Is it ever possible to upgrade, early?

492800

My plan with Vodafone runs out in April, but apparently I can upgrade on 31st January.
But I have seen a great deal in a vodafone shop that is pretty good (Z3 Compact, unlimited texts, 600mins and 1gb data = £22.50) And i am desperate to get a new phone (my one is useless)..

BUT, the guy in the shop said that as I cant upgrade until January, I would have to create a new account, and run them both parrallel (pay for two accounts) until the original account ends in April..
Or i wait till end of January and upgrade then.. But the offer may have gone by then..

I've failed to speak to a human on the vodafone phone #.. (it's all computerised!!)
But I do wonder, do they have the power to allow an early upgrade? and how would I go about it?

Thanks forumers :-)

grumbler

Offers come and go. You can't have them all.

Even if you are allowed to upgrade early, normally this would be a poor deal, worse than than new customers can get or those who served their minimum term in full and are free to leave without any charges. Also, if you are allowed to upgrade early, be prepared to get the remaining months added to the new minimum term. What will you do if the new phone becomes 'useless' again in 20 months with 7-8 months remaining of the new minimum term?

Yes, you can upgrade whenever you want. The only 'small' problem is that you have to pay the Early Termination Fee for the existing contract that is essentially the cost of all remaining moths.
Also, you can simply buy a new phone you want sim-free or on PAYG and use on the existing contract.

Why is your phone 'useless' after less of two years?

492800

Hmm, ok... :-/

TBH, I'd be happy to pay for two contracts until the end of january when I could upgrade then.. But, they shop said that wasnt possible.
And paying double till April is too expensive and not worth it.

My phone is just slow (and presently being mended again for hardware issues), its never been great and what with so many apps (and yes, I only keep the ones I always use) it just isnt up to what I would like.
(FirstWorldProblems!)

I may just have to wait it out and see whats available end of jan.. or April.. Phones should get cheaper month by month one would think?

grumbler

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6538&idPhone2=6647

Moto G is a little worse than Z3 Compact in terms of specifications, but is just ~£130 at Argos. In April switch to, say, Lycamobile where 500+Unltd+1Gb will cost you £10 without any contract, i.e. with the phone ~£15 p.m. in terms of a 24-months' contract.

Or just buy a spare phone until April: Vodafone Smart Mini 4. Android 4.2 £35.00 @ Amazon

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6538&idPhone2=6507

492800

Ok after a lot of time to online vodafone helpdesk and then a phone call to 2 different people in sales and then retentions, it appears they were able to fix my problem. 50 mins in total!

Originally it was going to be nearly £160 to upgrade early.. Mental!!
But then they said they could upgrade me early and just add on my remaining 4 months to my contract.. So I now have 28 months till my contract runs out. (eek!)
I then got a 15% discount and free delivery.

So, 1gig 4g data, 600mins talk, unlimted texts, free Xperia Z3compact phone, and a 28 month warranty...
All for £22.53 a month (inc VAT) (=£540 for 2 years, or £270 a year)

It pays to be nice to phone operators sometimes.
I'm happy! :-)

grumbler

Doble-check everything. Vodafone are notorious for failing to deliver what they promise.

Re the "28 month warranty", I guess your current phone had it too, that hasn't stopped it from becoming 'useless' long before the warranty expires.

492800

My present phone has a fault (being repaired at the moment) and is still covered after 20 months. I thought it was quite usual for your phone to be covered for faults for the duration of its contract. Mine always have.

But yep, I'll check it all on arrival.. I'm a stickler for small print :-p

ZhugeEX

492800 wrote: »

My present phone has a fault (being repaired at the moment) and is still covered after 20 months. I thought it was quite usual for your phone to be covered for faults for the duration of its contract. Mine always have.

But yep, I'll check it all on arrival.. I'm a stickler for small print :-p

It'll be a 24 month warranty.

grumbler

ZhugeEX wrote: »

It'll be a 24 month warranty.

Vodafone's own warranty is for the duration of the contract (minimum term) - excluding iPhones.

ZhugeEX

grumbler wrote: »

Vodafone's own warranty is for the duration of the contract (minimum term) - excluding iPhones.

Can you prove that?

I thought it was 24 months maximum?

grumbler

You are right, it's 24 months max. I remember it was 24 even if the manufacturer's one was 12 (excluding iPhones).
The confusion was a result of what Vodafone reps often post here:

You will be covered under warranty for the term of your contract with us.

Yet another proof of how worthless their over-a-phone promises are.