[Q] Chances with retentions - Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III

Hey folks.
Today my fiance and I had decided to take advantage of the sprint black friday sale on Galaxy S3's. Prior to this she had been on her parents' plan, and not paying anything. We decided we would upgrade my current plan (individual) to a family plan.
We looked at the original price tag of around 150$, which with my company discount comes down to around 115$. We figured there would be some fees, but when we got the expected bill of ~180$ a month (both phones, the 10$ "enhanced data," and the 11$ per phone for TEP, plus taxes, sprint "fees," 32$ in activation fees (after being charged 30$ when I got my evo-4g and being told that the charges would never be put on my account again since they were one-time deals) etc). I asked her on the spot if she was ok with that price and she said yes. However a few minutes ago she came down stairs incredibly upset with really bad buyers remorse. She's planning to return the phone tomorrow, which according to sprint's return policy she is ok to do.
Here's my thing - she ported her number off of her parents' plan already. Her old phone probably can't get added back on to their plan without incurring them a significant amount of cash (they're on an OLD plan). So, she'll have to get a voice plan somewhere else or there again but on her own this time. Almost no carrier that we look at can do it at a reasonable price (talk and text at t-mobile comes in at 49.99/mo), so the amount we'll save cash wise isn't huge if she goes through with this.
While I personally figured it was basically a christmas present she could enjoy, she is really freaking out and wanting to go back to her "dumb" phone. Since everything is under MY account and I've been a customer for 15 years (speaking of which, it really sucks that sprint seems to have magically forgotten about technology upgrade credits and all of my sprint premier bonuses), I'm hoping to get this resolved in a way that keeps her happy, and costs me the least. But since it's a new plan and we both should be covered under the return policy, I also am willing to put some muscle behind taking my business elsewhere since we *should* be able to walk away with just the restocking fees.
Before when I contacted sprint about downgrading a family plan (I had had a family plan before with an ex) they transferred me to retentions and offered a steeply discounted monthly plan to help keep me from having a line removed. Do you think there's any chance that would happen again?
I'm just trying to get some insight here. How flexible can retentions be these days?

Just tell her to enjoy the phone....do a remake of the Samsung commercial where the wife sends the guy a NSFW video when leaves for his trip and love it out lol
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

These days it is difficult to get a retention modified better price for your plan especially if you have a company discount already. Now you can always give them a call and say "I'm outta here or else" and you might get something...it oftentimes depends on the rep you get..If don't succeed the first time try again. Maybe you could possibly cut back somewhere else..remove insurance possibly and take chance..or other bills? Hope it works out for you.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Retention can not modify a plan that no longer exists. If you're within 14 days return the device and go back. No sense in getting stuck with something you don't want.
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Related

Sprint forced me to activate a new line to get the Epic 4G Touch

I walked into my local Sprint store with $600 cash in my pocket anticipating to walk out with a brand new SGS2E4GT at full MSRP without any additional commitment on my contract. (Have you guys noticed the full non contract price for this device is not listed.)
After the sales rep got the device from the stock room, we were ready to set it up with my existing account. After he logs into my account he notifies me that Im not eligable to an upgrade until January. So with a smile, I informed him that Im aware that Im not eligable yet & thats why Im willing to pay the full price for the phone. Then he said, Sorry sir, but effective today, every sprint device is ONLY available at a carrier subsidized price to people willing to activate a new line or those qualified for an upgrade. Which means nobody can purchase a phone at full price & swap it to their current number. (This **** didn't make any sense to me at all.)But any ways long story short, after a few minutes of blah blah blah, I walked out of the store with a brand new GS2, and a 3rd line to my account which I will not use but will be billed monthly $20 plus $10 premium data. Then he had the nerve to remind me that If I swap the new phone to my primary line before 30 days, I will lose my mail in rebate.....
What the hell is hapenning to Sprint????
That sucks. I had no problem getting mine.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium App
Sounds like you went to an indirect retailer and not a Sprint-owned corporate store because that's not true at all.
dizidi said:
I walked into my local Sprint store with $600 cash in my pocket anticipating to walk out with a brand new SGS2E4GT at full MSRP without any additional commitment on my contract. (Have you guys noticed the full non contract price for this device is not listed.)
After the sales rep got the device from the stock room, we were ready to set it up with my existing account. After he logs into my account he notifies me that Im not eligable to an upgrade until January. So with a smile, I informed him that Im aware that Im not eligable yet & thats why Im willing to pay the full price for the phone. Then he said, Sorry sir, but effective today, every sprint device is ONLY available at a carrier subsidized price to people willing to activate a new line or those qualified for an upgrade. Which means nobody can purchase a phone at full price & swap it to their current number. (This **** didn't make any sense to me at all.)But any ways long story short, after a few minutes of blah blah blah, I walked out of the store with a brand new GS2, and a 3rd line to my account which I will not use but will be billed monthly $20 plus $10 premium data. Then he had the nerve to remind me that If I swap the new phone to my primary line before 30 days, I will lose my mail in rebate.....
What the hell is hapenning to Sprint????
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You need to take it back and go to a Sprint corporate store
dizidi said:
I walked into my local Sprint store with $600 cash in my pocket anticipating to walk out with a brand new SGS2E4GT at full MSRP without any additional commitment on my contract. (Have you guys noticed the full non contract price for this device is not listed.)
After the sales rep got the device from the stock room, we were ready to set it up with my existing account. After he logs into my account he notifies me that Im not eligable to an upgrade until January. So with a smile, I informed him that Im aware that Im not eligable yet & thats why Im willing to pay the full price for the phone. Then he said, Sorry sir, but effective today, every sprint device is ONLY available at a carrier subsidized price to people willing to activate a new line or those qualified for an upgrade. Which means nobody can purchase a phone at full price & swap it to their current number. (This **** didn't make any sense to me at all.)But any ways long story short, after a few minutes of blah blah blah, I walked out of the store with a brand new GS2, and a 3rd line to my account which I will not use but will be billed monthly $20 plus $10 premium data. Then he had the nerve to remind me that If I swap the new phone to my primary line before 30 days, I will lose my mail in rebate.....
What the hell is hapenning to Sprint????
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While I'm aware of their new "no device without a 2 year contract" policy I didn't think it was impossible to replace a phone without a new contract. Frankly it sounds like you got fncked. I would call Sprint and escalate this up to someone that gives a fnck because frankly this is a gigantic load of bull****.
...there is no way in hell that you can't even replace a device on an existing line/contract. If that is true, well, there is NO REASON AT ALL TO STAY WITH SPRINT. (VERY SLOW) UNLIMITED DATA IS NO REASON TO STAY WITH A COMPANY THAT WONT EVEN LET YOU REPLACE A PHONE WITHOUT A NEW CONTRACT.
Even given their new restrictive policies I highly doubt that what you were subject to was actual official Sprint policy--I don't give a **** what they say, they are likely idiots who interpreted the new policy wrong (either for their own benefit or merely out of their own extreme ignorance).
Escalate this as appropriate. This is bull****...and if you find that this is actual official policy please demand the section of the contract that specifies this and LET US KNOW. We will spread the word and take heed which will result in Sprint losing US and EVERYBODY WE HAVE ALWAYS RECOMMENDED GO TO SPRINT. EVERYBODY. Do you hear that Sprint?
...if (and when) you (most likely) find this to be complete bull**** on your Sprint reps part (and I would be sure to post the store number and location here and many other places, store manager name included) I would also demand a form of compensation for having been lied to and tricked into a contract. Nothing extravagant, but, something you find equivalent in value to your time and expense required to deal with this crap.
Yeah, I had no issues getting mine today either and technically my 22 month upgrade was not until april.
Thanks for the input guys, I really felt like I was suckered into signing an extra line which I dont need in order to get the device I really want, even though I was willing to pay full price for it. I will call corporate tomorrow and bring it to their attention. Thank You.
Good luck, hope you get it solved. Definitely sounds like bs to me.
dizidi said:
Thanks for the input guys, I really felt like I was suckered into signing an extra line which I dont need in order to get the device I really want, even though I was willing to pay full price for it. I will call corporate tomorrow and bring it to their attention. Thank You.
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Go through amazon wireless hit with "no contract phone only" pay then slap that guy for bomboozlein you into a 2 year contract
Question towards this: I get my upgrade the 22nd, what price am I paying?
Sent from my Epic[Fail]4G ;P
dizidi said:
Thanks for the input guys, I really felt like I was suckered into signing an extra line which I dont need in order to get the device I really want, even though I was willing to pay full price for it. I will call corporate tomorrow and bring it to their attention. Thank You.
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Make sure you return the device by Sunday so you don't get charged an activation fee. Given the situation you described, you can probably get any charges reversed by care anyway... but to be on the safe side, return it within 3 days to avoid the fee for sure.
That's BS, u got the short end of the stick. So much to talk about here. First of all Sprint is known to make an exception that close out of a 2 year agreement and provide you with full subsidization. At the very least they will provide you with partial subsidization. The reason why they probably don't sell them at full price is because it probably doesn't ever happen because it makes zero sense even with the recent early termination hike to $350 dollars. If you want it right now, process the order overnight on the line in question with overnight delivery from a retailer like wirefly.com and return and close out the new line u purchased. I'm pretty sure they'll give you options to buy without a new line at wirefly. That would be really bad for business if they didn't. I think the return policy is 14 days now and you may suffer a restocking fee for it all. Good luck.
The phone is $499.99 retail on Sprint.com, so you definitely got suckered into a new activation and a nice commission/spiff for the sales person who got to you.
Wow, i remember those days as a cell phone salesguy and the stuff we used to pull, like these (and much worse).
This phone doesn't have a mail in rebate. And remember you can call customer care tell them that they are not allowing you to buy the phone. At least I didn't get a rebate.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
LordLugard said:
The phone is $499.99 retail on Sprint.com, so you definitely got suckered into a new activation and a nice commission/spiff for the sales person who got to you.
Wow, i remember those days as a cell phone salesguy and the stuff we used to pull, like these (and much worse).
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I was just going to say this. If u go on sprint.com u can buy the phone without an upgrade for $499.99 so that just shows that place screwed u. Hope u get this straightened out cuz thats bull**** man.
Yeah use the 14 day satisfaction guarantee to tell that store a big **** you.
Just pay the ETF on your old line. Depending how long you had it the most it can be is $200 but since you said your upgrade was in January, it should be a lot less then that even be less then that. In the end you will save more money then buying the phone outright as long as you do not care about getting a new number.....
Then you go go thank the guy in the Sprint store for saving you a ****load of money!
And I thought there were no mail in rebates? Did you actually get a mail in rebate with the phone?
I bought mine for 499 without a problem.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
What a fool. They feed you a spoon of bull **** and you ate it. All over a phone which in a few weeks could be brought on ebay for $350 and some change.
Yeah...I would call and cancel the line...pay the eft and call it even
dizidi said:
I walked into my local Sprint store with $600 cash in my pocket anticipating to walk out with a brand new SGS2E4GT at full MSRP without any additional commitment on my contract. (Have you guys noticed the full non contract price for this device is not listed.)
After the sales rep got the device from the stock room, we were ready to set it up with my existing account. After he logs into my account he notifies me that Im not eligable to an upgrade until January. So with a smile, I informed him that Im aware that Im not eligable yet & thats why Im willing to pay the full price for the phone. Then he said, Sorry sir, but effective today, every sprint device is ONLY available at a carrier subsidized price to people willing to activate a new line or those qualified for an upgrade. Which means nobody can purchase a phone at full price & swap it to their current number. (This **** didn't make any sense to me at all.)But any ways long story short, after a few minutes of blah blah blah, I walked out of the store with a brand new GS2, and a 3rd line to my account which I will not use but will be billed monthly $20 plus $10 premium data. Then he had the nerve to remind me that If I swap the new phone to my primary line before 30 days, I will lose my mail in rebate.....
What the hell is hapenning to Sprint????
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Click to collapse
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

Sprint launches early upgrade promo

In an industry where customer churn can be likened to the fearsome troll under the bridge, Sprint has launched a program designed to keep its favored subscribers around for another two years. While not everyone is eligible -- those who've upgraded less than eight months ago, corporate outfits and those in collections need not inquire -- the program lets customers buy their way out of their current commitment and become eligible for a new, subsidized handset. The promotion begins February 12th and is set to run through the 14th of April, where the amount you pay correlates to the time since your last upgrade. So if you're currently pining for the Epic 4G Touch or the iPhone 4S, just give your local Sprint store a call this Sunday. They just may be able to hook you up.
Source:http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/09/sprint-launches-early-upgrade-promo/
Nice C/P skills -_-
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It's more like they want to get rid of Wimax phones and other inventory it seems like. It's a ripoff, hardly worth the price. Ebay is cheaper
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Cleaning house getting ready for LTE
My OG Epic (Now NS4G) line is due for an upgrade in 5 months...may be perfect timing for once
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IMO opinion this is more of a contract buyout to get new user pricing than it is an early upgrade promo like the Sprint Premier Gold program was.
It makes 0 sense to pay $55 to buy out for early upgrade if you're like 1-4 months out.
cds0699 said:
It makes 0 sense to pay $55 to buy out for early upgrade if you're like 1-4 months out.
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Keep in mind though, that we live in a world where people will happily spend well in excess of $55 to "upgrade" from something like a IPhone 4 to a 4s. Sometimes, "sense" takes a back seat to a desire to be instantaneously satisfied... lol
CoppertoneSPF15 said:
Keep in mind though, that we live in a world where people will happily spend well in excess of $55 to "upgrade" from something like a IPhone 4 to a 4s. Sometimes, "sense" takes a back seat to a desire to be instantaneously satisfied... lol
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I have to agree, people at my store will pay a lot to get their upgrade now to get the phone they want now. I think a lot of it comes from people who buy cheap phones and just can't take having them anymore and will do anything to get out of that phone.
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newalker91 said:
This actually isn't a promotion. It's just a last resort offering by Retention as of right now. You pay on average $10/month remaining on your contract with an average maximum of 6 months to move your upgrade up. We've been doing it for months for customers in my stores, but it's never really been publicly advertised.
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Are you working for a corporate store or a preferred retailer? I'm a preferred retailer and would love to know how you go about doing it, and compare that to the way we do it at our store. Shoot me a PM, love to compare notes!
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JasonK75 said:
Are you working for a corporate store or a preferred retailer? I'm a preferred retailer and would love to know how you go about doing it, and compare that to the way we do it at our store. Shoot me a PM, love to compare notes!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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can i be included in this? i only have a way for 2 weeks early... preferred retailer
My wife is only 2 months away from an upgrade; if she waits, she still pays 36 dollars "activation fee", or, if she does it tomorrow, its the same 36 dollars, so, if you are a month or 2 away, it doesn't cost you a dime more to do it now..
yes, i am sure its to clean out the existing inventory before the "new" network is in full swing..
WOOT, 3000 POSTS!!
I work at a preferred dealer as well, just tell your customers to call customer care and see if they can do an early upgrade. If that doesn't work have them be transferred to retentions and say someone they know was able to buy out their remaining contract and get an early upgrade. That easy. I have my upgrade still, saving it for the GSIII because I'm not stupid like some people.
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ccline84 said:
I work at a preferred dealer as well, just tell your customers to call customer care and see if they can do an early upgrade. If that doesn't work have them be transferred to retentions and say someone they know was able to buy out their remaining contract and get an early upgrade. That easy. I have my upgrade still, saving it for the GSIII because I'm not stupid like some people.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
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i have an airave for that
Ok I called Sprint customer care today inquiring about the upgrade. My girl's line is due for upgrade in October and I am tired of her complaining about her Evo3d restarting all the time. So I called to see if I can get that upgrade for an Iphone for her. I was told that the new promo is only for people who's upgrade is in April or earlier and are also having phone issues. I think I'm going to call a corporate store tomorrow. Any advice or am I wasting my time? The Engadget article said if you upgraded within the last 8 months your or not eligible. I didn't upgrade this line within the last 8 months.
To upgrade or not to upgrade....
I saw this on Friday and wandered into a Sprint store on Sunday. The fella at the desk told me this was all legit and that I would need to call customer service because he could not do anything from the store (he said to ask for the "retentions" department).
I've been suffering with a Hero for the last 18 months. Loved the phone when I first got it, but it didn't take long to realize that it was not powerful enough to keep me happy. My wife is on her third Moment because everything about that phone just doesn't seem to work. I was hoping to hold out for an LTE phone but it appears those won't be dropping until late summer, and I'm not sure if we can hold out that long.
On the Sprint website, I get a message that I am eligible for $150 off a new phone on April 1 (remnants of the Premiere Program). From what I read, I'll have to pay $36 to upgrade in April or I can pay $55 now.
So my question(s) to all you Sprint people out there, am I reading all this correctly? Will I still qualify for the $150 off the new phone? Am I absolutely crazy for not waiting for LTE? Should I take the SGS2E4GT (Galaxy S 2) or hold out for the Nexus?
Thanks for the input.
dabigoh said:
I saw this on Friday and wandered into a Sprint store on Sunday. The fella at the desk told me this was all legit and that I would need to call customer service because he could not do anything from the store (he said to ask for the "retentions" department).
I've been suffering with a Hero for the last 18 months. Loved the phone when I first got it, but it didn't take long to realize that it was not powerful enough to keep me happy. My wife is on her third Moment because everything about that phone just doesn't seem to work. I was hoping to hold out for an LTE phone but it appears those won't be dropping until late summer, and I'm not sure if we can hold out that long.
On the Sprint website, I get a message that I am eligible for $150 off a new phone on April 1 (remnants of the Premiere Program). From what I read, I'll have to pay $36 to upgrade in April or I can pay $55 now.
So my question(s) to all you Sprint people out there, am I reading all this correctly? Will I still qualify for the $150 off the new phone? Am I absolutely crazy for not waiting for LTE? Should I take the SGS2E4GT (Galaxy S 2) or hold out for the Nexus?
Thanks for the input.
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I would buy a used phone off Craig's list or something now and hold onto you upgrade for an LTE device. You can get an E4GT for around $300 and EVO 3D for much less or an Nexus 4G for even less then that.
That is what I would do because once the GN drops you know you will want it or whatever cool LTE phone comes out soon after that...
The way I read this is that they are just pro-rating your ETF (the way they all should do anyway).
In theory, it works like this:
A high end handset costs ~$600 but in exchange for signing a 2-year contract, the cell phone carrier will subsidize $400 of the cost and roll the cost of that "loan" into the cost of your monthly service. You get a new phone without as large an initial outlay of cash and they gain a steady source of income for at least the next 2 years.
In theory you should be able to bring your own phone and get service at a lower cost off-contract because you aren't paying off a subsidy but since the top 3 providers don't offer this, there is not really any benefit to not taking the subsidy. You are already paying the same monthly rate so other than not being locked into a service contract, you gain nothing financially from not taking the $400 subsidy.
Along with this, in theory, your ETF should drop by 1/24th every month as you are basically paying off the subsidy one month at a time over two years. Once again, it doesn't quite work that way. At least this is an attempt to let people pay off the remaining subsidy before signing a new contract and taking a new one.
I would prefer to just pay $600 for my phone and then pay $17 less per month (approx 1/24 of $400) with no contract but since the US market seems accustomed to cheaper subsidized handsets on contract I don't know it would ever take off much. The contracts, handset exclusives, and lack of porting options have made it so the carriers have little incentive to compete on price or plan options..but that's another topic for another day.
Well I got mine it was 40 bucks but.my Gf needs a new phone had so, iPhone 4s and she can have my day 2week old epic touch 4g
Update: I got my upgrade and the fee was added to my bill and my upgrade is now waiting. Pretty cool. I have another upgrade in August so I will se what they have then.
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I have a upgrade in October, but I'm debating to hold off for the s3 which could be a long way off or get the epic touch. I have a 3d right now but the white epic touch looks sexy.
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Get a phone on contract and cancel

Hey guys, me, my mom and dad just switched to t mobile. i Have some money, so i bought the gnote 2 with EIP (we're on the value plan) but my parents came over with their att gs2's.
My dad really wants the gs3 so i'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to do it. If he does the EIP, he'll pay 170ish down, and then 20 dollars a month for two years, so thats 170 +400. but he wouldnt have to put so much down now, it would come out to like 220 with tax.
I could try and get it on craigslist for like 350... I mean technically tmobile would let him add insurance to it as long as its a tmobile phone even if its used, i think. I'm considering this.
My real question is this, Could i buy it on contract, under my name (my actual phone is under my moms family plan) for like 50 dollars in best buy now, and i dont think thats with a rebate, and then cancel the contract and keep the phone? If i add that up, Its 50, plus 50 for the tax i think, 35 for the activation fee if i cant get that waived, and the 200 early termination fee. thats about 3-335. of course i'll have to pay for some service, so, will that be prorated? then it can be as low as 30-40 extra dollars which brings the total to like 370, or even if i have to pay the full month of service, thats like 400... thats much better than 550 plus tax.... even if there is a rebate which i wouldnt get back because ill be cancelling, maybe it would come to 500 total....
does anyone have any info on this?
mottyengel said:
Hey guys, me, my mom and dad just switched to t mobile. i Have some money, so i bought the gnote 2 with EIP (we're on the value plan) but my parents came over with their att gs2's.
My dad really wants the gs3 so i'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to do it. If he does the EIP, he'll pay 170ish down, and then 20 dollars a month for two years, so thats 170 +400. but he wouldnt have to put so much down now, it would come out to like 220 with tax.
I could try and get it on craigslist for like 350... I mean technically tmobile would let him add insurance to it as long as its a tmobile phone even if its used, i think. I'm considering this.
My real question is this, Could i buy it on contract, under my name (my actual phone is under my moms family plan) for like 50 dollars in best buy now, and i dont think thats with a rebate, and then cancel the contract and keep the phone? If i add that up, Its 50, plus 50 for the tax i think, 35 for the activation fee if i cant get that waived, and the 200 early termination fee. thats about 3-335. of course i'll have to pay for some service, so, will that be prorated? then it can be as low as 30-40 extra dollars which brings the total to like 370, or even if i have to pay the full month of service, thats like 400... thats much better than 550 plus tax.... even if there is a rebate which i wouldnt get back because ill be cancelling, maybe it would come to 500 total....
does anyone have any info on this?
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One thing. If you sign up for a plan at best buy or anywhere where you are either signing a contract or getting a new account. You can't just cancel and keep the phone. They will not cancel you unless you return the phone. Id you don't they will charge you for the full price plus who knows what else. If your parents can unlock their phones through art and they can be used on tmobiles service is do that and save some money. Or have them sell their att phones to help with the downpayme t of the sgs3. Just some advice.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
monkeypaws said:
One thing. If you sign up for a plan at best buy or anywhere where you are either signing a contract or getting a new account. You can't just cancel and keep the phone. They will not cancel you unless you return the phone. Id you don't they will charge you for the full price plus who knows what else. If your parents can unlock their phones through art and they can be used on tmobiles service is do that and save some money. Or have them sell their att phones to help with the downpayme t of the sgs3. Just some advice.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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hmmm but that doiesnt sound right to me...we all just left att and cancelled our contracts and went to tmobile.. and we all bought our phones at best buy, my father in may of last year, and me and my mom in february, and we just had to pay the cancellation fees, are you saying that tmobile is different? I mean, maybe they wont let me cancel untill after the 14 days... or maybe they wont prorate and make me pay for the full month... but youre saying theyll make me pay for the full retail? AND the cancellation fee??
mottyengel said:
hmmm but that doiesnt sound right to me...we all just left att and cancelled our contracts and went to tmobile.. and we all bought our phones at best buy, my father in may of last year, and me and my mom in february, and we just had to pay the cancellation fees, are you saying that tmobile is different? I mean, maybe they wont let me cancel untill after the 14 days... or maybe they wont prorate and make me pay for the full month... but youre saying theyll make me pay for the full retail? AND the cancellation fee??
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Sorry. I guess I made you confused. I meant if you were to cancel within the 14 days you'd have to return the phone for a full refund. After the 14 days you can cancel and keep whatever phones you got. Now if you were to choose the value plans and get on the eip for 20 months and then cancelled after 14 days, ypud he billed for the remaining payments that are left on your bill. I hope that helps. If not maybe I read your question wrong.
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Even if you cancel your account on the value plan, you're going to end up paying the full price of the phone no matter what.
They're going to just overlook the remaining fees on a 500+ dollar device.
monkeypaws had the best solutions for you.
Unlock the devices so you can use them on T-Mobile.
Or sell them, they should fetch around $200 on Craigslist depending on the condition and accessories. Or possibly more on eBay.
You would easily be able to pay the down payment on the GS3's with that.
If your dad thinks that the down payment is too much, then i'd recommend waiting it out for a little while.
T-Mobile may have a random sale and you'll be able to get the GS3 for cheap(er).
I remember doing that and being able to pick up a GS3 for something like $99.
khoikn said:
Even if you cancel your account on the value plan, you're going to end up paying the full price of the phone no matter what.
They're going to just overlook the remaining fees on a 500+ dollar device.
monkeypaws had the best solutions for you.
Unlock the devices so you can use them on T-Mobile.
Or sell them, they should fetch around $200 on Craigslist depending on the condition and accessories. Or possibly more on eBay.
You would easily be able to pay the down payment on the GS3's with that.
If your dad thinks that the down payment is too much, then i'd recommend waiting it out for a little while.
T-Mobile may have a random sale and you'll be able to get the GS3 for cheap(er).
I remember doing that and being able to pick up a GS3 for something like $99.
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When I said cancel I meant to sign up for a regular plan, and cancel and pay the early termination fee, not a value plan. But it doesnt seem like itll work anyway... if you cancel, then you need to pay the early termination fee and the full retail of the phone, each months payment towards your plan pays offsome of it so after like 10 months maybe itll be paid off... but I woukdnt be able to just cancel....
mottyengel said:
When I said cancel I meant to sign up for a regular plan, and cancel and pay the early termination fee, not a value plan. But it doesnt seem like itll work anyway... if you cancel, then you need to pay the early termination fee and the full retail of the phone, each months payment towards your plan pays offsome of it so after like 10 months maybe itll be paid off... but I woukdnt be able to just cancel....
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Click to collapse
Sorry for my misunderstanding.
What you're saying is true.
So, at this point, what are you planning to do?
I'll ask my friend if it's possible he works for tmobile I'm sure he would know
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
On any carrier, if you cancel your contract, you must pay full retail for your phone if not already paid off. Even on regular plans that aren't value plans. If people could do what you want to do, think about it, nobody would ever buy a phone on Craig's list and would buy the phone and sign the contract then immediately cancel. You pay less for a phone on contact because in your monthly payments you are paying off the phone. Yes even on the classic plan. That's why your monthly bills are more then the value pan.
If he wants the s3 then he well either need to pay full retail for it or you could get it on cl. I know in my area they go for 400+
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
I sold my previous phone and I was able to put more money down for my sgs3. I put down extra and my payments went from 20$ to 10$/mo.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Yay I love fraud.
To me, what you're suggesting is like taking a crap on your friend's porch and smearing it all over.
Even if you could "get away with it" - do you think they're going to want to be your friend any more ? T-Mobile can make notes in your account - and they're going to know where that phone went. They could possibly take legal action against you if they really wanted to be spiteful (which, really, would be pretty fair if they found a way), or they could block the IMEI from their network - very simple for them and fraud seems to be the #1 reason they do so.
Sure, it might work out fine and the phone might continue to work - but is that really how you want to treat a company you want to continue to have a business relationship with ?
I guess it really comes down to if you're willing to basically steal - this isn't copying a file, it's manipulating your way to getting a piece of hardware by making a promise you never intended to keep. You'd basically be on the level of the dudes who bury $10 monthly charges in the T&C of sign ups and conveniently don't mention it anywhere else.
Just sell the S2 and get an S3. You'll likely end up paying less out of pocket even if you get the S3 new.
The day after celebrating what we are thankful for and I get up and read this nonsense. Sigh...
If you can't afford the phone, don't buy it. Pretty simple. Be thankful you have an old phone.
psykhotic said:
Yay I love fraud.
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It's not fraud because it's not possible lol. It's just plain dumb. It's impossible.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Pennycake said:
To me, what you're suggesting is like taking a crap on your friend's porch and smearing it all over.
Even if you could "get away with it" - do you think they're going to want to be your friend any more ? T-Mobile can make notes in your account - and they're going to know where that phone went. They could possibly take legal action against you if they really wanted to be spiteful (which, really, would be pretty fair if they found a way), or they could block the IMEI from their network - very simple for them and fraud seems to be the #1 reason they do so.
Sure, it might work out fine and the phone might continue to work - but is that really how you want to treat a company you want to continue to have a business relationship with ?
I guess it really comes down to if you're willing to basically steal - this isn't copying a file, it's manipulating your way to getting a piece of hardware by making a promise you never intended to keep. You'd basically be on the level of the dudes who bury $10 monthly charges in the T&C of sign ups and conveniently don't mention it anywhere else.
Just sell the S2 and get an S3. You'll likely end up paying less out of pocket even if you get the S3 new.
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Id get angry at you but I guess my op wasn't very clear. I'm nit trying to get away with anything. Im not trying to steal a phone. What I was asking is, just like I am legally entitled to sign up for a contract and then cancel it and pay a 200 etf, or to cancel within 14 days and psy an early re stocking fee, would this be allowed as well. Because normally you wouldnt come out on top because on other carriers, the tef is alot more, most of the time expensive phones are alot even when you sign a contract and they msy make you psy for a month of service. I was just asking if they would allow you to keep the phone. You guys are just way to quick to blow up at me. Seriously. Anyway, the answer is no, so I bought him the phone with eip and its actually only 100 down now because of a sale. So, thanks everyone
This is exactly why regular customers like me who are looking to upgrade have to pay up front and then do mail in rebates, or even pay deposits...because they have to be cautious of people like you trying to cheat the system...just buy on on craigslist or something or why not just rob some random stranger since that is exactly the same thing...why not they have insurance right?.....jeez posts like this should probably be banned like cracked app threads are.
killj0y said:
This is exactly why regular customers like me who are looking to upgrade have to pay up front and then do mail in rebates, or even pay deposits...because they have to be cautious of people like you trying to cheat the system...just buy on on craigslist or something or why not just rob some random stranger since that is exactly the same thing...why not they have insurance right?.....jeez posts like this should probably be banned like cracked app threads are.
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Dude. Look at the post above yours. He clearly stated he wasnt tryong to cheat the system. He already got his dad the phone legit.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
monkeypaws said:
Dude. Look at the post above yours. He clearly stated he wasnt tryong to cheat the system. He already got his dad the phone legit.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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I read that, I was just pointing out the wrongness of it. I'm not trying to defend the carriers but this is supposedly why they pull that sorta stuff and it is easy enough to believe when I see posts like this. Anyways no getting around it really, you can probably find a way to cheat the system but you get burned too. Plus don't they block the IMEI?
Maybe I misunderstood the OP, but if he was asking if he could start a contract, wait 14 days, cancel it, pay the ETF, and keep the phone, I don't see the problem. That's exactly the point of the ETF... so long as he pays it he hasn't done anything wrong as far as I can tell?
-Sent from my GS3 running CM10.-
Yes it will work. You have to wait til the return grace period is over before you cancel the contract. It's 14 or 30 days depends on where you live and where you get the phone from. Avoid getting phones with mail in rebates.
As long as you pay the ETF you are fulfilling your part of the contract
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

General Rant about T-Mobile and tethering

First off, I'm not writing this to draw attention or comments. It's a rant to get it off my chest and nothing more.
I've been a very loyal T-Mobile customer for 8 or more years. I signed up when they were still transitioning from the Voicestream moniker. Now, having said that, I'll continue by saying that I've maintained the exact (almost) same plan with them since the day I signed up. I pay $20/month for voice, $10/month for texts, and $10/month for unlimited web. Now, this plan was cheap even when I signed up. There was a promotion running, and I was sick of Cingular, so I jumped over to T-Mobile. I got a shiny new RAZR or whatever bar phone Motorola was selling at the time.
Along with that plan and device combo, I also was treated to a free T-Mobile WiFi Hotspot add-on for my account. This allowed me access to T-Mobile's handful of WiFi Hotspots scattered around the US. Most of them were in airports or New York/LA coffee shops. It was free, so who was I to complain? Now, I didn't realize until later, but this WiFi Hotspot feature also included a line in the description about "Internet sharing," since "tethering" wasn't a thing yet. Out of curiosity, I did some research, and figured out the basics. I had to download some Motorola software, and connect it via a special USB cable to my laptop, and I'd have blazing fast EDGE data anywhere I went. Boy was I excited!
This actually led to my first smartphone purchase, where, shortly thereafter, I found XDA. So, we're somewhere around 2006 or so now. I kept on "Internet sharing" for a while, moderately. My university didn't have WiFi set up yet, so it was handy to pull up stuff during class. Facebook was just becoming a thing around that time, and had just been rolled out to my college. (Yea, back then they required a .edu email and actual enrollment in college... Ah, the good ol' days.) Anyway, I've never been a big data user, nor big on tethering. Even now, I use less than 3GB of data per month. I'm normally around WiFi networks, so most of my data use is streaming music while I drive around.
Fast forward to last year. I got a review device in of a Samsung Galaxy S2 on T-Mobile. My Sammy rep forgot to throw the SIM card in the box for this review unit, so I decided to go ahead and test it out with my personal SIM. I went about my day and continued using it all day and into the next. Sometime before noon, I went to the S2 and tried to pull up some television specs for a customer, but found that I was redirected to some weird page about not having a data plan. Obviously that wasn't the case as I had been using data on it just that morning, and had been using data on my HD2 with Android for a long while before that.
I got on the phone with T-Mo only to find out that they changed APNs and my old one could not be used on newer devices. The rep said she would fix the problem, as I told her that I was only using a review device, so I didn't want to change plans or anything. She said that the plan would not be changed, but I would still lack data service on the S2 with my old plan. I asked her if my hotspot add on was still on the plan, and she confirmed it. Ok, so minor inconvenience, but it was my own fault for being impatient with the review unit.
Skip ahead to a later date when I actually decide to update to the S2. I call again after losing data just like before. The nice man on the phone mentions that nothing will change other than the APN settings on their end. I again inquire about my hotspot add-on, to which he confirms is still there.
I later found out that the change he made was to move me to another plan at the same price. Still at $10/month, I had a newer data plan with the 5GB data cap. I still wasn’t using much data, so I didn't care. It was, to me, the same thing I had before.
Skip ahead to a month back, when I got a Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet. There is an option with this tablet to open it up and install your own miniPCI wireless card for mobile data depending upon which service provider you use. I thought it might be cool to make use of that, and I had heard about T-Mobile's new unlimited data plan, so I called them up to see what I could do. As it turns out, I could add the tablet to my account for $10 extra a month for its own 5GB allotment of data. The unlimited data plan for me was $20 a month. Now, my logic here was that I always have my phone with me, so let's just upgrade to the unlimited plan and skip the tablet plan altogether. Apparently, the unlimited data plan cannot be paired with a tethering plan of any kind. Ok, fair enough, I'll call back for the tablet plan as soon as my card comes in. I made sure to ask about my tethering add-on again to make certain that my account was reverted to the exact state it was in before the call, just as I always do.
Skip ahead to my Note 2 purchase. I decided to go through T-Mobile on a monthly installment plan. This evidently requires a 2 year contract extension, but does not change any features on your account, since I'm paying the full price for it, but in monthly installments. I confirmed with the sales rep that my plan would remain unchanged and that my tethering add-on would carry over. She confirmed that nothing on my account would change, since I'm purchasing the device outright. Ok, cool, then let's do it.
Somewhere in there, I also added a military discount and was randomly given some sort of "loyalty discount" that I can't recall the origin of. My monthly bill is under $30 a month for essentially unlimited everything. Anyway, for the military discount, I also made certain to verify the tethering thing and that no account options would change. It was assured to me that this was the case.
So, I'm sure anyone who is still reading this long, drawn out mess is aware of where it is going. I've been happily using my Note 2 for a month now with no problems. I've been tethering off and on since I got it. I hit an all-time high of 3.3GB of data this last billing cycle, still well under my cap. I used the tethering feature just this past weekend to download a few files to my laptop. Now, three days later, I try to use the tethering option, and I get a message pop up saying I have to add a tethering option to my account in order to use that feature. I thought it might be the custom ROM, but I figured, what the hell, let me call T-Mobile and make sure before I clog up the thread.
The first person I spoke to was the worst Customer Service rep I've ever dealt with in my long history with T-Mobile. I felt like she was reading from a set of flash cards. She was not letting me explain my situation, and kept repeating the "T-Mobile offers its customers a $15 tethering add on option for users who wish to use their phone to connect tablets and computers!" I eventually ended up hanging up on her out of frustration. I called back and explained my story to a much more understanding rep, who informed me of a recent change in T-Mobile's system.
What?!
Yup. My "WiFi Hotspot" add-on, which has been on my account for years now, has magically vanished. The only way forward was to pay an extra $15 for the tethering add-on or pay $15 extra to be "upgraded" to the 5GB plan that includes tethering. Why did this occur, you may be wondering?
Exact quote: "The Note 2 and other high end smartphones are not compatible with the grandfathered hotspot plans, so those features are dropped when you add them."
Not compatible? That makes no sense other than for you guys to charge more money for a service I'm already paying for. My main concern with this is that I'm on a limited data plan. I'm capped at 5GB per month of 3G/4G data. Beyond that it's crippled 2G speeds. I say crippled not to indicate that 2G speed is slower, but because it actually is crippled. My normal EDGE speed with T-Mobile in my area is around 300Kbps or so. A buddy of mine who went over his limit and was throttled was sent back to the dark ages at around 50Kbps or so. Slow enough that most everything data-related is completely unusable. So, not to quibble over the fact that I still technically have an unlimited data plan, we're going to just call a spade a spade here and admit that it's a 5GB cap.
That being said, who the upside down **** gives two ****s how I use MY ALLOTMENT of data per month. I'd understand if it were an actual unlimited plan that had this issue, but I am paying for 5GB of data per month from T-Mobile. They have ZERO right to tell me where the hell I use that. It honestly makes zero sense no matter how you slice it.
After explaining all this to the woman, she then relented that it was the Note 2 which killed my add on ( as I mentioned prematurely above). Yup, the device which the sales rep had no problem telling me would not affect my plan, affected my plan. I then stressed to her that I always check to make certain of how my plan changes, and for her to go back and listen to the conversation, since everyone records my conversation for "quality control." The woman who sold me the phone lied to me to my face. The rep I was speaking with hesitated, as she did not want to admit fault, but simply said that the rep may not have known or been informed of the possible change.
"Are you kidding me? That's even worse. If I were to commit a crime, and I didn't know it was a crime, I'd still go to jail for it. The fact is that she should have known, and lied to me."
After a brief pause, she acknowledged that she wouldn't like to be in my position either and asked me to hold on while she researched what she could do for me. After waiting a while, she offered me the new data plan with tethering and an additional discount of $15 per month for the next six months. She said that that this was the most she could do for me, but I could probably complain again in six months and get another discount.
Right now, I'm still pissed that it had to come to this. Some people will claim that the contracts always had a line about not using the phones for tethering or some such nonsense, but my original T-Mobile contract, which I signed on the dotted line, said nothing of the sort, since it wasn't even a thing at the time. I've never subsidized a phone through T-Mobile since that time, and have never signed another contract. I've extended my service agreement with them once, but without having to sign, initial, or agree to anything but to keep paying my bill on time every month.
Now, without any warning, and with complete disrespect to me, a T-Mobile employee has willingly or unwilling lied to my face in order to sell me a new device. I am still in disbelief.
I've been a customer myself for many years, and have converted at least 12 people to T-Mobile through my own praising over the years. No more. I'm not happy about the end result, but I also have little choice, as there are not any better options anywhere else. Sprint is nice, but their 3G data is slower than my T-Mobile 2G data. Verizon is way too expensive for what they offer. My T-Mobile plan would be $135 on Verizon using a comparable plan. Finally, AT&T is... well, I don't even need to finish that thought, do I?
Anyway, that's my rant. Again, if you read it all the way through, I'm not looking for comments or attention or anything. I just needed to get it off my chest is all. Thanks for reading.
I'm sorry, could you repeat that? ... so you're saying you're happy? LOL ... Hopefully you can get your discount extended in 6 months.
I hate cell companies, they really don't know about customer loyalty. Most of them are so big that they don't care if they lose some customers. Hell not long ago I wanted verizon to help me out and give me an early upgrade on a phone (2 months early), the sales rep told me she couldn't help me. I told her I had 4 lines that I could cancel in March and asked if she would rather I cancel all those lines in march than give me a phone 2 months early. Her reply was "I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do". All of a sudden when I started asking about ETF fees they were able to give me my upgrade. I don't know why customers who have been with them for so many years have to go to those extremes in order for them to actually try and help.
What's even worse is the $30 upgrade fees. They are charging ME for the PRIVILEGE of allowing me to make another 2 year contract with them.
So far I've only used T-Mobile prepaid with the $30 plan so I can't really say I've had any bad experiences with them.
I also agree that if they give you a data LIMIT then it really shouldn't matter how you decide to use that data. Verizon finally got rid of the tethering fee when you have the family share everything plans (not that you aren't paying for it in the extremely expensive fees), I wish T-Mobile would also get rid of it.
I can feel you, man. I've been a customer since Powertel days, was on a Legacy plan with unlimited calls, texts and data for $75 per month, and included tethering on my old HD2. I recently upgraded to a Note 2, but I decided I wasn't going to take the party line on plans. I talked to five -- yes, five -- Loyalty Department reps, before I had apparantly ranted and raved enough to move up the food chain two levels worth of supervisors. Bottom line, I got a new plan with unlimited everything and a monthly discount that covers the "mobile hotspot" fee (the new name for tethering). No upgrade or shipping fees. And eligibility for the rebate on the device. So, I'm paying the same monthly amount as before I purchased the Note 2.
In other words, and though it's a real shame to have to do so, I would suggest that you keep calling until you get satisfaction.
tsnstuff said:
I hate cell companies, they really don't know about customer loyalty. Most of them are so big that they don't care if they lose some customers. Hell not long ago I wanted verizon to help me out and give me an early upgrade on a phone (2 months early), the sales rep told me she couldn't help me. I told her I had 4 lines that I could cancel in March and asked if she would rather I cancel all those lines in march than give me a phone 2 months early. Her reply was "I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do". All of a sudden when I started asking about ETF fees they were able to give me my upgrade. I don't know why customers who have been with them for so many years have to go to those extremes in order for them to actually try and help.
What's even worse is the $30 upgrade fees. They are charging ME for the PRIVILEGE of allowing me to make another 2 year contract with them.
So far I've only used T-Mobile prepaid with the $30 plan so I can't really say I've had any bad experiences with them.
I also agree that if they give you a data LIMIT then it really shouldn't matter how you decide to use that data. Verizon finally got rid of the tethering fee when you have the family share everything plans (not that you aren't paying for it in the extremely expensive fees), I wish T-Mobile would also get rid of it.
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Click to collapse
Sorry, but it sounds like you feel entitled to something from the carrier which isn't covered by your contract with them. The early upgrade thing and your threatening to leave them isn't even close to what I'm going through. That's a problem you created for yourself.
Asquared said:
I can feel you, man. I've been a customer since Powertel days, was on a Legacy plan with unlimited calls, texts and data for $75 per month, and included tethering on my old HD2. I recently upgraded to a Note 2, but I decided I wasn't going to take the party line on plans. I talked to five -- yes, five -- Loyalty Department reps, before I had apparantly ranted and raved enough to move up the food chain two levels worth of supervisors. Bottom line, I got a new plan with unlimited everything and a monthly discount that covers the "mobile hotspot" fee (the new name for tethering). No upgrade or shipping fees. And eligibility for the rebate on the device. So, I'm paying the same monthly amount as before I purchased the Note 2.
In other words, and though it's a real shame to have to do so, I would suggest that you keep calling until you get satisfaction.
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Click to collapse
Oh, I plan to call again about it.It's a shame that this is the "best they could do" for one of their reps lying to my face. That's what I'm most upset about. I shouldn't have to call them four times to get a resolution...
I feel you man.
all the telco's lie to your face.
its ridiculous.
i've been in the same shoes as you. i always make sure NOTHING on my plan changes.
its stupid.
my contract is up in less than a month and i'm seriously looking into other avenues of services unless T-mobile
makes it worth my while to stay with them. Now that they are getting rid of classic plans, that exit looks more enticing.
cajunflavoredbob said:
Sorry, but it sounds like you feel entitled to something from the carrier which isn't covered by your contract with them. The early upgrade thing and your threatening to leave them isn't even close to what I'm going through. That's a problem you created for yourself.
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And you feel entitled to having them stick to a contract from years ago. Things change and I don't think there is anything wrong with a customer wanting some perks after being with a company for years. In my case, yes, I felt that allowing me to get an upgrade 2 months before I was supposed to wouldn't be a big deal, my phone was horrible. I wasn't threatening to cancel my accounts, I was ready to do it.
But whatever dude, good luck with your issue.
Amount of times the rep has said something that I knew to be wrong and they kept trying to pass it off as legit. "Can I get that in writing please?" "ah, I'd have to check... oh, you WERE right after all"
yeah...
I had the same issue at one point. I was using a MT4G at the time and needed an upgrade since the wifes 3G slide broke. We ended up getting a MT4G Slide (wife) and I grabbed the Amaze since i was a die hard HTC fan. After dealing with customer reps for 3 days straight in regards to color of the phone, tethering being turned off, flat out being lied to several times including the rep that fixed everything (pay attention and being nice helps) they ended up giving me two phones for FREE, lowering my bill by 60 bucks a month. Granted i no longer had the wifi but a quick root would fix that.
Sometimes dealing with the right person can get you things as long as your nice and you pay attention. Im going on 10 years with Tmo! I do say when you get the right person they make you feel special or make things as right as they can.
tsnstuff said:
And you feel entitled to having them stick to a contract from years ago. Things change and I don't think there is anything wrong with a customer wanting some perks after being with a company for years. In my case, yes, I felt that allowing me to get an upgrade 2 months before I was supposed to wouldn't be a big deal, my phone was horrible. I wasn't threatening to cancel my accounts, I was ready to do it.
But whatever dude, good luck with your issue.
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Click to collapse
A contract doesn't magically degrade over time. A contract is a ConTract. In your case it would be like signing up under the condition that you would get to upgrade every 2 years, and then all of a sudden, your second year comes up, but then you're told that you can no longer upgrade ever.
I said entitled because that's what it is, like it or not. Early upgrades are at the carrier*S discretion, not yours. You wanted an early upgrade and got indignant when they initially didn't allow it. That's what sparked my response. All I wanted was to get my situation off my chest. I did not want this to become a frivolous *****-fest about t-mobile or any carrier.
Here comes the wahmbulance.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
I don't mean to brag but wait until I post my wall of text about what happened with my upgrade a month ago. I have NEVER EVER EVER imagined it would end up like what I am going to post over the weekend. Be prepared ladies and gents, this will blow your mind as to how HORRIBLE T-mobile is.
Tmobile sucks
Sprint sucks
Att sucks
Straight talk sucks
Ect ect.
Expect crappyness and u wont he disapointed
As for the op, theirs a time limit to contest changes written into most cell contracts if ur past the time your contract has magicly degraded, if not, contact carrier and bbb and if no luck theyd prolly just offer contract droppage at no fee, idk. I hate contracts, I stick to prepay, it sucks too. But atleast if I have problims its nothin a new 10 dolla sim wont fix, new sim, new account, clean slate. Considering im up to about 65gb this month that matters to me.
Sent from my SGH-T889

Contract Buy-out. How does it work?

I am probably moving from sprint to T-mobile on saturday, and thus from the m7 to the m8. Sprint's been a jerk to my mom (her phone, LG optimus G hasn't worked since 4g rolled out, something about it being incompatible with the network or some such non-sense) so we're switching and having them buy out our contract. Does anyone have experience with this program? Is it pretty straight forward?
TriBeard said:
I am probably moving from sprint to T-mobile on saturday, and thus from the m7 to the m8. Sprint's been a jerk to my mom (her phone, LG optimus G hasn't worked since 4g rolled out, something about it being incompatible with the network or some such non-sense) so we're switching and having them buy out our contract. Does anyone have experience with this program? Is it pretty straight forward?
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Click to collapse
You might wanna post this at the Sprint forum.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
I just figured that since the people here were t-mobile, some might have gone through the process already and would know about it first hand.
Well I was actually a sprint customer I went through the process. It wasn't call a contract buyout. what I actually pay was for months remaining at $10 a month... And that was your termination fee.. Also another way to approach it I'm not sure if T Mobile still offer that but they're paying the termination fee if you switch from different carrier.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
shook187 said:
Well I was actually a sprint customer I went through the process. It wasn't call a contract buyout. what I actually pay was for months remaining at $10 a month... And that was your termination fee.. Also another way to approach it I'm not sure if T Mobile still offer that but they're paying the termination fee if you switch from different carrier.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
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That's what I meant by "contract buyout". Sorry if that was confusing. I talked to someone from t-mobile through the chat, and we would get a credit for our phones, and up to 350 per line for ETF fees, which would cover everything. From my understanding, you just give t-mobile your last bill that shows all the fees and whatnot, and they mail you a visa gift card thing with the money on it to pay the fees. That's the part of the process that I was curious about.
TriBeard said:
That's what I meant by "contract buyout". Sorry if that was confusing. I talked to someone from t-mobile through the chat, and we would get a credit for our phones, and up to 350 per line for ETF fees, which would cover everything. From my understanding, you just give t-mobile your last bill that shows all the fees and whatnot, and they mail you a visa gift card thing with the money on it to pay the fees. That's the part of the process that I was curious about.
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I just switched 4 lines over to tmobile from sprint and couldnt be happier. Just did it this past weekend so i havent had the etfs show up on my bill yet but i will let you know when it goes through. From what i was told you are spot on. trade in your sprint phone and they pay your etf and get you trade in value of your phone off a new one from tmobile. i was told its best to pay the etfs when they show up so it doesnt become past due while you are waiting for the tmobile gift card to come through so it doesnt effect your credit.
boxdgm said:
I just switched 4 lines over to tmobile from sprint and couldnt be happier. Just did it this past weekend so i havent had the etfs show up on my bill yet but i will let you know when it goes through. From what i was told you are spot on. trade in your sprint phone and they pay your etf and get you trade in value of your phone off a new one from tmobile. i was told its best to pay the etfs when they show up so it doesnt become past due while you are waiting for the tmobile gift card to come through so it doesnt effect your credit.
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Click to collapse
I don't really have 1300 dollars or so that I can spare, so I guess I'll just have to hope it comes quick and they don't ding me too bad. I'm just excited for a new phone and (hopefully) more reliable service. T-mobile claims to have LTE around me, and pretty decent HSPA where that is lacking, so hopefully it's better than sprint, where we just recently got spotty LTE
I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile last week. As I understand it, you just get your new service with T-Mobile and they handle porting over your number and ending your service with Sprint. Once that's done, you just have to wait for the bill that has your early termination fee, then take it to the T-Mobile store and they'll reimburse you that amount in the form of a Visa gift card and it's supposed to take 4-6 weeks to receive it. I'm hoping I can time it well enough where I can get the reimbursement before paying the bill to Sprint. If not, I'll just eat the cost until I get the money back from T-Mobile.
Note that they'll only reimburse you up to $650. This should cover anyone on a single plan, but can't speak for those on large family plans.
I can definitely say it's worth the money and time to switch. The service I've gotten with T-Mobile is excellent, and where it isn't (note, I haven't personally encountered poor signal on T-Mobile yet), WiFi calling on the M8 works great.
In order for them to pay off your ETF (Up to $350) you have to port over your phone number and give them your old device. The $650 you hear about is the maximum you can get for switching ($350 for ETF and $300 for device) They also do a credit check and that will determine if you need to pay a deposit for your new phone. If you have good enough credit then all you pay is the taxes on your new device. The cost of the device is then split up across 24 months on your bill.
The $10 a month thing someone mentioned earlier is the JUMP program and isn't a requirement to be switched over to them. It's basically a protection and upgrade program rolled into one which isn't very bad. More info on it here: http://www.t-mobile.com/phone-upgrade.html
nsuviolin2005 said:
I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile last week. As I understand it, you just get your new service with T-Mobile and they handle porting over your number and ending your service with Sprint. Once that's done, you just have to wait for the bill that has your early termination fee, then take it to the T-Mobile store and they'll reimburse you that amount in the form of a Visa gift card and it's supposed to take 4-6 weeks to receive it. I'm hoping I can time it well enough where I can get the reimbursement before paying the bill to Sprint. If not, I'll just eat the cost until I get the money back from T-Mobile.
Note that they'll only reimburse you up to $650. This should cover anyone on a single plan, but can't speak for those on large family plans.
I can definitely say it's worth the money and time to switch. The service I've gotten with T-Mobile is excellent, and where it isn't (note, I haven't personally encountered poor signal on T-Mobile yet), WiFi calling on the M8 works great.
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tkoreaper said:
In order for them to pay off your ETF (Up to $350) you have to port over your phone number and give them your old device. The $650 you hear about is the maximum you can get for switching ($350 for ETF and $300 for device) They also do a credit check and that will determine if you need to pay a deposit for your new phone. If you have good enough credit then all you pay is the taxes on your new device. The cost of the device is then split up across 24 months on your bill.
The $10 a month thing someone mentioned earlier is the JUMP program and isn't a requirement to be switched over to them. It's basically a protection and upgrade program rolled into one which isn't very bad. More info on it here: http://www.t-mobile.com/phone-upgrade.html
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My understanding was that it was up to 650 per line. I know I'll get 85 for each of my phones (One m7's), so it'll be more like 430 or so per line. But my ETF with sprint is 1300ish, which would fall under the 350/line that they offer. Or at least that's what they led me to believe over chat.
Also, I have 4 lines on my sprint account and have been in good standing with them so I don't imagine that the credit check would be a problem, and it's a family plan so if I can't do it we can try my mom, or my grampa until someone can.
TriBeard said:
My understanding was that it was up to 650 per line. I know I'll get 85 for each of my phones (One m7's), so it'll be more like 430 or so per line. But my ETF with sprint is 1300ish, which would fall under the 350/line that they offer. Or at least that's what they led me to believe over chat.
Also, I have 4 lines on my sprint account and have been in good standing with them so I don't imagine that the credit check would be a problem, and it's a family plan so if I can't do it we can try my mom, or my grampa until someone can.
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The max they'll cover for an ETF is $350, it says so on their website. the $650 total is for the ETF and the amount they can give you for a device. In your case it would be $435 per line ($350 ETF and $85 for your device) You ETF with Sprint is pretty outrageous, is that just for your single line or is a total for all lines on your account?
tkoreaper said:
The max they'll cover for an ETF is $350, it says so on their website. the $650 total is for the ETF and the amount they can give you for a device. In your case it would be $435 per line ($350 ETF and $85 for your device) You ETF with Sprint is pretty outrageous, is that just for your single line or is a total for all lines on your account?
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There are 4 lines on the account, and the oldest one in terms of an upgrade is from last july. When we were in the sprint store, we were working with a lady and the supervisor and when we brought up leaving for t-mobile or something since they weren't willing to do a whole lot of anything other than tell us to wait for a software patch, she said that we had "about 1300" in ETF fees. Did we really want to pay that instead of just deal with it for a while? I brought up the t-mobile buyout stuff, and that got her real quiet real fast. The way she said it really bothered me though. Just the smug implied "we've got you by the wallet for another year and half. deal with it"
yeah, the MAX that Sprint charges for a cancellation fee is 350 PER LINE. I know, as I just went through all of this recently.
Tmobile pays up to 350 per line for your cancellation fee. You have to give them ANY Sprint Network phone to qualify for this program, but it does NOT have to be the current Sprint phone you have.
What I did was go on ebay and bought a 20 dollar cheapo phone that was on Tmobiles list of "Acceptable" trade in phones, and used that one to get them to pay my Cancellation Fee. they gave me 10 bucks for the phone.
Then, I sold my Sprint HTC One Max for $385.00 to someone, so I made out big time on that deal; remember, once you cancel your Sprint account, you then OWN the Sprint Phone, so if you can sell it on Ebay or somewhere and make MORE than what Tmobile will give you for it, you can make a nice chunk of change.
Also, when you get your FINAL bill from sprint, its much faster to scan it/take a picture of it, and upload it on the T-mobile site directly to them; if you take it to the store, and they send it in, it might add a few days/weeks to your approval and reciept of the MasterCard Gift card.
Mine took 4 weeks and one day to come to me after I scanned it in and uploaded it to them.
If you bring it to the store, and go that route, it takes 6-8 weeks.
wase4711 said:
yeah, the MAX that Sprint charges for a cancellation fee is 350 PER LINE. I know, as I just went through all of this recently.
Tmobile pays up to 350 per line for your cancellation fee. You have to give them ANY Sprint Network phone to qualify for this program, but it does NOT have to be the current Sprint phone you have.
What I did was go on ebay and bought a 20 dollar cheapo phone that was on Tmobiles list of "Acceptable" trade in phones, and used that one to get them to pay my Cancellation Fee. they gave me 10 bucks for the phone.
Then, I sold my Sprint HTC One Max for $385.00 to someone, so I made out big time on that deal; remember, once you cancel your Sprint account, you then OWN the Sprint Phone, so if you can sell it on Ebay or somewhere and make MORE than what Tmobile will give you for it, you can make a nice chunk of change.
Also, when you get your FINAL bill from sprint, its much faster to scan it/take a picture of it, and upload it on the T-mobile site directly to them; if you take it to the store, and they send it in, it might add a few days/weeks to your approval and reciept of the MasterCard Gift card.
Mine took 4 weeks and one day to come to me after I scanned it in and uploaded it to them.
If you bring it to the store, and go that route, it takes 6-8 weeks.
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That's the kind of information that I was looking for. Thanks a lot for that. My sister has an old galaxy s2 that I could take in, keep my htc one, and then try and sell that on craigslist/ebay. Cool.
TriBeard said:
That's the kind of information that I was looking for. Thanks a lot for that. My sister has an old galaxy s2 that I could take in, keep my htc one, and then try and sell that on craigslist/ebay. Cool.
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you can call the tmobile store and ask them how much any phone might be worth, or, I think their website gives an approximate amount you would get on a trade in.
Obviously, you always get more selling a phone on ebay/Craiglist than you ever would on a trade in, but some folks dont want to bother selling them, and just trade it in and are done with it..
BTW, my wife and son traded their M7's in, and got 100 bucks each for them; when we bought them from Sprint, we only paid 49, so even trading them in we made a little $$ :good:
TriBeard said:
There are 4 lines on the account, and the oldest one in terms of an upgrade is from last july. When we were in the sprint store, we were working with a lady and the supervisor and when we brought up leaving for t-mobile or something since they weren't willing to do a whole lot of anything other than tell us to wait for a software patch, she said that we had "about 1300" in ETF fees. Did we really want to pay that instead of just deal with it for a while? I brought up the t-mobile buyout stuff, and that got her real quiet real fast. The way she said it really bothered me though. Just the smug implied "we've got you by the wallet for another year and half. deal with it"
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Click to collapse
So if you were to cancel your whole account you'd get $1400 (350 x 4) alone just for the ETFs. It's $350 per line, not account.
I just traded my Nexus 5 in for the M8 today and they gave me $135. I cold have sold it to a company that buys them for $200, but oh well. I probably could have gotten a little more even if I cut out the middle man, but Nexus devices are already cheap enough as it is.
Well if they wanted to give me 120 or so I'd be tempted to just go ahead and trade them in. Just when I spoke with whoever it was on the online chat for t-mobile, they only were offering 85, which is significantly low that I would take the time and effort to sell one myself if I could.
Lol. Has anyone traded in a rooted device to t mobile? Just wondering if they check before I go through the hassle of unrooting 2 devices. I know somebody has. Lol.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
if its for a "jump" then dont bother, as long as it starts, thats all they care about.
as a matter of fact, I have also returned/replaced under warranty with them phones that were rooted, and once again, they didnt care one bit; I didnt tell them they were rooted, and they didnt ask, but there was no problem getting a replacement..
I work for tmobile. When you want your contract paid for you can pretty much trade in any phone in. It doesn't have to even turn on. Obviously if it doesn't then you won't get and trade in value but tmobile will still pay your efts as long as you do trade in a phone, buy a new phone and port in your number. They pay up to 5 lines per account.

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