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Old 08-06-2010, 11:55 AM   #1
algernon
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Default Cell phone Retention Plans

As the title suggests, I would like to share my new plan, and have others post theirs. I don't think this should be a long-cocking competition, just a place to help others.
Oh yeah Apple _______s!

My Case:

Originally Posted by FanIn80
Quote:
Right. Like that was going to be enough. I called Retentions, and they gave me the iPad sharing addon for free and added another 100 minutes to my Retention plan.

350 Minutes
Unlimited Incoming Calls
6PM Evenings and Weekends

Unlimited text
Call/Name Display, etc etc
Visual Voicemail
6GB Data

iPad Sharing

$80 including taxes (no SAF)
So, I phoned and immediately asked about buying out my contract. I made no mention of the iPhone 4 or any hardware. The 1st CSR asked if he could record the details of the plan... My "friend" AKA FanIn80 just recieved a better deal, and it would make sense for me to look into terminating the remaining 11 months on my existing contract. Yada yada 20 minutes, and the 2nd CSR comes back with a counter offer. I ended up with everything but the texting and i-pad... for $63.08 a month, all in, so I accepted. Now the new contract will start when/if I do the HUP to the 4, or whatever. I was paying $80-90 a month before and will now be $65-75, with more features.

The i-Pad sharing would be an extra $20/month, but since I don't have an iPad, fine. The CSR also said you can tether your i-Phone to the iPad, if I were to get one, as they both share out of the same 6 gee-bees pool, anyway.

This strategy would work with any company, I imagine.

A big thanks to FanIn80!

So, If anyone has recent experience, feel free to share. If every person considering a new phone got some real time, honest comparables, plan prices would start to drop across the board...
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Old 08-06-2010, 12:08 PM   #2
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Awesome!

Word of caution though, you can't actually tether the iPad and iPhone together unless you jailbreak the iPhone. CSRs will tell you all kinds of interesting things to get you to lean a certain way.

One of my favourites was last Friday at a Rogers store, when one of them was telling a customer that they should get a bigger data plan because "the iPhone 4 has a much higher resolution, so it uses a lot more data."
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Old 08-06-2010, 12:16 PM   #3
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Nice work.

I have a question. Right now my big issue is with being able to get new handsets. I find that the handsets don't really last much beyond 2 years. However, I'm with Telus and they only give out handsets when you get a new contract.

Are the other providers better off with giving out new handsets? If so, it might be time for me to buy out my Telus contract and switch to another provider.
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Old 08-06-2010, 12:29 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blankall View Post
Nice work.

I have a question. Right now my big issue is with being able to get new handsets. I find that the handsets don't really last much beyond 2 years. However, I'm with Telus and they only give out handsets when you get a new contract.

Are the other providers better off with giving out new handsets? If so, it might be time for me to buy out my Telus contract and switch to another provider.
Every provider is the same with regards to new handsets. Upgrades are available after you complete two years of your three year contract.

iPhones are a different story, though. Most of the carriers will offer some sort of early upgrade promotion if you meet a certain criteria. As far as I know, Telus is the only Canadian iPhone carrier that refuses to participate in this.

If you're not an iPhone guy, you can still usually talk the other carriers into letting you switch phones (depending on the circumstances)... but if you're with Telus, you'll have a much harder time. I have yet to talk to anyone that was allowed to upgrade (without paying an arm and a leg) before their 2 years was up. I suggested (in a different thread) that a Telus customer here try phoning them and reminding them how much money they'll lose by not allowing an upgrade, but someone else responded saying they did the same thing and was told that they were more than welcome to cancel.

Moral of the story:

There are two types of cell phone consumers. Those who care about what their phone can do (besides making calls) and those who don't care about the phone itself and are more concerned with how much they're paying and where they can get service, etc.

Telus is for the latter, everyone else is for the former.


(I suppose there is a third category that even I fit into, which is "all of the above" but people like me are generally screwed in that regard.)


Edit: Sorry, I should clarify. I'm not saying that Telus doesn't have good phones, because they do. I'm just saying that people who are interested in new phones coming out with different features, etc, will not like being with Telus as there is zero negotiating room for switching phones early.

Last edited by FanIn80; 08-06-2010 at 12:37 PM.
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Old 08-06-2010, 12:40 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blankall View Post
Nice work.

I have a question. Right now my big issue is with being able to get new handsets. I find that the handsets don't really last much beyond 2 years. However, I'm with Telus and they only give out handsets when you get a new contract.

Are the other providers better off with giving out new handsets? If so, it might be time for me to buy out my Telus contract and switch to another provider.
I got a text from Bell letting me know I could upgrade my phone or something like it right after the first 2 years of my 3 year contract was up. Perfect timing for me to ditch my piece of crap HTC Touch for the awesome iPhone 4.
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Old 08-06-2010, 12:42 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FanIn80 View Post
Every provider is the same with regards to new handsets. Upgrades are available after you complete two years of your three year contract.

iPhones are a different story, though. Most of the carriers will offer some sort of early upgrade promotion if you meet a certain criteria. As far as I know, Telus is the only Canadian iPhone carrier that refuses to participate in this.

If you're not an iPhone guy, you can still usually talk the other carriers into letting you switch phones (depending on the circumstances)... but if you're with Telus, you'll have a much harder time. I have yet to talk to anyone that was allowed to upgrade (without paying an arm and a leg) before their 2 years was up. I suggested (in a different thread) that a Telus customer here try phoning them and reminding them how much money they'll lose by not allowing an upgrade, but someone else responded saying they did the same thing and was told that they were more than welcome to cancel.

Moral of the story:

There are two types of cell phone consumers. Those who care about what their phone can do (besides making calls) and those who don't care about the phone itself and are more concerned with how much they're paying and where they can get service, etc.

Telus is for the latter, everyone else is for the former.


(I suppose there is a third category that even I fit into, which is "all of the above" but people like me are generally screwed in that regard.)


Edit: Sorry, I should clarify. I'm not saying that Telus doesn't have good phones, because they do. I'm just saying that people who are interested in new phones coming out with different features, etc, will not like being with Telus as there is zero negotiating room for switching phones early.
I'm just coming to two years and my handset has broken. Telus is not giving me a new one, which is ridiculous. It would cost me 240 to buy out my contract and 200 for a new iphone with another company. Or I could stick with Telus and buy a new smartphone for a minumum of 400-500 or an iphone for 650....awful.

Anyways, is it true Rogers allows upgrades part-way through contracts without signing a new contract?
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Old 08-06-2010, 12:52 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blankall View Post
I'm just coming to two years and my handset has broken. Telus is not giving me a new one, which is ridiculous. It would cost me 240 to buy out my contract and 200 for a new iphone with another company. Or I could stick with Telus and buy a new smartphone for a minumum of 400-500 or an iphone for 650....awful.

Anyways, is it true Rogers allows upgrades part-way through contracts without signing a new contract?
Yeesh. That's ridiculous.

As for the Rogers thing, I haven't heard of anyone upping with a new contract... but I'm sure someone's been able to do it. They'll do all kinds of crazy things to keep their customers.
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Old 08-06-2010, 12:56 PM   #8
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Wow those are some great contracts. Mine is $90 dollars a month and I have about 200 minutes less and only 500 MB.

I need to make a call. Fanin80 - this is Rogers right?
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Old 08-06-2010, 12:58 PM   #9
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Rogers, it is!
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Old 08-06-2010, 01:25 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by puckluck View Post
Wow those are some great contracts. Mine is $90 dollars a month and I have about 200 minutes less and only 500 MB.

I need to make a call. Fanin80 - this is Rogers right?
I'm sure they'll HUP you if you tell them about Macdonald's incompetence.

As for the buy-out threat...I thinks that's the magic bullet. They are probably trained not to lose existing clients.

Last edited by algernon; 08-06-2010 at 01:28 PM.
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Old 08-06-2010, 01:53 PM   #11
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After A LOT of negotiating, and ton`s of plan changes, I believe I have an AMAZING plan.

So now for 41.01 including GRRF I get...(43 after tax-only GST here)
500 Anytime- 6 months unlimited
Unlimited Evening Weekend 5PM
Unlimited Incoming
1000 Canada Wide LD
Unlimited Messaging (sms and mms)
6GB Data with APN3CON- 2 months unlimited
Unlimited Network Calling
Caller ID+Name Display
Visual Voicemail

It was 41.01 and the rep offered me an additional 5 off if I resign to 3 years, so I did (as this contract will be easily movable) so my total is 36.01 + tax
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Old 08-06-2010, 01:59 PM   #12
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OK.
You win. Holy that's an awesome plan.

Have you been with them forever? I think when I was a kid, when car phones first were all the rage, people were paying triple digits regularly.
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Old 08-06-2010, 02:06 PM   #13
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Incredible plan.
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Old 08-06-2010, 02:25 PM   #14
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Been with Rogers for about 8 years, i Think. I bought an unlocked iPhone 4 at launch since I didn't want to extend, but with this plan it was worth it.

It took alot of negotiations to get this plan-inched my way toward it (didn't happen in one call, let's just say).

Now I am going to grab a locked i4 at Apple for 159$ on the HUP, might as well, my brother wanted an iPhone as well. That, or sell it. I still need my unlocked one >3.

I should note, for the last few years, my bill has been pretty high (as per my usage). Got lots of early HUPs with high bills though lol.
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Old 08-06-2010, 02:51 PM   #15
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I have a similar plan, with 100 more minutes/2GB less data, and pay $68/month taxes in.
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Old 08-06-2010, 02:58 PM   #16
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I just upgraded to an Iphone 3GS 2 months ago and my wife just upgraded to a 3GS 1 month ago. Both of us signed up for another 3 year term. We've both been with Fido for about 4-5 years with no complaints really.

Neither of us cared for the new Iphone 4.

The thing that ticks me off is that my wife and I have the same plan, besides her getting 1000 LD Canadian minutes per month, yet I'm paying a good $20-$25 more than her. She isn't paying the SAF as well and I am.

The woman I spoke to seemed pretty rude to me when I asked why. She said, "Just because your wife was given that offer doesn't mean you get the same thing."

Should I call back? I probably will be calling back.
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Old 08-06-2010, 03:03 PM   #17
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What if they call your bluff?
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Old 08-06-2010, 03:26 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by Top_Prospect View Post
I just upgraded to an Iphone 3GS 2 months ago and my wife just upgraded to a 3GS 1 month ago. Both of us signed up for another 3 year term. We've both been with Fido for about 4-5 years with no complaints really.

Neither of us cared for the new Iphone 4.

The thing that ticks me off is that my wife and I have the same plan, besides her getting 1000 LD Canadian minutes per month, yet I'm paying a good $20-$25 more than her. She isn't paying the SAF as well and I am.

The woman I spoke to seemed pretty rude to me when I asked why. She said, "Just because your wife was given that offer doesn't mean you get the same thing."

Should I call back? I probably will be calling back.
Probably would have made sense to negotiate before you resigned a 3 year contract. Not sure how much you'll be able to squeeze out of them now.
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Old 08-06-2010, 03:42 PM   #19
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What if they call your bluff?
On your first call- make sure you are speaking to Retentions.

Threaten to cancel, going to Wind, Bell whatever. If they don`t give you anything good, cancel. You have 30 days to revert the cancellation.

A few days later, call back. Ask how to port your number. At this moment in time it is likely the rep will give it one last shot to keep you a customer
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Old 08-06-2010, 03:43 PM   #20
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After reading some things about getting to retentions (customer relations at Rogers) I decided to give it a try for my i4 upgrade. I was being offered the 399 price for a 16g phone (bought a 3g just before the 3gs came out...doh). Still have almost 2 years left in my plan, and don't spend a lot. Decided to give it a try, figured I had nothing to lose, but wanted the $159 HUP price.

Call up, explain my situation a bit with the regular guy, and of course there is nothing he can do. Then (very nicely) asked what my contract buy out would be as I am thinking about moving to Bell. He tells me ($500, the max) and kind of dismisses the fact that it I would want to go that route. So then I just said that it is what I expected, and how do I go about doing that. That was the key I think, since now he had to move it to retentions.

Retentions guy was good, just explained my plight and said I am thinking about buying out my contract, and I was wondering if he had any flexibility on the price for the upgrade. After a few minutes of typing, he tells me he can offer me the 159 price.

Figured if they said they could do nothing for me, and that I was stuck with the $399 price, then I could've just said that I wanted to think a bit more about whether I wanted to do the buy out and gotten off the phone.

I'll definitely try to use this again in a year or so and see if I can work my plan a little more, but for now I am happy having saved $240 on the phone upgrade.

Edit---good info there silentsim, I'll have to remember that one.

Last edited by Ryan Coke; 08-06-2010 at 03:45 PM.
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