02 refresh - should I?

charleyzee

Hi, I am due an upgrade today with O2 but the only option is Refresh. I am sceptical about it as I would rather just have the traditional contract with a new phone offered for free every 18months. The Refresh thing seems just a con & I wonder if anyone smarter than me has any views on it?

grumbler

My view is that 'traditional contracts' are a con as they make people to believe that phones are 'free' while in fact they are not.

mije1983

As above, the phone is never 'free' on contracts. Just compare the price of your tariff with the equivalent sim only one and you will see the difference.

nidO

As above, I can't see why you would think that a Refresh contract is a con and a "normal" one isn't.
The only difference between the two is that a Refresh contract actually tells you how much you're paying for the phone and airtime separately and they stop billing you for the phone when you've paid for it, whereas with a "normal" contract it's all bundled into one price and they'll keep charging you that forever until you cancel/upgrade again.

Herongull

You pay way over the odds for the phone with refresh. Compare the price of buying the phone outright and getting a sim only contract. Shop around for the best deal on the phone and separately for the best deal on the contract.

Refresh is for people who are too stupid to know when they are being ripped off.

kingrulzuk

Agree to all the above. just get a sim only deal which is way cheaper then a contract

grumbler

Herongull wrote: »

You pay way over the odds for the phone with refresh.

Very often it isn't the case. That's why 'refresh' deals are common at HUKD where you can get a cheap phone by cancelling the airtime contract immediately.

dave88uk

This is an email that I sent this very morning, this might help your decision:

The basis of my complaint is that I was explicitly informed by staff upon taking out this contract that with the O2 refresh tariff I could upgrade (a maximum of every 3 months) at no cost. They explained that line rental is seperate from phone cost but the was definitely no penalties/costs for early upgrade.


This is the sole factor for taking out this contract with O2. In actual fact I have a seperate account with EE as the signal is so poor. However, I was sold in being able to get the latest handsets on a regular basis.


At the point of sale I asked the sales assistant to clarify this stance as it seemed "to good to be true". The assistant used the marketing campaign at the time to explain how it's clear a regular upgrade was the whole purpose of the tariff and again specified that this would be free.


I was very angry to approach a store the other week seeking an upgrade, where I was told that this was not the case and I had to pay the remaining value of the phone off. This came to nearly £200.


With this sales assistant I used the example that this was essentially no different from any other tariff with any other company, who would charge an early upgrade free. He agreed, I agreed, it's essentially a fact.


Furthermore I lodged a complaint online, first with an agent called 'Bisht'. He couldn't understand my complaint and asked his manager 'Ralphie' to take over. Again, we were getting nowhere. They simply reiterated the T&C's of the contract and arranged a call back. You can see from the transcript I provided another number as I seldom have enough signal on my O2 phone to accept a call of any length.


Despite acknowledging this a manager proceeded to call me on my account number for which I wasn't able to access at the time. My wife explained the arrangement. I also received an email to which I replied immediately reiterating the arrangement. To this date I haven't received a call back.


This morning I went back to the chat. I explained the circumstances above. To my dismay the agent said he couldn't arrange a call back as he doesn't have access to a telephone. I have attached a screenshot, as I'm sure as a global telecommunications company you would struggle to believe what I say to be true, to some degree I still can't.


I am fed up to the back teeth of this issue. I was misled at point of sale, I've been mistreated by customer service agents and ignored by the managers. I demand a resolution else I feel I have a strong case to cease payment, return the phone and claim a breach of contract due to a) mis-selling of the original tariff by verbal contract and b) failure to provide and adequate service.


I look forward to your response. For the purposes of communication may I again reiterate a contactable number which is ********.


Kindest Regards,


David

ballyblack

David
May I politely suggest you remove ur private number on this public forum, insert *** instead



.

grumbler

One must be extremely naive to believe anybody promising a free upgrade to a latest handsets every 3 months, especially if this anybody is a sales person.

If it 'looks too good to be true', then it's time to read the printed contract at last instead of relying on the 'verbal' one that you have no means to prove unless you record it.

Silk

dave88uk wrote: »

This is an email that I sent this very morning, this might help your decision:

The basis of my complaint is that I was explicitly informed by staff upon taking out this contract that with the O2 refresh tariff I could upgrade (a maximum of every 3 months) at no cost. They explained that line rental is seperate from phone cost but the was definitely no penalties/costs for early upgrade.

Buying o phone on Refresh is the same as buying a phone on HP only at 0% interest.
You can get another phone without any penalties or charges but you have to pay the balance of the agreement before you do.


Surely you understand that if they sell you a phone at say £500 and charge you £20 a month, after three months there would be a shortfall of £440. In order to get a new phone you can pay off the £440 and get another one.
It doesn't cost any more than you agreed to and there's no penalty costs etc.