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BEWARE of O2 18 month contracts

ali1972
ali1972 Posts: 599 Forumite
I've been with O2 for years. I've always opted for 12 month contracts but last time I renewed and upgraded I was persuaded by a glib salesperson to take an 18 month contract. I should have remembered that handsets don't tend to last 18 months!

I am 16 months into the 18 month contract and the Sony Ericsson Z520i handset has developed a fault with the screen "whiting out" meaning I can't see text messages, phone numbers etc etc etc. Apparently I can't get an early upgrade even though I'm 16 months in and offering to renew with them. I have to schlepp into an O2 shop and have the phone sent away to be fixed and use a substandard "loan phone" in the meantime. And in my experience, once phones start developing faults they continue breaking down. What a waste of everybody's time and resources to spend the next 2 months fixing a 16 month old phone when they could just upgrade me and tie me into a new contract instead. As the engineers at the Carphone Warehouse always used say to me, "They aren't designed to last that long".

My advice: do NOT allow yourself to be talked into a longer contract with the promise of minutes and texts that you may not even use. Once the phone is on its last legs the glib salesman will be long gone and you'll be left with a customer services operator who is apparently not empowered to do anything.

And I shall be changing networks in 2 months time!
Yeah, whatever. I'm a grown up, I can take it...
«13

Comments

  • Apex_2
    Apex_2 Posts: 53 Forumite
    You can upg 30 days from the end of you contract.

    The loan phone is just that a loan phone, the whole reason is that they can not have a phone where it is possible for you to leave a load of personal details on, thus they go for the simplest ones there are.

    It allows you to txt and make calls and thats all you really need.
  • HugoSP
    HugoSP Posts: 2,467 Forumite
    I'll never forget my Motorola c975 breaking down just as I was coming to the end of a 12 month contract with 3.

    The phone was within warranty - by one day!

    Phone was duly fixed and returned. It required a SW reflash, I should have simply suggested that they just paid me £25 for the phone as I was going to sell it on anyway.

    It came back minus a blanking plug for the headphone socket so I complained, They offered me £10 by way of compensation so I took it. I got another £14 from Mopay for it.
    Behind every great man is a good woman
    Beside this ordinary man is a great woman
    £2 savings jar - now at £3.42:rotfl:
  • ali1972
    ali1972 Posts: 599 Forumite
    Apex wrote: »
    You can upg 30 days from the end of you contract.

    The loan phone is just that a loan phone, the whole reason is that they can not have a phone where it is possible for you to leave a load of personal details on, thus they go for the simplest ones there are.

    It allows you to txt and make calls and thats all you really need.


    Thank you for your input.

    All very well but unfortunately 30 days from my contract doesn't help me for the next 30 days.

    The loan phone may allow me to text and make calls, and that may be all some people need, but working away from an office environment I prefer more bells and whistles than that and, more importantly, I pay for more bells and whistles than that. And this is all assuming that there is a loan phone available. We will see about that tomorrow morning...

    My main complaint stands. This handset has not lasted the 18 months I was led to beleive it would. O2 have failed to provide me with the product I was entitled to. As a result I am the one inconvenienced as I have to take time out of my busy schedule (normally a 75 hour working week) and visit an O2 retailer which is a great deal more hassle than receiving a new phone by courier to my workplace - which is how I usually receive an upgraded handset. I have been with them since 1995 (when they were Cellnet) and I have paid a lot of money over the last 12 years, and shown a great deal of loyalty. If I had taken a 12 month contract rather than an 18 month one I would have been long overdue an upgrade. It seems ridiculous that they can't see that they have just missed their opportunity to tie me in for another 18 months by not giving me an upgrade after 16 months. I would gladly have signed for a further 18 months if they had replaced my handset now. Instead they have probably lost a customer as I'm sure I can find a decent and cheaper tariff with another provider by switching in 2 months time.

    Lets remember who the customer is here. And let's remember who the aggreived party is. O2 are supposed to be working for me. I think I'll sack them.
    Yeah, whatever. I'm a grown up, I can take it...
  • ali1972
    ali1972 Posts: 599 Forumite
    HugoSP wrote: »
    I'll never forget my Motorola c975 breaking down just as I was coming to the end of a 12 month contract with 3.

    The phone was within warranty - by one day!

    Phone was duly fixed and returned. It required a SW reflash, I should have simply suggested that they just paid me £25 for the phone as I was going to sell it on anyway.

    It came back minus a blanking plug for the headphone socket so I complained, They offered me £10 by way of compensation so I took it. I got another £14 from Mopay for it.

    Every phone I've ever had fixed has broken again not long after!
    Yeah, whatever. I'm a grown up, I can take it...
  • ali1972
    ali1972 Posts: 599 Forumite
    Madferrit wrote: »
    Ali, You can get yourself a 2nd hand Sony Ericsson phone off eBay for about £20. You'll probably make that money back after a month when you get your upgrade.

    Good idea, thank you.
    Yeah, whatever. I'm a grown up, I can take it...
  • ali1972
    ali1972 Posts: 599 Forumite
    stacey21 wrote: »
    Good news for you then madferrit, as select customers can upgrade early!

    The new tariffs are going to be much much cheaper if you decided to keep your old handset/buy a cheap payg - some as much as £15 off the price.

    Interesting. Thank you for the info. payg not so good for me as I need to be contactable on ny regular number - I'm self emplyed.
    Yeah, whatever. I'm a grown up, I can take it...
  • stacey21_2
    stacey21_2 Posts: 939 Forumite
    Madferrit, Select customers can upgrade much earlier than 30 days. :)

    ali1972, I meant buy a cheap payg mobile and put your contract sim card in it :)
    :staradmin:staradmin:staradmin:staradmin:staradmin
  • infiniti
    infiniti Posts: 51 Forumite
    Hi Stacey21 many thanks for all your info on this and other threads, how doeas one become a 'select customer'?

    thanks
  • Rev
    Rev Posts: 3,171 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I've been with o2 about 5 years now on contract and with them on payg before that. I lost my last contract phone with three weeks left on my contract. I had no insurance and since I only had three weeks left until I could upgrade, I asked could I pay my last months line rental and upgrade early. They said no, I could pay my last months line rental and an early cancellation fee, which would end the contract, but I wouldn't be able to negotiate any deal with retentions because I'd then be treated as a new customer. I had to buy an o2 payg phone to use my sim in until my contract ended.

    I know I should have told them to stuff it (especially since I'd had a huge amount of trouble when I upgraded the year before, over charged, wrong tariff ect) but I still renewed the contract, but that's because I'm lazy so didn't want to have to look for a new contract, that and the tariff suited my needs.

    All in all, o2 customer services are most of the time completely pants, a waste of time. But on the rare occasion they do get it right, they're second to none.
    Sigless
  • Bossworld
    Bossworld Posts: 426 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    ali1972 wrote: »
    I've been with O2 for years. I've always opted for 12 month contracts but last time I renewed and upgraded I was persuaded by a glib salesperson to take an 18 month contract. I should have remembered that handsets don't tend to last 18 months!

    I am 16 months into the 18 month contract and the Sony Ericsson Z520i handset has developed a fault with the screen "whiting out" meaning I can't see text messages, phone numbers etc etc etc. Apparently I can't get an early upgrade even though I'm 16 months in and offering to renew with them. I have to schlepp into an O2 shop and have the phone sent away to be fixed and use a substandard "loan phone" in the meantime. And in my experience, once phones start developing faults they continue breaking down. What a waste of everybody's time and resources to spend the next 2 months fixing a 16 month old phone when they could just upgrade me and tie me into a new contract instead. As the engineers at the Carphone Warehouse always used say to me, "They aren't designed to last that long".

    My advice: do NOT allow yourself to be talked into a longer contract with the promise of minutes and texts that you may not even use. Once the phone is on its last legs the glib salesman will be long gone and you'll be left with a customer services operator who is apparently not empowered to do anything.

    And I shall be changing networks in 2 months time!

    Google 'davinciteam' , download their software and buy a log credit.

    Cost me €10 for a log but fixed my phone. Long story short i'd just taken out a 3 contract so gave my 12 month old w810i to my g/f, and taking the battery out twice in quick succession caused the white screen of death. Reflashing it worked fine, just a bit of a long drawn out process
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