Page 1 of BA: NEC E616V with £15 credit AND extras - only £29.99

PLEASE NOTE: There`s a lot to take in with this (very long) post but it really should be read from start to finish if you are to get the best out of it.

This phone has been a top seller on Amazon at £39.99 for a while now. However, just yesterday it turned up on Carphone Warehouse`s web site for only £29.99. Okay, so their website makes no explicit mention of the £15 call credit. However, I have yet to find a 3Pay PAYG phone that doesn`t come with this credit actually pre-loaded onto the SIM provided (with the exception of some refurbished models from Superdrug) and Carphone Warehouse never seem to mention the credit that comes with all their 3 handsets.

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NON-AFFILIATE LINK TO E616V PRODUCT PAGE HERE:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?H1CE511F9
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However, if you think that`s where this bargain ends, you`ve got another thing coming. Afterall, this wouldn`t be the Christmas season without some kind of crazy gift from the networks to entice you to use their services more freely.

On closer inspection, it seems that 3 are running a promotion that offers you what they call a Christmas Gift Pack for FREE with every 3Pay handset purchased after 01 November. The gift pack has to be activated before 06 January. From what I can tell, it seems to offer you free content for a month as well as 20 minutes of free video calls and 20 free video messages. This seems to be precisely what is included in what they call a Video Value Add-On which normally costs £5 per month with a contract phone. Anyway, have a long hard look at this Carphone Warehouse Network Promotions page and the 3 web site for more information and to see this offer with your own eyes and convince yourself that it is what I believe it to be.

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CPW`s NETWORK PROMOTIONS PAGE HERE (non-affiliate link):
http://makeashorterlink.com/?R2DE511F9

THREEE`S WEBSITE HERE:
http://www.three.co.uk
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Update: I`ve been looking high and low for ages for irrefutable (explicitly stated) proof of the inclusion of everything stated above in the giftpack (most places are silent on the free video calls/messages and CPW just has a picture that seems to imply that they might be included) and I`ve finally found it on Phones4U`s website. Have a look at the text that goes along with their LG8120. It quite clearly states the following: Between 01.11.04 and 06.01.05 all ThreePay mobiles come with a free Christmas gift pack (preloaded on the SIM), which gives you 30 days of free entertainment, goals and music, plus 20 mins 3 to 3 video calls and 20 minutes 3 to 3 video messages. Absolutely superb - this must surely rank as the most useful and cost-effective presents that anyone could send their otherwise distant UK relatives, even if only for the video chat on Xmas Day and the fun to be had with the freebies and the pre-loaded credit for the rest of the festive season.



Now surely this is reason enough to buy TWO of these darned handsets and send one to your relatives with instructions to activate it on Christmas Day just so you can exchange 40 minutes of FREE video banter between you (20 minutes on each handset) after you`ve finished Christmas dinner. You will then STILL have the ability to send silly video messages to each other throughout the day and happily scour the content that 3 provides - all this before you`ve even touched the £15 of credit that came with the phone.

Anyway...the combination of Carphone Warehouse`s price and 3`s insane Christmas freebie means this is sure to be a very short-lived offer as the NEC E616V is actually a very well-specified phone that rivals the Nokia 7600 and the LG8120 in my books. I feel it`s going to be one of those "when it`s gone it`s gone" kind of deals.

Money saving tip 1: Amazingly enough, the NEC E616V is a very feature-rich handset and it also includes bluetooth. Therefore, if you want a bluetooth handset on 3 contract but don`t fancy the Nokia 7600 because of it`s weird design, I would suggest getting the £4.99/month Nokia 7600 deal from E2Save or Carphone Warehouse and one of these PAYG handsets from Carphone Warehouse. You can then use the more sensible looking NEC E616V as your contract handset and sell on the Nokia 7600 along with the preloaded PAYG SIM that comes with the E616V as a complete PAYG package.

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NON-AFFILIATE LINK TO E2SAVE`S £4.99/MNTH NOKIA 7600 CONTRACT DEAL HERE:
http://www.e2save.com/mobile/phones/disphandset.php?network=three&handset=7600

NON-AFFILIATE LINK TO CPW`S £4.99/MNTH NOKIA 7600 CONTRACT DEAL HERE:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?L28D25AB9
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Money saving tip 2: Alternatively, if you already have the above (or a similar) 3 contract, at under £30 it would also be the most cost-effective handset insurance you could buy to replace your Nokia 7600 in the unlikely event that you break or lose it. Why not buy one now as a spare handset and put it in your bottom draw ready for that day when the unexpected might happen. Mobile handsets rarely come this cheap!

Money Saving Tip 3: To demonstrate how cheap this handset really is, have a look at what people are prepared to pay for it on Ebay at the moment. It really beggars belief. What planet must they be on? Maybe once you`ve finished with your free fun on Christmas day with the relatives and run down your remaining credit you could just pop it on eBay. I don`t believe for one minute that you`d still be able to command such a price by then but you really ought to be able to get most, if not all, of your money back. However, in teh spirit of Christmas cheer, let`s not have people buying 100 of these things just to sell `em straight away at a vast profit on eBay as that really would spoil eveyone`s Christmas (especially if stock runs short).

HtH
Reestit Mutton
--
If you`re happy to use it,
I also have an affiliate link for this deal on my website:
http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~lauriem/latest_additions.html#0512200401

This item was edited on Sunday, 5th December 2004, 05:36

Thanks Reestit - I`ve ordered one for me and my wife using your affiliate link as it does seem an excellant buy.

The only problem with 3 is that it is expensive for an occasional user. Is it possible to cheaply use my Orange PAYG sim card in this phone once the free calls etc expire?

From what I have seen it seems that one needs to have the phone unlocked. Does anyone know what is the cheapest way to transfer to Orange yet keep maximum functionality on this phone?

Many thanks in advance :)

Unlocking isn`t enough - it will need to be locked down to a 2G signal otherwise it will try and look for a 3G signal by default and find one but be refused access as Orange authenticates its 3G network such that 2G sims are barred.

Once the phone has found a 3G network it won`t bother looking for a 2G one to back off to as it is only designed to do this if NO 3G signal exists, not if one exists but it`s barred from using it.

Unfortunately, while some people claim to be able to unlock these handsets, noone can yet force it onto 2G....maybe in time though...you never know.

The only 3G handsets that can (with a factory reset) be locked onto 2G are the Nokia 7600 and the Motorola A835.

However...once you`ve both had your fun with all the Christmas freebies and the pre-loaded credit, I`d be very surprised if you couldn`t reclaim your original outlay by just selling it off on ebay as a second-user handset.

HtH
Reestit Mutton

This item was edited on Monday, 6th December 2004, 00:55

Thanks for the prompt reply Reestit :)

I decided to cancel the order in the end as we are only occasional users; but a great spot for those who are regular users.

The 3Pay system is a bit mean in their definition of Pay as You Go as the minimum voucher is £15 which clears after 30 days with no carryover.

I wonder if there is another network apart from 3Pay it can connect to where the credit carries over without clawback ?

This item was edited on Monday, 6th December 2004, 12:01

Rees...that videocall/videomessage part of the deal is now being advertised by 3 on TV (Sky anyways) so looks like you could be totally right about the whole deal as you expected it to be.

Jimbo : oÞ

Thanks RM - looked everywhere for one of these and all sold out over the last week - high street and online - my teenage brat girl wants this phone and no other because all her friends have one (this years bargain phone) - ive been watching these posts for bargains for the past month or so and keep missing out - but today ive got me the phone i need - again many thanks and you saved me some money if I get the £15 creds.

Guys

Take a look at The Link`s website. They`ve got this phone on PAYG for £29.99 also, but they are charging an extra £15 for the talktime that is "preloaded onto the handset once activated". Total charge £44.99

Grab them from CPW wjilst you can!!

Just received email from CPW stating:

Quote:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for purchasing with Carphone Warehouse Online,
This email is concerning your order placed for the NEC 616V placed between
the 2nd and 6th December 2004 advertised at £29.99. Unfortunately, this
price did not include the £15 voucher, which is attached to all of our 3
phones purchased on three pay. This brings the price of the phone up to
£44.99 (inc £15 voucher).
We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.
What can I do now?
. Proceed with order
If you wish to proceed with the order, you do not need to do anything. We
will process your order as soon as stock arrives. If you paid for a
scheduled delivery then this will be adhered to.
. Cancel your order
If you do not wish to proceed with this order please request a cancellation
on 0208-896-5400 (select option 2 from the menu). We would advise you not to
send any cancellation requests by e-mail as there may be a delay in
processing your request due to a system error.

So that means if I don`t cancel then they will continue and charge me and extra £30!!

I am on the phone cancelling as well speak, they are making some money off my call as well, not happy

Just report them to the ASA don`t even bother to respond to this piece of garbage, if they charge you extra it`s just more amunition for your claim against them, its clean cut they cannot hype the price like this, you haven`t authorised any payment over £29.99, the worst they could do is strip the £15 credit from the phone plus any other deals that come with it and somehow I can`t see that happening, better still make your complaint to ASA then phone/email them and tell them it`s ok you don`t want the credit if you like, just to make sure you get the handset and fight for it afterwards your going to win that`s for sure!

What to do!!!

1, Confimation note said total £29.99 but carphonewarehouse took £44.99 out of my account without even consulting me!!

2, They sent me the older NEC 616, but the receipt shows it as being the 616V

3, The package did not include the free video for a month Christmas promo.

4, When I rang the sales team they apologised and said they would send me a jiffy bag so I could return the phone and have my money back, BUT I would have to pay the postage!!!!!

So I need some suggestions as to what to do cos I am miffed.