Good grief. What is the world coming to. I speak, of course, of the nightmare of buying a new mobile phone. Finding the right phone wasn’t a problem, and thanks to Strathclydezero I found the perfect phone for me. I am currently with o2 for my phone, so I went to their website to upgrade my phone. The price seemed OK – £79.99 – however there wasn’t any indication that I could get the phone as an upgrade to my existing one. So I rang them and was told that the £79.99 price was for new customers only.
It transpred that as I wanted to upgrade my phone it would cost me about £250. Once I had picked my jaw up from the floor I asked why the price was so much higher and was told (no hint of a lie, these are the exact words the woman I spoke to used) “It’s like with anything, they give you a good price when they want to get your business.” To which I replied that I would be best being a new customer for another phone company, then.
What’s wrong with these people? I have been with o2 for 3 1/2 years, paying on average £25 – £40 per month for the privilege of using their service. Why am I penalised for being an existing customer who wants to stay with o2 by being charged three times the price for a phone handset that a new customer would. It’s ridiculous. Can you imaging any other company saying that?
The AA:
“New customers can have breakdown cover for £50 per year, but iy will cost you £150”.
Or how about the local sandwich shop:
“One ham salad sandwich, that will be £12 please”
“£12? What the…”
“Yes, £12, because you’ve bought sandwiches from us before.”
So, obviously, I’m looking for a new phone company. One that will welcome my business. And in a years time, when I want to upgrade the phone again, I’ll start looking round for yet another company to be a new customer for.