EE Swap ditches your contract for a brand new 4G phone
With EE's new Swap scheme, you could walk into an EE shop and walk out again with a brand new 4G smart phone -- for a fee, of course.
Bored of your blower? With EE's new Swap scheme, you could walk into an EE shop and walk out with a brand new 4G smart phone like the Samsung Galaxy S4 at a cut price.
From 17 September, if you're on contract with either 4G EE, Orange or T-Mobile, you can hand back your phone and swap to the latest 4G powerhouse of your choice for a discount fee.
You have to be at least six months into your current contract to trade in your current phone and you have to sign up for a two-year deal, but you can choose any 4G phone in the EE line-up. The fee you pay depends on which two-year plan you plump for.
Sign up to a new 4G deal costing £51 per month and the new phone will cost you £49. A £46 contract gets you a new phone for £129, a £41 deal costs £199, and a £36 monthly outlay means the new phone will set you back £249.
That might sound expensive, but bear in mind that ejecting from your current contract early always costs money, as most networks make you cough up the remainder of the money you would have paid. At least this way you get a new phone out of it.
Itchy feet
"With smart phones evolving at a breakneck pace, many mobile lovers get itchy feet when they’re tied into a lengthy contract," says mobile guru Ernest Doku of uSwitch. "Buying your way out of a contract has never been easy or cheap, but this scheme keeps things straightforward and relatively affordable.
“However, the one-off fee could prove to be a blessing and a curse. Customers looking to move just six months into a 24-month contract will be the winners, whereas those in sight of the finish line may feel hard done by."
To get your new phone, your current blower must be in decent nick, with no "significant" scratches, cracks or dents.
This is EE's first big announcement since O2 and Vodafone launched their own 4G LTE services. To decide which is best for you, check out our handy comparison of EE, O2, and Vodafone 4G price and data deals.
Are you tempted to sign up to EE or is there a better 4G deal elsewhere? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or trade them in for a like or two at our Facebook page.