Recycling your old mobile phone and getting paid for it

I have had a couple of old mobile phones rattling around for a while. Fortunately I know that they can be recycled and best of all I get a bit of dosh for it.

I’ve compiled the best payers for you, the golden rule is try a few to see who’ll give you the most for your phone. In one comparison where two companies said one old phone was worthless, a third was prepared to pay £20; for another phone the amounts varied from £25 to £75. So don’t give up too soon.

For phones in good condition:

• Fast, high paying and reliable. Web only company Envirofone pays an alright sum, though not the best prices, but wins due to its simple procedure and strong feedback from websites such as moneysavingexpert.com. Enter the phone’s details and it instantly gives you a price. This is either paid in cash (by cheque) or you can opt for roughly 15% more in Argos points. It also donates £1 to charity per phone.
• The highest payer for high spec mobiles in top notch condition. Cex comes out top for many higher value models, because rather than ship your phones abroad, it simply tarts them up and sells them to others. But this means it’s very picky about the phone’s condition. To sell your item simply click on ‘Sell to CEX’ at the top of the page. It won’t send you a jiffy bag, you’ll have to bundle it up yourself. Yet if it’s good enough you could consider flogging it yourself (see Alternative methods).

Damaged phones:

• Envirofone, Mopay and Mobilephonebuyer will look at non-working phones, offering a reduced price for these (expect to get around 10-50% of the working price) or at the very least will re-cycle them for you. Alternatively Greener Solutions (who also run Mobile2cash) works in partnership with Tesco and offers 100 Clubcard points (worth £4 in Deals vouchers) for non-working phones or donates £1 to Tesco’s current charity. Disposal bags are available from Tesco customer services.
• There’s also a mobile recycling scheme operated via Nectar which pays out its points, but it usually doesn’t come close to the best of the cash payers, so it’s best left as a last resort.