CA investigates: Free laptop deals

If you’ve watched commercial television recently you might have noticed dozens of adverts offering ‘free’ notebook computers to people who sign up to a broadband internet contract.

Most of us know the saying ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’, and so treat such offers with a degree of scepticism. But how much do free notebooks really cost their owners, and are they worth accepting in the first place?

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The truth of the matter is that these free notebook deals work in the same way as mobile phone contracts. Many of us are used to getting a free phone worth a few hundred pounds as an enticement when we sign up to a new phone contract.

The benefit of this is clear ­ we get a fancy new phone to use ­ but we also know that there’s a downside: we’ll have to commit to paying for a phone contract that lasts 12, 18 or even 24 months. We also know that we can’t keep the phone, or cancel the contract before it expires unless we pay the outstanding amount.

All the ‘free notebook’ deals currently available work in exactly the same manner. In order to get the notebook computer, you’ll need to sign up to a contract. ­ Normally this is either for a mobile broadband service or normal broadband.

This leads us to the first key point to consider ­ do you actually need or wish to move to a new broadband service? You should only consider these deals any further if the answer is next.

If you simply want a new computer and don’t need broadband or are happy with your current service, a ‘free’ notebook will always end up costing more. For example, every one of the 10 top deals listed on PC World’s website will cost significantly more over the two-year contract than the notebook itself would cost to buy outright.

If you simply want a notebook computer, and cannot afford to pay the full cost upfront, then a traditional credit purchase will often offer better value.

For example, when we wrote this article PC World was offering a free Sony Vaio VGN NR38M/S laptop if you chose a £40 per month, two-year mobile broadband contract. With the PC worth £450, the total cost of the deal is £960.