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JoshGlzBrk

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 27, 2009
760
15
Seems ridiculous that it applies even to Apple's completely separate upgrade program.

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Sure am glad to be done with the carrier game and all the bogus fee's they charge / increase.

Bought an unlocked SIM free SE this morning and feeling quite liberated :)
 
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Pure greed. We will provide the same lousy customer service experience as always. Just charge more for it now.

Why you ask? Because we can.
Is it bad? Yup. Are they doing it out of greed? Most likely.

That being said, I've never had anything but positive customer service exchanges (YMMV).

Also, their data/cellular is by far the fastest and most stable where I am.
 
Who cares... It's only $20.

People aren't on Verizon to save money. They have it because they have fantastic coverage and the service always works.

Can't say the same about SprintMobile.
 
That's absurd. I can activate my phone online with employee assistance. And $20? They're charging $20 for a HS diploma to do 5 minutes of work? FFS.


So what's the difference between the customer provided equipment category and the Apple Store upgrade? How can they justify the difference?
 
i think its dumb you can no longer do an early upgrade, forget the fee. pretty asinine that if you are 18-19 months in you have to pay an absurd, back-end weighted ETF (its north of $200 still even this late into the contract) to upgrade your phone.

if you're going to do away with early upgrades (like all carriers have), wheres the incentive for me to stay with you? if you make me wait til the end of my contract to get a new phone rather than roping me in to a new phone/early upgrade and a contract extension to go with it, then why shouldnt i just go to a different carrier when my contract is up? youve literally taken away one of the only incentives that probably retained a lot of business, since people often will put up with the service to get a new phone early if they just have to do a contract extension.
 
What's even worse is the fee applies even if you pay in full for the phone. I smell a class action lawsuit coming down the pike in a few years.
 
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Pure greed. We will provide the same lousy customer service experience as always. Just charge more for it now.

Why you ask? Because we can.

They wouldn't have to play all these games if people just outright bought phones at full price... but no. people want "free" phones... how do you propose they make a profit? they have to amortize that cost by charging for related services, even if it doesn't make sense.

imagine a world where carriers in the US don't sell phones anymore ... BYOD on all carriers... simple. you'll just be paying for the monthly service. no contracts, ETF, upgrade fees, etc etc etc. But people have voted against that with their wallets.
 
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If you're going to institute a fee like this, at least give one solid reason for doing so.. They have not done that.
[doublepost=1459486084][/doublepost]
They wouldn't have to play all these games if people just outright bought phones at full price... but no. people want "free" phones... how do you propose they make a profit? they have to amortize that cost by charging for related services, even if it doesn't make sense.

imagine a world where carriers in the US don't sell phones anymore ... BYOD on all carriers... simple. you'll just be paying for the monthly service. no contracts, ETF, upgrade fees, etc etc etc. But people have voted against that with their wallets.
To be fair, for many of us, that's just what we grew up with. I grew up instructed to sign a 2 year contract and get a phone at a discounted rate.. It's just "the way it is".

Want to know whose fault that is? The CARRIERS. You can't expect years and years of doing business a certain way to be completely forgotten by the general public. It'll take some time..
 
att atleast takes care of the loyal members they have. Each year they waive my fees. Been with att ever since first iPhone
 
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If you're going to institute a fee like this, at least give one solid reason for doing so.. They have not done that.
[doublepost=1459486084][/doublepost]
To be fair, for many of us, that's just what we grew up with. I grew up instructed to sign a 2 year contract and get a phone at a discounted rate.. It's just "the way it is".

Want to know whose fault that is? The CARRIERS. You can't expect years and years of doing business a certain way to be completely forgotten by the general public. It'll take some time..

Well to be fair... the "carrier" T-mobile did try to change everything and shake up the market... but even then its people who don't support them. so what do you do now?
 
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Who cares... It's only $20.

People aren't on Verizon to save money. They have it because they have fantastic coverage and the service always works.

Can't say the same about SprintMobile.

Everyone wants to save money. The last time Verizon added a frivolous charge there was backlash to the point that they took it away.

Remember saying Verizon didn't need wifi calling too?
c126c92a5306041f8e3a579093e54817.jpg
 
Well to be fair... the "carrier" T-mobile did try to change everything and shake up the market... but even then its people who don't support them. so what do you do now?
But why would I support a carrier whose rural coverage is so shatty that they don't even have a store in the area?
 
Remember saying Verizon didn't need wifi calling too?
c126c92a5306041f8e3a579093e54817.jpg
And I'm still saying it. Verizon (and AT&T) really don't need WiFi calling. Their customers have been using their superior services without it for years.

It's just an excuse for Sprint and TMobile to invest less into their networks.
 
And I'm still saying it. Verizon (and AT&T) really don't need WiFi calling. Their customers have been using their superior services without it for years.

It's just an excuse for Sprint and TMobile to invest less into their networks.
While I'm a long-time VZW customer and generally a fan, you've obviously never lived/worked in a basement or old brick and mortar building.
 
Apple runs their own program (IPhone upgrade program). Apple foots the bill (along with the 3rd party bank apple uses)

The iPhone upgrade program is independent of Verizon.

Those iphones are supposely "unlocked".

How can Verizon "charge" $20 upgrade fee?
 
fine so keep paying thru the nose for every little thing... just don't complain about it, that's all. you can't have it both ways.
I'm sorry, but when have I started a thread complaining about it? My family pays $92/mo. for 2 iPhones on unlimited talk+text and more than enough data. Not exactly paying through the nose now is it?

Get your facts straight before lecturing someone else and watch out when you get off of that high horse. That first step is a doozy.
 
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