have special offers on which could be tickets to the 02 Arena (formerly known as The Millennium Dome). If you're an 02 pay as you go customer 02 is currently offering something they like to address as 02 Treats. This means that when you top up by a certain amount you'll be sent a code in a text message. This code can then be used online to unlock welcome little extras that can be anything from 50 free minutes to 50 free 02 to 02 texts. Which is a nice way to get the most out of your pay as you go mobile.

02 have numerous different pay as you go tariffs which you can check out online. 02 give away free sim cards which have built in extras that come with them such as, if you top up £15 a month you'll receive unlimited texts, which is a brilliant deal. One thing that I've recently heard about that I don't think any other network does (correct me if I'm wrong) is the family bolt on. This is a fantastic idea that enables an entire family of 5 to stay in touch for only £7.50 a month.

After previously being on an 02 18 month contract paying £45 a month I had become tired of it as I was constantly going over my minutes. Therefore when my contract ended I decided not to renew. Instead I kept my phone, which I had recently upgraded in the previous couple of months. I didn't want to go back onto pay as you go as it would have been way to expensive for the amount that I use my phone. I browsed the 02 website looking for contract deals in which I would receive a new phone. What I wasn't aware of was that 02 do sim only deals. Sim only deals are understandably cheaper monthly deals because you're only paying for the calls/texts/internet that you use instead of the phone itself. I was really pleased to discover that I could keep my phone that I had only just got hold of (an HTC Touch HD) while only paying around £20 a month for a really good contract deal. Another thing that I was astonished about when browsing on the 02 website is that these deals don't tie you down to a 12, 18 or even a 24 month contract. They're called 30 day contracts which means you pay month by month and you can cancel at anytime. This is a great option especially in today's climate with the recession, meaning if you lose your job and can't afford to pay for you phone anymore you simply cancel your contract and they'll be no extra charges.

After extensive browsing for contract deals I decided on one, it's primarily a £20 a month deal which was already a huge saving on my previous £45 a month deal. For the £20 a month I get 600 minutes and unlimited texts. What's great about 02 is that when they say unlimited they actually mean 12000 which would be impossible to use in a month. Apparently on Vodafone when they give you unlimited texts what they actually mean is 3000 which would be no good for me at all as each month I average around 5000 texts. My previous contract had also given me 600 minutes which I quickly discovered wasn't enough and I persisted to go over my contract right up until it expired. I thought that this may be a problem, that was until I got to the 02 Bolt Ons screen. Bolt Ons are add ons which you can add to your contract on top of your minutes, texts and internet time. I opted for the unlimited 02 to 02 calls, which again means 12000 minutes. This is ideal for me as my boyfriend and most of my friends are all on 02, meaning I could call them at anytime for absolutely nothing... well... when I say nothing that's not technically true. The unlimited 02 to 02 calls adds an extra £7.50 onto your contract making mine a total of £27.50 a month which I was more than happy to pay as I feel I've got an excellent deal. Not only do I have unlimited texts and unlimited 02 calls but I also have 600 minutes to use on the people that aren't on 02 and for calls to landlines.

The call charges outside an 02 contract are as follows:

UK Voice Calls - 19.6p/min
UK Calls To 07744/07755 Numbers - 24.6p/min
UK calls to 0871 numbers 34.3p/min
UK video calls Same as voice calls
UK voicemail FREE
Calls to O2 Customer Services Free from your O2 mobile
UK text message 11.7p
UK picture/video message 24.5p
International text message3 15.7p
UK browsing4 Up to 98p per day

This information is available on the 02 website at 02.co.uk

One thing that I hated with my old contract were the dreaded paper statements that I got through the post once a month to inform me of how many minutes and texts I had used as well as how much I had inevitably gone over my minutes. I never knew what to do with these statements, whether to keep them for reference purposes or shred them to help save the environment! This is when I read something on the 02 website after making my online purchase, one of the many ingenious options with an 02 online 30 day contract is that you have the choice of whether you want to have monthly paper statements or whether you'd like to keep up with your bill online. I of course chose the online option, this means that I am sent an email once a month (on the day that my next batch of minutes and texts come through) informing me that my 02 bill is available to view. Looking at the bill couldn't be easier and it condenses everything for you into sections I.e. texts, minutes, other charges etc.

After placing my order and inputting my details which includes your credit/debit card details I was sent the sim card within a matter of days, I was informed it could take around a week so I was impressed with how on the ball they were. Inside the package you'll find everything you need including contact numbers for the customer service team and information on charges should you go over your monthly minutes or text allowance.

The signal range that I get with 02 is second to none, I don't live in the middle of nowhere so I get a pretty decent signal anyway but when I was on Orange and Vodafone I would never get a signal while I was at work which used to invariably bug me. With 02 I now get a signal everywhere in the building which means I can be checking texts and phone calls while I'm at work which is becoming a very bad habit!

The 02 customer service team are fantastic, I had many bad experiences with both Orange and Vodafone which included unbearably long waiting times, rude advisors and non helpful advice. This is something that I was worried about when I first joined 02 a couple of years ago, I thought that it may just be a universal thing that all mobile phone network customer services are dreadful but thankfully 02 have changed my opinion. They have always been helpful, efficient, polite and very friendly which has made me more than happy to stay with them for the foreseeable future.

After being a Sky Broadband customer for quite sometime now and finding it to be very slow occasionally so I've been thinking about switching. I've looked up other internet providers and one that really struck a cord with me was the 02 Broadband service. The do cheaper deals for people who are already 02 customers which I think is fantastic as the prices are already very cheap (£17.13 being their most expensive with £7.34 their cheapest which is extremely good value).

Overall I'd say that after experiencing several mobile phone networks 02 is definitely the stand-out one for me in terms of value for money, range of offers, customer service and signal service. It's most definitely the network that I'll be sticking with for a long time to come and I'd highly recommend checking them out if you've had bad experience with other, inferior networks. I hope to experience their home broadband in the near future, so needless to say you can expect a review on it in the future!

Summary: A 5 star network.