T-MOBILE AND 2 YR COMMITMENT & UPGRADES
T-MOBILE AND 2 YR COMMITMENT & UPGRADES
I know most hate the 2 yr commitment. Just it sounds like any other carrier. What would you guys think about the 18 month commitment?
I hear it from customers all day long. I don’t know how to share it with T-mobile.
I work in a shopping center and I get about 20 customers a day, asking for the phone prices on upgrade. It got so bad that I had to set up a computer facing the customers and show them how to check for the phone prices, they are ok with the prices, but when, they see the 2 yr contract icon, they freak out, for two reasons they think the warranty on the phone is for one year, after I assure them that they can get another phone in year, they think two year is too long. Please stand ...
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I know most hate the 2 yr commitment. Just it sounds like any other carrier. What would you guys think about the 18 month commitment?
I hear it from customers all day long. I don’t know how to share it with T-mobile.
I work in a shopping center and I get about 20 customers a day, asking for the phone prices on upgrade. It got so bad that I had to set up a computer facing the customers and show them how to check for the phone prices, they are ok with the prices, but when, they see the 2 yr contract icon, they freak out, for two reasons they think the warranty on the phone is for one year, after I assure them that they can get another phone in year, they think two year is too long. Please stand ...
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It would seem that the best policy for the customer would be to offer them a choice of a 1-year contract but pay more for the phone, and then a 2-year but pay less. That way they can make up their own minds and do what is best- like you said the warranty will last for 2 but if they feel trapped they can opt for 1 year instead. I personally prefer the old AT&T Wireless where there were never contracts (at least in our market), and you could upgrade whenever you wanted, you just walked in the store and got whatever current specials/rebates on the phone you were interested in.
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i digged that too. 😎
but companies would lose alot of money if customers took advantage of it too much.
but companies would lose alot of money if customers took advantage of it too much.
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This information does not agree with the information published at T-mobile's website. According to t-mobile.com, if you are on a 12 month contract you can upgrade in 11 months. If you are on a 2 year contract, you can upgrade in 22 months.
Deciding between a 1 year and 2 year contract was no contest for me. The price difference was generally $10-50 (it would have been an extra $50 rebate to upgrade to the MDA in my case)...hardly worth it to not have an upgrade options in 22 months.
Actually, you probably can upgrade after 11 months on a 2 year contract, but you cannot get the "full discount" which means there are some phones you can't upgrade to at all without wheeling-and-dealing with a CSR.
Deciding between a 1 year and 2 year contract was no contest for me. The price difference was generally $10-50 (it would have been an extra $50 rebate to upgrade to the MDA in my case)...hardly worth it to not have an upgrade options in 22 months.
Actually, you probably can upgrade after 11 months on a 2 year contract, but you cannot get the "full discount" which means there are some phones you can't upgrade to at all without wheeling-and-dealing with a CSR.
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Yeah, that's what they say on the site. But I've been out of contract now for over two years and the deals they offer me are the same as the deals on my wifes contract and she's only 7 months into it? So what's up with that?
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One of the main reasons I selected T-Mobile was due to the fact they had 1 year contracts. Now with a 2-year commitment, T-Mobile is following the industry rather than leading. If I was going to jump ship after buying a phone (one of the reasons for a 2 year contract) weigh the options. A $150 phone I get for free with a 2 year contract or $50 for a 1 year contract. If I cancel prior to contract end, that another $200 plus pay for SIM card unlocking fees. If I have no choice but to use the phone, I have to pay for service which can be $20 to $100 a month plus taxes. Either way, I'm paying for the phone. And before I get rebuttals, I know the carriers discount phones with new activations, upgrades etc. Either way, T-Mobile is getting ...
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You're right, there isn't a strong incentive for taking a 2 Year Contract. T-Mobile and all the carriers are interested in getting people tied into longer contracts because of number portability--you can leave and keep your number, so they can lose customers if the competition comes along with the right promotion.
I understand why they want you in a longer contract, but the question remains: Why would you accept the longer contract? A $50 savings? Please. Pay the extra $50 and if in 11 months you're still happy with your current phone and plan on sticking around, take whatever free upgrade you can get and resell it. 😛
I used to work for VZW, and the primary incentive they offered for 2 year contracts was to drop the activation fee...
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I understand why they want you in a longer contract, but the question remains: Why would you accept the longer contract? A $50 savings? Please. Pay the extra $50 and if in 11 months you're still happy with your current phone and plan on sticking around, take whatever free upgrade you can get and resell it. 😛
I used to work for VZW, and the primary incentive they offered for 2 year contracts was to drop the activation fee...
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Don't misconstrue my remarks as jumping ship. You wanted a thought of 2 year commitments, I gave you one. Verizon does have better signal coverage in my area but T-Mobile's is not bad.
You are correct I can get a 1-year contract. I have one with T-Mobile. Considering the options of plans and coverage, T-Mobile is better given my lifestyle (global useage of the phone, minutes versus price, etc.)
My point in my message is there is no incentive to 'lock' in a 2 year contract and yes there are options. I just don't see why T-Mobile has to conform with the rest of the wireless by going forward with 2 year contracts.
You are correct I can get a 1-year contract. I have one with T-Mobile. Considering the options of plans and coverage, T-Mobile is better given my lifestyle (global useage of the phone, minutes versus price, etc.)
My point in my message is there is no incentive to 'lock' in a 2 year contract and yes there are options. I just don't see why T-Mobile has to conform with the rest of the wireless by going forward with 2 year contracts.
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Then we agree completely. T-mobile doesn't provide any strong motivation for accepting a 2-year contract.
Like I said in my previous message, I can understand why TMO would want customers to get on a 2 year I just don't understand why the customer would want one. I don't think TMO has it just to "conform" with the rest, because the competition has options for 1 and 2 years...If they were going to "conform" with the rest, they should have an incentive to match.
Like I said in my previous message, I can understand why TMO would want customers to get on a 2 year I just don't understand why the customer would want one. I don't think TMO has it just to "conform" with the rest, because the competition has options for 1 and 2 years...If they were going to "conform" with the rest, they should have an incentive to match.
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Pricing on phones will have a dramatic price difference when t-mobile does offer the two year contract to new activations. As for upgrading, to me the difference of 25-50 dollars is enough for me to sign a two year. other carriers offer rebates only with a two year aggreement. T-mobile will offer it on both but the price will be better on two.
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when i got my wife the razr, the difference in price versus one year or two year was almost 100 bucks...
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I think the better question is why do we have contracts to begin with?
I've lived in Australia and I think their method for handling new phone purchases and upgrades makes the most sense.
Every phone is at the retail price!!! And if you're getting it as part of your plan then it's essentially prorated every month you're on their service.
So a $240 phone on a 2 year contract would be about $20 a month and they'd pay that as part of your plan. If you cancel, you owe them the balance of the phone cost. No cancellation fees.
To make it better, none of the phones are locked (except prepaid ones). You can walk into any mobile shop, buy a phone, stick your SIM card in and it works!
If we want to make a change, that's how we should do it....
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I've lived in Australia and I think their method for handling new phone purchases and upgrades makes the most sense.
Every phone is at the retail price!!! And if you're getting it as part of your plan then it's essentially prorated every month you're on their service.
So a $240 phone on a 2 year contract would be about $20 a month and they'd pay that as part of your plan. If you cancel, you owe them the balance of the phone cost. No cancellation fees.
To make it better, none of the phones are locked (except prepaid ones). You can walk into any mobile shop, buy a phone, stick your SIM card in and it works!
If we want to make a change, that's how we should do it....
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not gonna happen...they've become too powerful. they would've had to implement that plan in 1996.
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Then why all the push for unlocking phones here in the US?
I just bought an BlackBerry 8700c not long ago and had to pay not only for the phone, but to unlock it as well so I could use it on T-Mobile.
If I lived in Europe or Asia or elsewhere in the world, I could have just walked in and bought the phone, no worries and no questions asked.
The problem here is that no one in the upper management is willing to take a chance on even testing out a plan like that even thought the benefits to the companies would far outweigh the risks.
Let's say you were to go into a mobile store and sign up for new service with a free phone, keep the service for a month, unlock the phone and cancel the service. Anyone of us could go do that. If that p...
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I just bought an BlackBerry 8700c not long ago and had to pay not only for the phone, but to unlock it as well so I could use it on T-Mobile.
If I lived in Europe or Asia or elsewhere in the world, I could have just walked in and bought the phone, no worries and no questions asked.
The problem here is that no one in the upper management is willing to take a chance on even testing out a plan like that even thought the benefits to the companies would far outweigh the risks.
Let's say you were to go into a mobile store and sign up for new service with a free phone, keep the service for a month, unlock the phone and cancel the service. Anyone of us could go do that. If that p...
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Free phones don't have a $500 retail value...but I like the down under method...or did you say austria? i dont remember...good talk 🙂
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It's Australia. It's one of the things I miss about living down there.
I don't miss the cost of phone calls. They have a bit of a screwy system there.
Where all our cell phones are basically local numbers for our areas, all their cell phones are on a specific area code.
And with the incoming calls being free, they charge an arm and a leg and more for all your outgoing calls.
You're also right about the free phones not having a $500 value. I was using that as an example. But I had a crazy thought. What would the cost of the free phones actually be?
The prices I'm quoting here are from either westcoin.com or mobilecityonline.com and are all phones on T-Mobile's site right now.
Nokia 6010
Westcoin.com - $99.95
Nokia 6101
Free o...
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I don't miss the cost of phone calls. They have a bit of a screwy system there.
Where all our cell phones are basically local numbers for our areas, all their cell phones are on a specific area code.
And with the incoming calls being free, they charge an arm and a leg and more for all your outgoing calls.
You're also right about the free phones not having a $500 value. I was using that as an example. But I had a crazy thought. What would the cost of the free phones actually be?
The prices I'm quoting here are from either westcoin.com or mobilecityonline.com and are all phones on T-Mobile's site right now.
Nokia 6010
Westcoin.com - $99.95
Nokia 6101
Free o...
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People have enough trouble trying to pay their bills now. Then throw $20 a month on it and they'll never pay. It's a great idea if everyone actually paid their bill
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That just depends on the contract. Let me give you an example with a $480 phone (24 months at $20 a month to use your reply as a basis). All the options I'm giving below are unlocked phones since that's how the phones are. (Cheap prepaids are the exception, those are locked.)
Option 1:
You walk into the store (or shop online as it were) and buy your phone for $480 outright. Unlocked and no contract. Take the phone to whatever carrier you want and *poof* you have service.
Option 2:
Take a 1 year contract with an upfront of $240 for the phone. The company picks up the other $240 for you over the course of the 12 months of your contract. If you leave halfway through, you pay the rest of what the company was picking up for you, or...
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Option 1:
You walk into the store (or shop online as it were) and buy your phone for $480 outright. Unlocked and no contract. Take the phone to whatever carrier you want and *poof* you have service.
Option 2:
Take a 1 year contract with an upfront of $240 for the phone. The company picks up the other $240 for you over the course of the 12 months of your contract. If you leave halfway through, you pay the rest of what the company was picking up for you, or...
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I like the idea but I see one problem with it.. whats to stop someone from just taking said $500 phone? They don't pay for the phone up front its just charged on the bills. I know there are quite a few people out there who *gasp* dont pay their bills. Whats to stop them from taking the phone and using it with a carrier that would be cheaper monthly? I guess there may be enough honest people out there but still...
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Your contract would basically be the same as here now. The difference being that instead of paying a cancellation fee you pay for the phone.
It's still part of your contract and it's legal and binding. Let's say you took that $500 phone and left, whatever the prorated amount left on the contract term is what you would be billed for. And if you didn't pay it you would go through the same legal process as you do right now including negative reports on your credit rating.
The idea behind it is that the carrier isn't losing money up front on the phones and it also gives us as customers more flexibility in how we choose our wireless services. It would also force companies to provide better quality service and better value in their plans.
It's still part of your contract and it's legal and binding. Let's say you took that $500 phone and left, whatever the prorated amount left on the contract term is what you would be billed for. And if you didn't pay it you would go through the same legal process as you do right now including negative reports on your credit rating.
The idea behind it is that the carrier isn't losing money up front on the phones and it also gives us as customers more flexibility in how we choose our wireless services. It would also force companies to provide better quality service and better value in their plans.
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