Several schemes are now offering refurbished computers at very attractive prices. These are generally old ex-business fleet computers, but re-built, equipped with flat-panel displays and with new fully-legal software installed on them.

While some of these deals are available to anyone, others are only available to those on qualifying benefits. This is normally because the software vendor backing the scheme wants to ensure that the deep discounts offered are only to people in the specific targeted groups.

The very cheapest offer we’ve seen is £92 for a working system, but to run standard business software such as Word and Excel effectively you may need a slightly higher hardware specification and a reliable version of the Windows operating system. Here are some examples.

PC with 17in flat-screen monitor, 2.8 Ghz processor, 40Gb hard disk, Windows 7 operating system, Microsoft Office 2007 Home & Student (Word, Excel etc) – £137 from Remploy/Microsoft scheme for those on qualifying benefits (e.g. Jobseekers Allowance, Housing Benefit). Delivery and 30-day technical support is included in the price. Read more at Remploy e-cycle site Remploy are also offering a 1GB Pay-As-You-Go

Get Online @ Home is another Microsoft-backed campaign, this time with support from BT, the Post Office and mobile network 3 among others. Here a slightly less powerful PC bundle is offered at two prices – £165 for anyone, or £95 for those on qualifying benefits. This gets a 2GHz PC with 15in flat-screen monitor, Windows 7 and Microsoft Office Starter, which includes a reduced-functionality Word and Excel. More at Get Online @ Home site.
Mobile Internet doingle for this machine for £10.

An alternative approach to these corporate-backed refurbishment schemes – or eBay, is community-based direct recycling. Freegle is a good example with a strong UK-wide presence. These schemes recycle all sorts of things for free, not just computers. Local volunteer groups match people with stuff they want to give away with people who want to give it a new home, usually via a simple online process. Theoretically you could get a complete computer this way, but you’d probably need to try several groups before striking lucky. But for bulky items people might want to get rid of, like computer monitors, TVs and still serviceable old printers this approach may be worth investigating.

Rivals to Freegle include Ecobees and Freecycle – the big US-based parent Freegle originally split from. The commercial listings-site Gumtree is also worth a shot, having a big freebies section in addition to lots of second-hand items from all over the UK.