Onestopphoneshop.co.uk > Reviews (36)

There is only one reason why I bought my mobile phone from Onestopphoneshop... and that is the highly competitive price!

I had been looking to buy the Nokia 6310i on contract for many months for as cheap as possible, which in my terms means free! However, ‘free’ on mobile phone company terms usually means having a monthly contract of at least £30. This is especially true for the Nokia 6310i. I was not prepared to pay high monthly premiums just to get a phone that is so called ‘free’. So, after searching High Street shops, many mail order mobile phone sites and Ciao! I was more than pleased when I came across a superb deal at Onestopphoneshop.

Onestopphoneshop is a popular mail order mobile phone site that’s been established for almost 10 years. So, it’s not a new company that’s just appeared on mobile phone market to make a fast buck! The company is based in Crewe and has been awarded the 'Orange Direct response dealer of the year 2001

' for its commitment to both value and customer service. There are some very competitive mobile phone deals many with free handsets and cash back offers. The site offers all the usual networks like T-Mobile, Vodaphone, 3, and O2, though the bulk of the turnover does appear to be on Orange. All the phones are for contract use only on and there are no pay-as-you-go (PAYG) phones. There’s also a list of games you can download for your phone type, at a minimal cost.

WEBSITE

On first impressions when you visit the site, a flashing pop-up banner comes up advertising the latest deal. This can be quite distracting and may deter visitors from exploring further. However, once the box is closed it won’t appear again and the rest of the website is clear to see. Despite the bad start due to flash technology, the homepage clearly displays the latest deals with images of phones. The text is bold with font sizes that are large enough to read and don’t require you to carry a magnifying glass! There is enough information on the first page without it appearing cluttered or minimal.

NAVIGATION

The navigation around the site is relatively simple and can be customised according to network or handset. There are 3 routes you can take from the sites homepage: -

1. Opting for the latest deal –where handset and network is set
2. Knowing which phone you want –then choosing which network
3. Knowing which network you want –then choosing a phone

For example if you wish to be on the Orange network you would click the Orange logo which brings you to a screen whereby on the left hand side you have to select 2 parameters; “select network” and select phone. After you have chosen your desired network, you are presented with a drop-down menu with a list of phones. Once you have made your selection you simply press Go! A page showing the phone deal showing the name of the tariff, price of phone and monthly line rental will be displayed. Any other offers will be shown such as free accessories included, free insurance, any special ‘cashback’ offers will be shown as ‘Gift’.

If you want to know more about the phone itself before buying clicking on ‘features’ will reveal the phones basic functions. If you like what you see you simply click on ‘Buy’.

Other features like help, FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), ‘Contact us’ etc are not visible on the homepage and are only seen after you have selected your phone then a list of options are shown at the top of the page. It would have been better if these were shown on the homepage as it just takes more time especially for a first time visitor to find these.

My rating: 4.5/5

BUYING PROCESS

If you are buying online once you have decided on your goods you click on Buy and the shopping basket appears. The shopping basket shows a list of what you’re about to buy with costs. You can customise the phone deal further to include any ‘special bundles’ a network may be offering such as text bundles, photo-messaging and so on.
The rest of the buying process takes the usual format of using a secure

online ordering process. You have to agree to the sites’ T&C and register if you are a new customer. Only basic details of name, address are required, your details won’t get sent to select mailing companies! All major credit/debit cards are accepted, including American Express. Of course, some of you may prefer not to give credit card details online, if so, you can place your order by telephone. When you provide details of your credit card a security check is carried out and 1p will be debited from your card. If you object to the 1p charge then Onestopphoneshop can refund this back on to your card. There’s a dedicated sales number with lines open till 10p.m. most weekdays and also limited times at weekends. I placed my order by phone just before 10p.m. on a Wednesday evening and my goods were delivered to me on Friday!
It’s a freephone sales number as you may see in the flashing Onestoppheonshop photo-Id as displayed on Ciao above this opinion. Can you read it? Well, currently the number is 0800 0 345 888.

My rating: 5/5

DEALS, SAVINGS & CASHBACK

The mobile phone market is highly competitive. As the overall volume of new customers buying a mobile phone has stopped rising as sharply as it was say four years ago, the mobile phone companies and the networks have to try and attract customers to switch to their network. As a result, highly desirable and popular phones often have an attractive package available with the phone. The packages used to lure customers from one network to another may be a free phone, free accessories like personal hands free kit, leather case and so on. More recently, offers of cash back to join a network has become even more tempting. Using this concept, the site attracts visitors with fantastic deals and amazing cashbacks of up to £120!

I purchased a Nokia 6310i handset, which was free on the Orange network and came with a monthly tariff of only £13.99. It also included free accessories like a Nokia Car Charger, Nokia 6310 Personal Handsfree Kit, a leather case, In-car holder, free 3 months insurance and wait for it… here is the best part £80 *cashback!

* I also managed to port my existing mobile phone number across; there are details on the site of how you can port your number with you.
Theres also a recommend a friend scheme, if you are interested leave me a message.

I was very lucky to buy this phone as 2 days after I bought the phone in October 2003 the offer changed; i.e. the Nokia 6310 was only free on a £30 monthly rental.

Currently, the Nokia 6310 comes with £120 cash back if you connect to the YourPlan 300 at £30 monthly or you can get a free DVD player. Alternatively, you can get the a Nokia HDW2 Bluetooth set free and get £60 cashback. These offers are correct at time of writing and are updated very quickly.
The Nokia 6310i is a serious phone and often retains its value, its not a fashion phone that will lose its value after a few months, hence I was very pleased with my purchase.

This was an amazing offer, as I couldn’t find the Nokia 6310i free on any network for less than £25 a month. Other sites I had visited included www.needamobile.co.uk, http://www.theorder.co.uk and
www.themobilerepublic.co.uk where the Nokia 6310i would only be free at a monthly cost of at least £25-£30 or if you wanted to pay a lower monthly fee this would mean that the phone would no longer be free and would be priced at around £80.

* cashback has special terms attached to it –see below

My rating: 5/5

DELIVERY

The site has free delivery and all handsets are delivered usually next working day by courier. I got mine within 2 days. However, the accessories were not sent with the handset as they are shipped out separately under ordinary post.

My rating: 5/5

CUSTOMER SERVICES

I had to contact Onestopphoneshop via e-mail regarding the accessories, as I had not received them after a week as they were awaiting stock. The response to my e-mail was a bit slow I think they took a few days, and I had to telephone customer services to make sure they had received my e-mail.

Onestopphoneshop offer all customers 3 months free insurance through Citymain administrators. I recently had to contact Citymain based in London as my handset got damaged and the service wasn’t very helpful or friendly and there was £25 excess, needless to say I wont be pursuing my claim as its so minor and I will be changing insurers. My advice to you would be to take the 3 free months insurance and then make sure you cancel this insurance before the start of the 4th month or else you will be charged £4.99 a month.

My rating: 3/5

* CASHBACK – Does it really pay?

I’m sure you want to know whether they really give you cash back. Each cashback deal has special terms attached to it, which you must adhere to be able to claim the full cash back. For example my cash back deal offers me £80 cashback which is payable to me in 2 instalments, I can claim half (£40) after 3 months and the remaining £40 after another 3 months. And I’m pleased to tell you I have recently received my first £40 cheque!
This is why I waited 3 months before I wrote this opinion just so I could let you know the cash back worked.

It’s really simple to do; just send a copy of your latest airtime bill, which will prove you are still on the same tariff to Onestopphoneshop. Make sure you read your terms and conditions carefully as there are usually time limits attached to these cashback offers; e.g. claim within 45 days. It also didn’t take them long to process my cash back claim I received a cheque in my name within 2 weeks.

My rating: 5/5

In summary I’d say Onestophoneshop have large range of contract mobile phones with some fantastic deals with real offers of cashback. The phones can be ordered easily online or by telephone with next day delivery. The offers are changing daily and the site is constantly updated so its worth checking to see if the phone you want is available at the best price and tariff for your lifestyle. Recommended.

http://www.onestopphoneshop.co.uk

Connoisseur_haggler©ciao 2004