Having decided on a Samsung Galaxy S on T-Mobile, the next step was to find the best deal.
It wasn’t hard. Affordable Mobiles were offering an 18 month contract for 300 minutes/300 texts at £29 for the handset and only £25 per month including “unlimited” data. In practice that data plan is subject to a “fair usage” limit of 1GB per month, as opposed to 3GB for contracts taken out direct with T-Mobile, but I expected my normal usage to fall well within that. So I signed up and also ordered the Krusell leather case from Mobile Fun.
The case turned up a few days later but no phone to put in it. I rang Affordable Mobiles, quoted my order reference and asked when my phone would be despatched. I was told they were newly out of stock (this had not been indicated on their website) but more handsets were expected very soon, certainly in the next 5-7 days.
I believed them, and waited. Occasionally I would call and check on progress. They were always charming but there was always an excuse why the phone was not available. There had been some software issue and stocks had been pulled. Or some other excuse, none of which resonated with anything I could find on the web.
My own suspicion is that the deal had been a loss leader for publicity and they did not actually intend to sell any phones on those terms. Of course, I cannot prove that and I might be wrong. It’s just my interpretation.
I cancelled my order and bought a Galaxy S direct from T-Mobile. This was a couple of months ago now. T-Mobile were very helpful and did their level best to match the Affordable Mobiles deal. I am on a £30pm contract instead of £25, and the upfront handset charge was the same.
The phone arrived next day. Magically, T-Mobile had a plentiful supply.
