Brand new customers only!

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 1:58 pm

Today i called my mobile (cell) phone company Voda, to ask would it

be possible to upgrade my phone free as i'd been with them 5 years

as my phone was knackered.

I was stunned when they told me no, that they could only give out the

Nokia phone i wanted to brand new customers only!

What happened to good old customer relations?

After the poor service i'm getting from vauxhall and then to be fobbed

off by Voda, i feel as though i'm getting a rough deal.

Needless to say i told them to shove it where the sun dont shine,

and i'll go elsewhere and get the phone i want and probably a better deal.

I'd have thought they would have been clamouring for business,

obviously not!

Jives · Post by **Jives** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 2:01 pm

Use their own system against them, Abbey! Cancel your current account, wait one day, then walk in and tell them you are a new customer!:D

It works for me all the time!

Jives · Post by **Jives** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 2:03 pm

One of my friends who's a cable installation guy says you have to learn to play the game. New cable customers get a free upgrade to HBO and other pay channels for the first three months.

So every three months, I call and cancel my account, then I drive down to the store and set up a new one! Viola! Free HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime for another quarter year!:wah:

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 2:05 pm

Jives wrote: Use their own system against them, Abbey! Cancel your current account, wait one day, then walk in and tell them you are a new customer!:D

It works for me all the time!I did think of that J, but was'nt sure they would accept it.

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 2:13 pm

flopstock wrote: Wasn't there something passed recently that allows you to keep your phone number if you switch to another carrier?:-3Yes, you can take your number with you, you have to give them 30 days notice.

Ideally i want to stay with voda, i dunno, maybe i've been a little rash

in telling them i want to cancel.

I took my frustrations out on them, i always do this, back down, i'm a wimp!

venus · Post by **venus** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 3:09 pm

Hey Abbet rough week, but look on the bright side! Your probably using up your yearly quota of naff luck. Why don't you want to change? are you contract or pay as you go... There are lots of good deals out there, if you really dont want to change just threaten em with it.. So and so can give me this deal why should l stay with you!

As some one on the forum has as a quote if you dont ask you don't know, or close anyway!:rolleyes:

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 3:12 pm

venus wrote: Hey Abbet rough week, but look on the bright side! Your probably using up your yearly quota of naff luck. Why don't you want to change? are you contract or pay as you go... There are lots of good deals out there, if you really dont want to change just threaten em with it.. So and so can give me this deal why should l stay with you!

As some one on the forum has as a quote if you dont ask you don't know, or close anyway!:rolleyes:Hiya Venus, i've been on contract with them for 5 years.

I did threaten em but it did'nt wash, i'll try again tomorrow, thanks x

persephone · Post by **persephone** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 3:40 pm

Abbey :yh_hugs

Have you walked into a shop and seen what they say in there?

Every 12 months I upgrade my mobile with O2, just done it recently and I was allowed any except for the PDA things they do.

Mine is based on the contract I have at the time of upgrade, but I just got the new Sony Ericsson K750i (the one with a 2 mega pixel camera) for free.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 3:53 pm

Abbey,

Your getting the run around. If you have a contract you should be able to upgrade your phone yearly or every two years based on your contract. I would go into the store and raise hell..:-5

Jives, Hummm!! I wondered how the cable thing worked, now I will try your approach. I pay 98.00 a month for cable that includes all HBO channels and hundreds of others, but there has to be a cheaper package out there. So your saying they only offer the new sweet deals to new customers.. Not fair.. Thanks for the tip. I can play games with the best of them..:sneaky:

pink princess · Post by **pink princess** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 12:46 am

hey abbey

i used to be on vodafone but swicthed to o2, theyve been great never had any problems and for the sake of changing providers id do it....

its not worth paying for a new phone these days and if you do switch youll most likely get free minutes an texts thrown in as well.....

my other half is having the same problem with orange so hes cancelling is contract on sunday i think and then hes gonna come over to O2....

sometimes they will only let you upgrade for free depending on what your existing phone is and what your monthly bill is but the way i figure it is they make money hand over fist and if they can give a new customer the deal they should give it to me too..... so if they dont want to then fine, im gone!

if you really wanna stay with vodafone you could cancel your contract with them direct and then go to somewhere like carphone warehouse and resign to vodafone, your contract is with a different part of vodafone then but you will still have the same network coverage etc etc

actionfigurestepho · Post by **actionfigurestepho** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 2:56 pm

I used to sell cells so I can explain why you can't get the "free" phone...no it's not fair, but it does make a little sense.

Cell phones cost about $300-$400 retail. They're extremely sophisiticated. The reason you can get them for free when you're a new customer is because the company is expecting to make that money back. Think about it. You sign up for two years at $40 bucks a month, sure they can afford to give you a free phone. Now, I agree that if your phone is technically broken, they should have an option to buy a new one at a discounted price. Usually they'll have a one year warranty on new equipment. And usually they also have an insurance policy that will cover the life of your plan. The reason they can't just give people discounted phone prices for the heck of it is that people try to take advantage of it. They could lose a lot of money if they just handed over phones to customers. Remember, the retail price of these phones is several hundred dollars.

I agree that if your phone has broken down and you're past the warranty period, you should be able to get a deal on a new phone. But as someone mentioned earlier, by that time you might be able to upgrade early---don't go to the corporate store. Try an independent reseller. A lot of times they can do early upgrades at excellent prices after a year.

As far as switching plans, you may get a phone for free for another company, but remember that the other company might also have an activation fee! In some cases, if you can upgrade early you're saving money, and you might not have to change your plan!

I would also try eBay for used phones. But before you buy something, ask the seller for the serial number and call the phone company's customer service and make sure the serial number wasn't reported stolen!!!

ANITA0101 · Post by **ANITA0101** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 11:18 pm

I wish i were in UK now!I have a fine phone now here with me in China that i used in Sheffield later two years. I take back it to China and leave it in my drawer because it is too old style in China, another matter, it can't read Chinese. I can give it to u.:driving:

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 12:24 am

ANITA0101 wrote: I wish i were in UK now!I have a fine phone now here with me in China that i used in Sheffield later two years. I take back it to China and leave it in my drawer because it is too old style in China, another matter, it can't read Chinese. I can give it to u.:driving:That is very sweet of you Anita, we are a little behind with the times here in Britain.

I am going to have a look on line for a new phone, but thank you for the offer xx