Upgrade Fee - T-Mobile

DB_XIII

Hi all,

Hope someone can help as I am not in the know with mobile phones and contracts and the below situation seems ludacris to me.

I've got a crap Nokia C3 £10 a month contract for 12 months with T-Mobile until 26th March '13 and I want to upgrade to a Samsung Galaxy S II white with T-Mobile. The contract is £21 a month for 24 months yet they won't let me upgrade early until i pay £28 'cancellation fee'.

I am not cancelling, I am trying to upgrade.

Just spent the last half hour talking to an agent about the fact I feel I shouldn't have to pay the fee as they will have a guaranteed customer for 2 years and double the money I am currently paying. They will make the £28 back within 2 months but they won't budge at all, not even a pound. It's a 'legality' I have agreed to apparently.

Working in the business of contact centre sales and customer service I fully believe someone there can do a deal as the agent pointed out they could lose their job, I ask if she could ask her manager if there is any give and take as I am shocked by their attitude towards a customer offering more money, long term. The agent returned with 'the manager said no, she agreed we cannot alter the fee'.

Anyone know anymore on whether they have/can forget the cancellation fee if upgrading with them and how best to go about it? Should I ring back and speak to someone else or send a formal email?

Any help would be much appreciated and any pointers on if I am totally wrong with thinking they should be snapping my hands off offering to stay with them, paying more money.

gjchester

DB_XIII wrote: »

I've got a crap Nokia C3 £10 a month contract for 12 months with T-Mobile until 26th March '13 and I want to upgrade to a Samsung Galaxy S II white with T-Mobile. The contract is £21 a month for 24 months yet they won't let me upgrade early until i pay £28 'cancellation fee'. Iam not cancelling, I am trying to upgrade.

Correct but you signed a 12 month contract, you are not "due" any upgrade until the 26th of March, which is over 2 months away, £28 seems about right given you want to get out 2 2/3rd of a month early.

DB_XIII wrote: »

It's a 'legality' I have agreed to apparently.

Working in the business of contact centre sales and customer service I fully believe someone there can do a deal .

Then surely you then realised a contract is a contract, you either see out the minimum term or pay the agreed penalty to break the contract. If the system does not offer a deal they cannot offer it.

DB_XIII wrote: »

Anyone know anymore on whether they have/can forget the cancellation fee if upgrading with them and how best to go about it? Should I ring back and speak to someone else or send a formal email?

Any help would be much appreciated and any pointers on if I am totally wrong with thinking they should be snapping my hands off offering to stay with them, paying more money.

It's not about what you will spend it's all about what you have spent.

Currently you are on a £10 a month contract, you will be unlikely to get much goodwill on that contract, the sales agent will have your history to view, and the computer system will offer some upgrade options, if your not a big spender you won't get the great deals until give notice to leave, and even then on that amount TM may prefer to loose you than retain you.

Can they do deals and make offers, certainly, if the system has a record if you being a customer they wish to retain, unfortunately on your current spend you don't qualify for any better deals at this time.

DB_XIII

Hi gjchester,

Thank you for your reply.

I will certainly take your comments on board and can appreciate I am at the bottom end of the customer scale only paying £10 p/m. I am actively trying to increase that now I can afford to, I just thought there may be some loyalty as I have been with them 2 years and want to make that 4.

For the sake of this £28 they are potentially throwing away £500 over 24 months, as a business it's seems a a good deal to me but then again I am the customer!

Thanks again.

won1888

DB_XIII wrote: »

Hi gjchester,

Thank you for your reply.

I will certainly take your comments on board and can appreciate I am at the bottom end of the customer scale only paying £10 p/m. I am actively trying to increase that now I can afford to, I just thought their may be some loyalty as I have been with them 2 years and want to make that 4.

For the sake of this £28 they are potentially throwing away £500 over 24 months, as a business it's seems a a good deal to me but then again I am the customer!

Thanks again.

Sit out your last 2 months then cancel and then see how much they value your custom when they think you are leaving them.

simax

DB_XIII wrote: »

Hi gjchester,

Thank you for your reply.

I will certainly take your comments on board and can appreciate I am at the bottom end of the customer scale only paying £10 p/m. I am actively trying to increase that now I can afford to, I just thought there may be some loyalty as I have been with them 2 years and want to make that 4.

For the sake of this £28 they are potentially throwing away £500 over 24 months, as a business it's seems a a good deal to me but then again I am the customer!

Thanks again.

What you are failing to understand is that you agreed a contract for 12 months. You agreed to the term so they will hold you to it. You owe them no loyalty and not do they to you. If you want to upgrade early you pay the fee. Simple as that.

A contract is a contract.

Curr946

2 years, not what I would call loyalty. There are customer that sick with the same service provider for 10 years. That's loyalty

gjchester

DB_XIII wrote: »

I just thought there may be some loyalty as I have been with them 2 years and want to make that 4.

Loyalty means nothing, other than the fact you are less likely to leave regardless of the deal. Spend per month is the key these days...

Techhead_2

DB_XIII wrote: »

Hi gjchester,

Thank you for your reply.

I will certainly take your comments on board and can appreciate I am at the bottom end of the customer scale only paying £10 p/m. I am actively trying to increase that now I can afford to, I just thought there may be some loyalty as I have been with them 2 years and want to make that 4.

For the sake of this £28 they are potentially throwing away £500 over 24 months, as a business it's seems a a good deal to me but then again I am the customer!

Thanks again.

They are hardly likely to make an exception for you when you have already shown you can't stick to your current commitment;they would be losing £28 and you have only been with them 2 years.

Basically what you are saying is " let me off the rest of my contact and I'll commit to another two years" - to which they will think " the same thing is going to happen in twenty months time and we are losing £28 "

PS. Ludacris is a rather poor recording artist not an adjective

DB_XIII

Hi everyone,

Thank you for the replies, certainly opened my eyes to it.

I am happy to see out the remainder of my contract, its a January sale deal that has caught my eye so thought they would do something as the deal will be long gone when I come to changing in March.

Not to worry, I think I'm going to pay the fee and upgrade.

Thank you again.

gjchester

DB_XIII wrote: »

Not to worry, I think I'm going to pay the fee and upgrade.

Thank you again.

Unless you are really desperate to upgrade I'd suggest you wait. When it get to the 26th of Feb phone up and ask to cancel. Retentions should phone you back and you may get a bit of a deal then.

If you don't upgrade with TM you can always ask for a PAC code and move to another provider. Deals change all the time there may be a better one when you are out of your minimum term you can go to.

robbies_gal

but why? wot u think u will save your wasting by paying the upgrade fee-makes no sense that u cant wait for one month to upgrade and maybe get another deal out of it