quote:
Originally posted by saralk
If you buy your phone on Pay as you go* then you are signing no contract.
* Pay as You Go is a scheme in some countries where you dont pay a fixed monthly fee, but "top-up" the balance on your phone, when you want to, the cost of subsequent calls are deducted from your balance
That has nothing to do with it. We are not talking about the payment plan for the service. We're talking about buying the phone itself.
quote:
Originally posted by traxor
Thats what I thought aswell, when a phone company sells you their phone, you're purchasing that phone for your use, that phone is no longer theirs, afaik,
No, it isn't their phone anymore, but you still "signed" a contract by buying the phone of that company.
quote:
Originally posted by traxor
Unlocking is not illegal on pay as you go for the same reason you said. No contracts have been signed
Wrong. You and saralk are confussing the actual phone service with the selling of the phone. Both are different things (but often done together).
1) you need to buy a phone
This can be done everywhere. But most phones offered are linked to some service company; they include a sim card (pay 'n go) from a certain service provider.
By buying the phone which includes a sim card from a certain service provider, you actual "sign" a contract with that service provider.
It can be that these phones are relativly cheaper then if you would've bought them without an included sim card from a certain service provider. If this is the case, then those phones are simlocked to that service company. You can't put a simcard from another service company in to the phone. Unlocking that is illegal because of the things I've said in my previous post.
2) you need to puchase a phone service plan if it is not included (Pay 'n Go, Prepaid, Factuartion, whatever, ...). If it is not included, your phone is not simlocked to any service company.
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