Bell took away my upgrade credit??

[toasted]

It seems Bell has found another way to cheat me recently...

A couple days ago, I checked my upgrade eligibility and instead of seeing the $200 upgrade credit I had on my account, I see "Good news - you're eligible for special pricing on new hardware from Bell." and a few phones listed:

iphone 3gs - $199.95 on 3 year
bb storm2 - $199.95 on 3 year

etc...

This is my supposed special pricing? :confused: I'm paying the same price as a new customer!
I have no upgrade credit whatsoever now!! :mad::mad::mad:

Anyone else getting this BS?

[466035]

its truee i am with telus they are giving me same thing like i am as new customer its sucks i am gonna call them and argue with them

[greek]

happened to me as well. My contract is up and they are ony giving me a $200 Hardware upgrade credit. Don't they want to keep me?

[davidA]

My 3 year contract with Telus expires at the beginning of August and already I am being bombarded by marketers (and mail) trying to convince me to renew.

A few weeks ago, a friend was (against his wishes) signed up for another three year contract with Rogers, after receiving a phone call from one of their marketers. It seems that he did not deny (strong enough) his wish to just let his contract expire (and go month to month) - after talking to them (they said they had recorded his phone call) he reluctantly went into the local store and came out with a new phone. Talking to him later I know that he received a less than stellar deal.

These kind of marketing techniques stink and I am very disgusted with Telus and Rogers (both) for employing this kind of (scraping the bottom) policy in order to keep their customers. Speaking only for myself, they are not offering me anything that I would not receive if I were a brand new customer. My current plan is to go month to month and to never sign a 3 year contract again.

Could any of the company reps (and ex reps) here (I know there are a few) provide feedback on who exactly it is calling up folk at their contract end and trying to con them into renewing. Are these regular employees or contracted folk (trying to make a $) Many I have found have sub par skills - a few who called me did not even know my phone number (for sure) but did refer to a letter I had received earlier from Telus.

Are these selling techniques even legal? I am talking about when they call you up and record your call (without telling you)

[urbnlgcy]

Welcome to the forums, Toasted. It is unfortunate your first post is a complaint :p

The hardware upgrade system that Bell uses is not really as straight forward as it should be. The $200 hardware upgrade "credits" you saw are only applicable to the retail cost of the phone, and only on a renewable.

For example, if you were to get the HTC Legend without data, it would cost $399.95 - $200 = $199.95. Any hardware upgrade credits are not over and above the new customer 3-year prices. The only incentive to resign and upgrade is that it overrides your previous contract (i.e. You have a year left on your contract, but when you resign, you resign immediately on the new term so you don't have to fulfill the remaining year of the old obligation).

The $200 hardware upgrade credit you saw is more of an indicator than an actual dollar amount. It more or less indicates that you are eligible for new customer pricing or better if there are certain existing customer promos. Unfortunately, this credit is horribly communicated as a dollar amount and makes it confusing for many customers.

In short, they didn't take anything away from you. New customer pricing = $200 hardware upgrade. Also, Bell and all the other carriers reserve the right to change their upgrade programs at any time. They can give and take away whenever they please (until you sign a contractual agreement with them).


Are these selling techniques even legal? I am talking about when they call you up and record your call (without telling you)

Legal as you have existing business with them. They are to inform you that they are recording the call, however.

These services are usually outsourced so that's why you're getting garbage people phoning you, but most carriers will allow you the option of no direct-marketing.

[toasted]

glad to be a part of the forum!

I figured the upgrade credit was just a form of incentive for keeping me on Bell, but I've had several instances of changed upgrade credit on my account over the past couple years. The first upgrade credit I got was $50 or so, and every once in a while it updated to higher prices ($100 after 1 year, $150 after 1.5 years).. so I figured the closer to the end of my contract I am, the more credit they give me. But now my upgrade eligibility changed to "special" 3-year pricing on their phones with the same prices as the retail versions with no evidence that I even had credit... :confused: I will definitely give Bell a call to clear this up!

[davidA]

Thank you for the feedback urbnlgcy.

Cheers

[Gotcha]

i dont think they took away your credit... i thought the samke too until i called them... and im about to renew mine... i had $200 also before they changed it about 2-3 wks ago .. when i checked online.... when i called them, they told me i still have $200 and to top it off because ive been a good customer for over 10 years, i had another $100 hward ware credit sitting inmy account... so in all i have $300 for a new phone

call them up...

[davidA]

i dont think they took away your credit... i thought the samke too until i called them... and im about to renew mine... i had $200 also before they changed it about 2-3 wks ago .. when i checked online.... when i called them, they told me i still have $200 and to top it off because ive been a good customer for over 10 years, i had another $100 hward ware credit sitting inmy account... so in all i have $300 for a new phone

call them up...

It is expected to receive much more than a $300 credit (off a new smartphone) on a 3 year contract - this is without 10 years of service - if you are a brand new customer even. Consider that as a brand new customer you can purchase the Blackberry Bold 9700 (which is available without contract for $599.95) on a 3 year contract for $99.95.

[Gotcha]

The difference is that I do not need to have a plan of a min of $50 of voice and data...

i tried calling again just to make sure to see if i can get the Legend for free... but they wouldnt bugdge... my plan ( voice ) is ok for me and i only pay $20 + tax... in return to a 3 yr contract i am getting the Legend for $100 + tax and renewing my contract.

but the $200 credit is there ( i used to get $250 for 3 yrs before ) + an additional $100 for being supposedly a "loyal" customer...

[davidA]

The difference is that I do not need to have a plan of a min of $50 of voice and data...

i tried calling again just to make sure to see if i can get the Legend for free... but they wouldnt bugdge... my plan ( voice ) is ok for me and i only pay $20 + tax... in return to a 3 yr contract i am getting the Legend for $100 + tax and renewing my contract.

but the $200 credit is there ( i used to get $250 for 3 yrs before ) + an additional $100 for being supposedly a "loyal" customer...

What use is a $200 credit if they will not let you use it?

[Gotcha]

glad to be a part of the forum!

I figured the upgrade credit was just a form of incentive for keeping me on Bell, but I've had several instances of changed upgrade credit on my account over the past couple years. The first upgrade credit I got was $50 or so, and every once in a while it updated to higher prices ($100 after 1 year, $150 after 1.5 years).. so I figured the closer to the end of my contract I am, the more credit they give me. But now my upgrade eligibility changed to "special" 3-year pricing on their phones with the same prices as the retail versions with no evidence that I even had credit... :confused: I will definitely give Bell a call to clear this up!

Like i said, they made this change recently and it is the same for me where i thought i lost the $200 Credit.

Go to the BELL Self Serve and manage your features... you will see an entry of $100 HUG in there... At least this is what it was on mine. Like you I didnt see the mention of $200 Credit which i had last time i checked because i did 3 yrs already on the contract. Then all of a sudden, they didnt show the amount anymore...

When I called , they said i still have the $200 PLUS an additional $100 .



What use is a $200 credit if they will not let you use it?

I think you confused me with the OP... i am able to use mine... the OP should be able to as well ..he just need to call. May be BELL is in the process in eliminating the FREE upgrade completely...who knows... I cant see any reason why they would remove this... if not to lose customers...

[urbnlgcy]

There are free upgrades, but that doesn't make every phone free to upgrade to. This is the way it is with all carriers. Generally, your credits will only set you to new customer pricing. You are lucky if they provide you additional credits above and beyond new customer pricing.

As for the guy with the $20 voice plan trying to get the HTC Legend for free, you're probably wasting your time. Your ARPU level is low so there is absolutely no incentive to give you the phone for free. It will take 20 months at the rate you pay to even get to the retail price of the phone. You'll be incredibly lucky to even get it at the $79.95 mark with only your voice plan.

Most "extra" hardware upgrade credits tend to be phone specific.

[becks]

I have decided to leave Bell :(. Been with them for 6 years and thinking about going to Rogers/TELUS for the iPhone 4 when it comes out. which one is better?

[nadim]

I think it depends. We haven't seen iPhone plans yet. I'd say your battery on the iPhone would be better off with Rogers can you get turn 3g off if needed.

[davidA]

I have decided to leave Bell :(. Been with them for 6 years and thinking about going to Rogers/TELUS for the iPhone 4 when it comes out. which one is better?

I would recommend to choose the company that has the best network coverage in your area (Telus coverage will be identical to Bell)

[robellus]

The credit does not work like cash, bell confuses people with this credit system this is what it means...


1. $100 credit means your available to upgrade your phone 2 years into your 3 year contract at a reduced rate

2. $200 credit means you can upgrade your phone, re-sign another contract for 3 years and pay the same price as a new customer (2-8 months before your current contract ends). The credit is used to get you to get a new phone before your contract expires.

If it is expired, you have the option to go to any carrier. Bell does not have a retention program like fido (fido rewards), to get a "loyalty" deal with Bell you have to call their Retention department and ask them to waive connection fees, lower your price plan, give you free texting, and things like that.


As for Iphone pricing, nobody aka no company discounts the iphone simply because the cartels at apple price fix and do not let the carriers discount their products.

Hope that helps

[robellus]

I would recommend to choose the company that has the best network coverage in your area (Telus coverage will be identical to Bell)



Virgin mobile - 5 years in a row winning customer service awards

[urbnlgcy]

Virgin mobile - 5 years in a row winning customer service awards

I hate to say it, but from my experience, Virgin Mobile's customer service has certainly gone downhill. The awards mean nothing if they can't keep it up.

[007]

probably ever since Bell took them over :(

[robellus]

Compared to Rogers, Bell, Telus, Fido... and... SOLO????