"Free" phones with contract not free at all

[Guest seanspotatobusiness]

Does it bother anyone else that phones that comes as part of a contract are advertised as being free even though this isn't at all the case? I have many friends who engage in contacts wherein they pay hundreds ($ or £) more than if they bought the phone outright and got a good SIM-olny deal. I don't mind that the offers are there but I do mind that the phones are advertised as "free" which they are clearly not!

 

Maybe the retailers should also be required to indicate the total amount payable, although, in honesty I cannot fathom why people cannot do the maths (math) themselves!

[Guest andybarker]

It's often a case of convenience.  Effectively you are getting a loan for the phone, and paying it off over the term of the contract.