Quick Mobile Contract Question

My contract with Verizon back in the States was for $35/mo, but when all the taxes and additional charges were added it was well over $45.  Does it work the same way here?  If a contract was for 25/month, would it actually cost 25/month or would there normally be additional charges that would need to be figured in?

If you stay within your contracted minutes/texts, you should be OK. My contract is for something like 35 a month and I'm usually within a couple quid of that unless I make an unusual number of calls. For me the key is to have a relatively simple contract - like to have "anytime" minutes, etc. rather than a certain number of off-peak minutes, a certain number of "anytime" minutes, and all that....

Exactly what I needed to know...thanks Anne! 

VAT will be added at 17.5 per cent, and you may have insurance added but that is optional.

Vicky

Is VAT always added, V? For some reason I think mine is included if I stay within the contracted amount. I'm sure there have been months when I haven't gone over the 35 that I'm contracted for.... 

Unlkess they quoted you including VAT.  But it will definitely be on your bill.

Vicky

17.5% is a hefty addition...I'm on a fairly tight budget.  I'm digging through the website to see if it specifies before I commit to anything.  They may not approve me anyway for lack of credit history in the UK. 

17.5% is a hefty addition...I'm on a fairly tight budget.  I'm digging through the website to see if it specifies before I commit to anything.  They may not approve me anyway for lack of credit history in the UK. 

I dont use my mobile all that much because we have a pretty cheap land-line at home... so I have pay-as-you-go and as long as I top up £10 every month I get 300 free text messages... and ALOT of people text over here rather than call, so it comes in very handy. Your not obligated to top-up ever, you just do it when you have the cash or when you need more credit.  My pay-as-you-go is with O2 and phone calls to other O2 customers are really cheap, but when you call people on other networks it can get expensive. 

I think the point being questioned though is those mandatory extras which are added to the basic amount in the U.S. and "nickel-&-dime" the bill until it's nearly double the basic rate -- Federal excise tax, universal service fee, state 911 tax, local 911 tax, etc. 

You don't get any of that here.  The 17.5% VAT (which may or may not be included in the quoted price -- check carefully) is the only mandatory extra.

I think that VAT is usually included in the quoted price - at least it often is when it is an advertised offer (otherwise I'm sure people would complain about the advertised price being inaccurate).

I would recommend getting a pay-as-you-go phone, if you can.  I got a contract mobile because the phone was free, but plan on switching to a pay-as-you-go once the contract is up.

I think I'm on a £30/month plan, but it almost always comes to about £40 with taxes.  I also don't use all of the minutes every month, which is a pain and a waste of £.

I think the point being questioned though is those mandatory extras which are added to the basic amount in the U.S. and "nickel-&-dime" the bill until it's nearly double the basic rate -- Federal excise tax, universal service fee, state 911 tax, local 911 tax, etc. 

You don't get any of that here.  The 17.5% VAT (which may or may not be included in the quoted price -- check carefully) is the only mandatory extra.

That's exactly what I was asking about.  And VAT is included in the quoted price for the contract I ended up going with, so I'm a happy camper! 

Thanks for your responses, everyone!

I believe the rule about VAT in advertising is that if you are selling to consumers (who wouldn't be registered for VAT) you are expected to quote inclusive prices. Prices excluding VAT should only be quoted in business contexts, because only businesses would care about the VAT-exclusive price.

That's not to say that there aren't people who do it, but it's the reason why if you go to the Argos website all the prices are VAT-inclusive. If you go to dabs.com, their consumer website is VAT-inclusive; their business website VAT-exclusive. It should always be made clear though.

That's exactly what I was asking about. 

You do know that the federal telephone excise tax was declared illegal and you can claim a refund don't you?

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=164032,00.html

(Isn't that good?  The tax goes right back to the Spanish-American war and Uncle Sam is "generously" going to allow you a refund all the way back into the dim distant past of 2003.....  )

I believe the rule about VAT in advertising is that if you are selling to consumers (who wouldn't be registered for VAT) you are expected to quote inclusive prices.

I think the key word there is "expected" rather than "rule."   It's been a while since I've studied the VAT guides in detail, but I don't think there has ever been anything requiring VAT-inclusive prices in general for things aimed at the end consumer rather than businesses.   It's the norm here for price tags in stores to show tax-inclusive prices, but so far as I'm aware there would be nothing to stop stores putting up "£19.99 plus VAT" or "£19.99 excl. VAT" if they wanted to (other than public opposition which would most likely encourage them not to do so).

I read an article on MSN today about the extra charges that US cell phone companies charge. It says not all of the charges are government imposed, such as taxes etc
a lot of them are charged by the cell phone company to pass on the cost of doing business. This is done a lot by car rental companies as they charge for everything to pass on the renter. Airport fees, auto registration fees and there is a long list of charges that have nothing to do with government taxes. Imagine if every supplier did the same thing? Charge for bagging, electricity, checkers, parking, after hours charge. They could have field day. but as has already been said here the public would not except (cost not including VAT) advertising of prices on clothing for example.
A lot of UK tourists feel they are being ripped off in their change in the US when they don't know about sales tax not being included in the posted price on items for sale.