Orange changing early upgrade period....

Dannyboi

Just been informed by Orange that they are changing their early upgrade policy from 90 days prior to contract end date to 45 days.

This starts from 1st May so anyone that is within that 90 day period better upgrade!

Amazed that Orange can do this to be honest... :mad:

gjchester

Dannyboi wrote: »

Amazed that Orange can do this to be honest... :mad:

Early upgrades are always at the networks discretion, if you go by the letter of the contract early upgrades don't exist.

That said Early upgrades generally are not great, the networks know you can’t leave for 2 more months without paying exit fee’s so offer ho-hum deals as well as adding the months to the end of your contract, so your 24 month contract may turn out to be 27 months...

Guys_Dad

I agree with GJ.

Early upgrades are there to satisfy those who MUST, simply MUST have the latest handset, irrespective of if it is a good deal or not, and, of course, means they have a 2 year contract added on to the end date of their current contract.

If you want to be financially savvy, you wait till you have the upper hand, not the network. That occurs when your initial period is up. At that point, you hold the cards.

But, of course, the reason why credit has spiralled out of control in this country is that many people have the "GIMME IT NOW" mentality.

So, I applaud Orange and would applaud them further if they got rid of the early upgrade facility altogether.

NFH

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Early upgrades are there to satisfy those who MUST, simply MUST have the latest handset, irrespective of if it is a good deal or not, and, of course, means they have a 2 year contract added on to the end date of their current contract.

Not always. I've "upgraded" from a £30/month 24-month iPhone tariff to a £7.50/month 12-month SIM-only contract, 2½ months before my contract finishes. My SIM-only contract is now 14-months, ending 12 months after the date that my 24-month iPhone tariff was due to finish. This means that I've saved £43.50 off the last 2½ months of the previous contract.

OIBOY_2

Cut and pasted from the Orange website

when can I upgrade my phone?


You can upgrade your phone when you're in the final 90 days of your contract, and choose a great new phone from our pay monthly range You'll be able to select a new monthly plan at the same time.
If you upgrade your phone before the end of your current contract, we'll add the days remaining on to the end of your new contract.




Surely this is a binding term and condition ? :T

grumbler

It would be binding IF

• it was in the T&

AND

• there was a clear definition of the term 'upgrade' in the T&C .

Otherwise they can easily give you a new handset with 1p discount from their PAYG price, add the remaining months to a new contract and say that they 'upgraded' you.

nikki__3

I think orange customers should have been sent a letter at least informing that they were changing their early upgrade policy. Typical, when i was due my early upgrade on may 1st!!!

Guys_Dad

NFH wrote: »

Not always. I've "upgraded" from a £30/month 24-month iPhone tariff to a £7.50/month 12-month SIM-only contract, 2½ months before my contract finishes. My SIM-only contract is now 14-months, ending 12 months after the date that my 24-month iPhone tariff was due to finish. This means that I've saved £43.50 off the last 2½ months of the previous contract.

You didn't upgrade as such, you changed to sim-only. I agree that you did well financially.

However, I stand by my comments re genuine handset contract upgrades and the potential advantages of the new arrangements that I outlined.

snazzyname

A couple of weeks ago Orange contacted me to say "great news you've reached the stage where you can upgrade" We discussed options and I said I'd do some research and get back to them. I did so and called back on 30 April, nearly completed upgrade only to discover chosen phone out of stock and no, they can't hold my order!
I checked restocking in on line shop and called back on 2 May to be told no I'm not yet eligible for free upgrade but can have one if I pay £20!!!! Queried changed date and absence of this fact in previous calls and was told "well they wouldn't have known." Orange appear cheap, dishonest and/or useless as a result. Customer treatment = with contempt as per.

gjchester

snazzyname wrote: »

Queried changed date and absence of this fact in previous calls and was told "well they wouldn't have known." Orange appear cheap, dishonest and/or useless as a result. Customer treatment = with contempt as per.

Early upgrades are at the networks goodwill / discressions, its not a service you should get just one they provide as an extra.

Unfortuantly OfCom changes have meant the networks can't add time on to a contract, so in the past if you upgraded three months early a 24 month contract became a 27 months one, and so Orange have removed the option of a 3 month early upgrade and limited it to 45 dys, but don't add the time to the new contract.

Nothing to do with Orange directly just OfCom rules they have to follow.

Guys_Dad

gjchester wrote: »

Early upgrades are at the networks goodwill / discressions, its not a service you should get just one they provide as an extra.

Unfortuantly OfCom changes have meant the networks can't add time on to a contract, so in the past if you upgraded three months early a 24 month contract became a 27 months one, and so Orange have removed the option of a 3 month early upgrade and limited it to 45 dys, but don't add the time to the new contract.

Nothing to do with Orange directly just OfCom rules they have to follow.

Didn't know this. Seems like a good move to me and, if people stop and think, it means that people can have 22.5 month upgrades rather than a 21 month upgrade followed by 24 month ones.

However, I stand by my point that early upgrades will cost you money in the end as you can't get decent retention deals when the boot is on the network's foot.