wrote:

The SIM might be useless but you could still have given away or sold 400 quids
worth of phone and then claimed you lost it and got a free replacement.
Even if they block the IMEI number most smartphones can still use wifi.

Who said you get a free phone? You would have to obtain a new one the same
way you would if you didn't get a new number, either by buying one (as I
did when I broke a phone mid contract) or you insure it and claim on your
insurance.

Uninsured, it was the same as buying a new one without a contract, you buy
a PAYG one for the network you have a contract with and put the SIM in it.

Neil
--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply.