‘I’ve saved €720 on my phone’

Mother-ofone Helen McNulty switched her contract phone after 15 years and compared it to “trying to get out of a cult” but her new pay-as-you-go mobile saves her €720 a year.

She has just switched from a Vodafone contract to a Three pre-pay phone for €15 a month and despite having to top up every four weeks, she couldn’t be happier with her choice.

“I’d been with Vodafone for 15 years,” said Ms McNulty (40), who runs a marketing, storytelling and art company, HelenMcNulty. com. “Trying to get out of a contract is like trying to get out of a cult but I got there and I’m delighted.

“I was waiting for nearly a year to get out of contract to do it. I didn’t find customer service was good and I often couldn’t get a signal from my home.

“And I wanted to save money. The contract phone was a major restriction. The cost was so high, yet the service was so bad.

“Now, I can get a signal up the hills, and I couldn’t get a signal for six-and-a-half years from Vodafone.”

During the first lockdown the necessity to save became more apparent for Ms McNulty, from Rathdrum, Co Wicklow. She had to care full-time for her three-yearold daughter Venus, which meant less time to run her business.

When childcare reopened, she was able to devote her days to the company. And she is delighted at the savings she has made by switching.

“With the savings, I ended up buying a social media app to allow me to schedule all my business posts.”

The contacted Vodafone for a comment but the company did not respond.

Laura Lynott