Can anyone figure out the cheapest way to obtain an iPhone 5?
I'm thinking perhaps buy on Virgin and cancel after 6 months, but having a hard time figuring out what the "balance of the Equipment Charge" would be. The amount shown on their website for "phone payment" per month is a very small amount, and presumably only applies while paying the normal monthly tariff. Also note their link to "Phone Repayment Credits" is not working.
Incorrect.
2) Leave any time, just pay all outstanding charges (billed & unbilled) + balance of the Equipment Charge + $250 if you leave in the 1st 6 months.
This is correct. I just closed a plan that had 5 months left and i only had to pay out the remaining handset charge (which was $180) and whatever I already owed.
You have to pay all billed and unbilled charges, ie you still have to pay out your contracted amount/month for service as well as the amount/month for phone repayments.
Optus closed that loophole with the iPhone 4
Incorrect.
alwayscheaper has it below..
$1,056 (Equipment Charge)
ie after 6 months, the equipment charge would be $1056-$108= $948 (using the cheapest plan option)
With 18 months left, you don't just pay 18 times the phone repayments, you pay the "equipment charge", they are different things.
For my iPhone 4, its $36.58/month (shows up on my bill), so if the iphone 5 was the same, 18 month left would mean 18 * $36.58 leaving you to pay $658.44 to cancel the contract.
You wouldn't just pay $5 * 18 or something.
Correct. But how do we find out what that amount is for the iPhone 5? The Website does not make it explicit.
Isn't it in 1) it is quite clear:
the cost of the Apple iPhone 5 16GB is $1,056 (Equipment Charge), the Apple iPhone 5 32GB is $1,200, and the Apple iPhone 5 64GB is $1,368
It is cheaper in a plan because of virgin giving a "repayment credit".
Pretty much what alwayscheaper said, it's 1) in "The Fine Print" at the bottom of the website linked above.
Why isn't the cheapest way to obtain it to buy it outright?
It is cheaper in a plan because of virgin giving a "repayment credit".
But this doesn't seem correct as per:
after 6 months, the equipment charge would be $1056-$108= $948 (using the cheapest plan option)
leaving you with a larger expense than just buying it outright.
He's trying to replicate the scam that was running with the iPhone 4 on Optus where you could go on contract, pay out the contract immediately and get a phone for (from memory) about $200 less than retail.
Which phone company let you cancel your contracted plan?? You can cancel the service but I guess you still gotta pay the plan monthly fee plus phone monthly fee, you even need to pay a transfer fee to transfer the plan to others.
FYI here is the virgin mobile iphone 5 plan, which looks more expensive than optus/ vodafone.
http://www.virginmobile.com.au/iphone/?i_cid=1001000