Does the Free Flex offer really worth it?

Free has set up a new offer of smartphone rentals.If you are interested, here are the few details to keep in mind before you start.

On Tuesday, July 6, 2021, Free unveiled its new Free Flex offer which seeks to put some "transparency" in your telephone bills.Rather than melting the purchase price of a mobile in that of a package, the operator wishes to decorrect the two invoices, by allowing its customers to rent a mobile over 24 months with monthly payments from those of the package.

Free's idea is to avoid inflating the price of packages, which end up after costing much more than the price of the phone.But is the free buy (LOA) rental program (LOA) of Free?

Do we really pay the cash price?

According to the Free press release, "the total price paid with Free Flex is the same as by paying it at once in cash".No entouroupe so you will not pay your mobile more than if you had bought it without help.But there are still a few nuances to bring.

First, the mobile does not automatically belong to you after 24 months.As the small lines of the contract explain this well, "at the end of the 24 months, you have the choice between returning your mobile or acquiring it by paying the amount of the purchase option".If you do not decide, there will be "tacit extension of the contract for successive periods of one month".

In other words, without intervention on your part you will continue to pay rental fees even though your monthly payments have reimbursed a large part of the mobile.After a few months, it will be more expensive to continue to rent than exercise your purchase option.It will therefore be necessary to be attentive since no alert mechanism is planned when you arrive at the end of your 24 months.

Is this a good plan?

If you were solving your contract after 24 months, you should not pay more than if you had bought the phone at the time of your subscription.But spreading your payment over 24 months also has some disadvantages.If you decide to rent the Redmi 9a for example, you will pay € 35 first payment, then € 2.99 per month for 24 months and € 12 of purchase option if you want to keep the mobile.Total cost of the operation: € 118.76, the recommended sale price of mobile.

Except that many Android mobiles see their price drop after the first months of marketing.The Redmi 9a is for example already within € 100 on some sites.After 24 months, you will probably have paid more than if you had bought the phone at once while enjoying a good plan.

The Free Flex offer is already accessible on the internet and in stores

Finally, and this is not to be overlooked, the price of the first payment necessary for the rental of certain mobiles takes into account the promotions in progress.To rent a Galaxy S21 for example, Free explains that it will take € 179 as a first rent.In reality, an interested person will have to pay € 279 to Free and can then request a reimbursement offer of € 100 from Samsung (offer valid until 08/15/21).In fact, it will therefore be necessary to get out of almost 300 € before being reimbursed 100 € in a second step.

What's going on in the event of problems?

The former free rental offer had been at the heart of a controversy in 2019, when the UFC-Que Choisir had decided to attack Free because of the abusive costs exerted in the event of a cessation of the offer.The consumer defense association believed that the operator sometimes invoiced the smartphone wear costs without proof.

On the subject, Free told us this time that "if the subscriber wishes to restore his mobile rather than keep it, only the damage attributable to improper use (excluding breakdowns or wear) are subject to compensation, which is capped at the amountof the purchase option to the maximum ”.And in the event of concerns during the 24 -month period, "the subscriber has the possibility of having his mobile repaired in a partner network or selecting another smartphone after having sold the rest to be paid.»»

There is no doubt that the UFC-Que Choisir will remain attentive to Free's practices on the subject.

Finally, is it worth it?

Free's offer respects the promise of "transparency" since the rental is beautiful and independent of the package.So much so that it is quite possible to terminate your Free package while continuing to take advantage of the rental offer offered by the operator.

But beyond transparency issues, the free rental offer is not revolutionizing much.Spreading payment over 24 months allows you to afford a high -end mobile with easier, but you have to be aware of the system limits and read the small lines well.

Free Flex is cut for the public who wants to afford a phone, without worrying about hunting good deals, and which remains attentive to the monthly costs linked to such programs.

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