O2 has announced that from today it will begin automatically halving the bills of 1.5 million customers, saving them a combined total of up to £324 million. The custom-ers, who all signed up to O2’s industry-leading O2 Refresh 24 month tariff, will see their bills drop by an average of £18 per month as they finish paying for their phone over the next twelve months.
Automatic savings of £216 a year
The savings come as O2 Refresh approaches its second anniversary. Originally launched in April 2013, the ground-breaking tariff transformed the way people buy mobile phones by separating the cost of their phone from the cost of their minutes, texts and data. As well as giving customers complete control over their monthly spend, O2 Refresh also allows customers to change devices whenever they want, without penalty, and automatically lowers their bills once they’ve paid for their phone. As a result, customers who signed up for O2 Refresh in 2013 and have chosen not to upgrade their phone will begin to save an average £18 a month, or £216 a year.
The reduced bills and increased flexibility reveals O2 Refresh as the most cost-effective contract on the market, especially for customers who want to upgrade early or, crucially, keep their phone for longer than two years. A YouGov study of 2,000 consumers, commissioned by O2, revealed that 52% of customers are happy keeping their devices for longer and so risk paying for a phone they already own unless they change contracts immediately after 24 months. Unlike those on traditional contracts, O2 Refresh customers automatically see their bills reduced as soon as their phone is paid off.
No additional fees to upgrade
“It’s been two years since we disrupted the market with O2 Refresh and we’re proud to be halving the bills of up to 1.5 million O2 customers over the coming year,” said Nina Bibby, Marketing and Consumer Director at O2 in the UK.
“We believe customers shouldn’t have to continue to pay for a phone they’ve already paid off, which is why O2 Refresh gives them complete transparency and control over their monthly bill. A cash savvy student will love the option to halve their bill, whereas a gadget lover is much more likely to enjoy the opportunity to upgrade their phone without having to pay any additional fees to end their contract.”
How O2 Refresh saves you money
A customer buys a Apple iPhone 6 16GB on O2 Refresh, chooses to pay £18 per month for their Airtime Plan and gets unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB of data. They then choose to pay £25 per month for their Phone Plan and pay £29.99 up front, meaning their combined O2 Refresh tariff costs £43 per month.
If the customer chooses to keep this phone for two years, their Phone Plan will au-tomatically end after 24 months and their bill will be reduced to just £18 per month. If they choose to upgrade early, they will only need to pay the remainder of their Phone Plan and will not have to pay any extra termination charges.
To find out more about O2 Refresh, visit o2.co.uk/refresh.