O2 retentions - NOT!

mikeandwendy

Hi all,

After reading other threads I though I should follow up what I have been planning to do for some time - change to a more expensive inclusive calls tariff (I knew my calliing pattern is about to change a lot).

I have been with O2 since they were analogue BT Cellnet, and I have decided I need to change my tariff from an old off-peak minutes to a shiny new inclusive minutes one. It is over 18 months since I last upgraded and I am 6 months out of contract tie-in and my typicall bill is about £25 pm.

Called 'Retentions' and after a 10 minute queue (I know as my home phone has a call timer built in) I got through to a very helpful lady.

I wanted to consider the 600 minutes, 100 texts £35 per month tariff - I was in for a shock! I could have that tariff if I paid £179 for the Nokia N73 with no discounted months. I did say that I could get the same phone, same tarriff from The Link, Carphone Warehouse and others with that phone for free and three months half price rental (MSE's can possibly find a better deal ).

They were not interested in retaining me, even though I have been such a long standing customer - and I have paid reliably by Direct Debit for years and years... They said something about my call usage being too low - if that were the case I thought they would jump at the chance of me doubling my costs the them!

I was told that I should cancel my exisiting contract with a 30 days notice period, and take out another one at an O2 shop, citing loosing my number, etc (I told them I did not 'have' to keep the number).

All in all a very polite but most unhelpful conversation - it has annoyed me enough to write this! Retentions, what retentions!!!!

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions?

One very miffed customer of O2.

looby75

Phone up and talk to someone in the cancellations dept. You always always get better offers if you go to them rather than retentions. With retentions they know you want to stay so don't give that great offers, with the cancellations dept they know you want to go so they give you much better offers to entice you to stay. The people in the cancellations dept are much nicer too IME. To me it sounds like you got someone who is more intrested in getting home for the nite than doing their job.

Also pick a contract from another provider that supplies the mins you want for the price you want and quote it in detail when you phone up to give your 30 day notice. I would be gobsmacked if they don't offer to at least match it.

Good luck

Blue_Lou

I got 300mins and 100texts for 17.50 per month and a free sony ericson k810i

mikeandwendy

That is great. Thanks to Looby75, I tried calling cancellations and they have told me to cancel my existing contract and go into a phone shop and get a new one. I told them that it seemed daft to have to do that and it must be a way for them to increase 'connections at the expense of exisiting customers. Hoo, hummm, so much for customer service and loyalty.

gk172

Why dont you phone them and tell them you are leaving to go to another network, if they know they will get you back on another deal they might not be too fussed but if they think you are going to say 3 then they might do something. Call them and request your pac code or write a letter of cancellation 9/10 after that they get in touch trying to keep you;)

JoseChungsDoomsday

I'm in the same situation as you - my contract is up for renewal, been a customer 7 years and they quoted me £80 for a upgrade (it's only £50 new in their website) so i ploitely told them to get lost!

JimmyZ

I found that phoning to request a pac code was far better, I called the other day and said that i didn't intend to use it much and got shifted to the lowest tariff with an additional £10 discount so it worked out at £6 a month for 25 min + 125 texts (supposed to be 25 but bumped up to 125 as a "goodwill gesture" ) With the £100 resign credit for not having a new phone it works out at £28 profit over the year!

Pretty good methinks, especially when it still counts for 0800 numbers which is great cos i haven't got a home phone at my student digs!

laurajayne

TBH it doesn't always work (asking for a PAC that is).

I had a customer today, who was on o2 direct for years and years...we offered him the N73 on o2 for £50 with £35p/m line rental.

He then called o2 to get a PAC number, who tried to 'save' him - same tarriff, phone was £179.99!!!!!!

The moral of this story: always see what they will do - but do do your homework