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Discounted 3G S at a higher price

bLiss

bLiss

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 14, 2005
95
1
usa
When it comes to cell phone companies, I'm wary of those that try to force my hands to my ankles. This seems to be a case of that. If I'm making an incorrect assumption, someone PLEASE tell me what the hell this means.

Quote from AT&T upon checking my eligibility to upgrade my standard iPhone:

"As a valued AT&T customer, we can offer you a discounted iPhone upgrade at a higher price, along with a 2-year commitment and an $18 upgrade fee."

See screenshot. Help.

WTF_Discount_by_coyotes82793.png
 
A good question, when it was asked a week ago by dozens of others.

This means:

Today = Full retail price no contract for you.
"discounted but not fully subsidized" means you can buy now for about $200 off but you sign a 2 year contract and you pay $18.00 to upgrade.
Wait until your contract is up or until they give you the early upgrade option the phone will be fully subsidized, you pay $18 and get bent over (whether you like it or not) for 2 more years.

BTW, you aren't being forced to buy today, no one forces your hands around your ankles, you want something today and you're going to have to pay like anyone else who wants it before their time is due. You signed a 2 year contract you should be in it for ... well 2 years.

Maclver said:
meaning you get discounted pricing on that day
Click to expand...

You need to elaborate. 7/10/2010 he can have the full discount. Today and tomorrow it's gonna be $200 more than anyone who is just buying or eligible for an upgrade.
 
Thanks for the quick replies but I'm still not quite getting it. I got an iPhone in December 2007 so I don't know why 7/1/2010 is mentioned. When I get a quote on Apple's website they tell me the $199 phone (16gb) is actually $299 and there's also the $18 fee. Shouldn't I be able to pay an early upgrade fee and get the phone at the standard price? (Or is that why there is so much uproar - because I can't?)

Sorry just saw your edit so I'm editing my reply. What is it about today and tomorrow? Where did these dates come from?
 
bLiss said:
Thanks for the quick replies but I'm still not quite getting it. I got an iPhone in December 2007 so I don't know why 7/1/2010 is mentioned. When I get a quote on Apple's website they tell me the $199 phone (16gb) is actually $299 and there's also the $18 fee. Shouldn't I be able to pay an early upgrade fee and get the phone at the standard price? (Or is that why there is so much uproar - because I can't?)

Sorry just saw your edit so I'm editing my reply. What is it about today and tomorrow? Where did these dates come from?
Click to expand...

Go to an ATT store and talk with them... honestly you will get further that way since they have access to your account
 
AT&T is looking at your account, which apparently (by their records) has had an upgrade as of 7/10/2008. Meaning, someone (you?) got a new phone and a new 2 year contract around that date.

Today you want the new iPhone but AT&T is saying that the only way to take advantage of the fully subsidized pricing you must wait until 7/10/2010.

However, say you do not want to wait. You will have to pay more money for the iPhone but it is still cheaper than the no-commitment price (full retail).

Now you're confused. You bought an iPhone in 2007 so surely you're due for an upgrade today right? If that is what you believe there is only one place that can help you ... AT&T.
 
jessica. said:
Now you're confused. You bought an iPhone in 2007 so surely you're due for an upgrade today right? If that is what you believe there is only one place that can help you ... AT&T.
Click to expand...

Just did some research and I think the confusing thing is I have a unique situation. My brother also got an iPhone December 2007 and he can upgrade just fine at the lower prices. I relocated around January/February and called to change my number to the local area code for free. (I have no idea what significance July 2008 has). So apparently there's some kind of reason why AT&T thinks that my contract has started later than it actually has. We started paying for both phones in December 2007 and no plan changes were ever made.
 
bLiss said:
Just did some research and I think the confusing thing is I have a unique situation. My brother also got an iPhone December 2007 and he can upgrade just fine at the lower prices. I relocated around January/February and called to change my number to the local area code for free. (I have no idea what significance July 2008 has). So apparently there's some kind of reason why AT&T thinks that my contract has started later than it actually has. We started paying for both phones in December 2007 and no plan changes were ever made.
Click to expand...

Right. So when I was confused I called AT&T because frankly Apple is useless, more so when I ask them questions about AT&T. ;)
 
It means they can get you early upgrade price instead of no commitment price if you sign a new contract, but on that day listed you get the full upgrade price like $199/$299 price.
 
bLiss said:
Just did some research and I think the confusing thing is I have a unique situation. My brother also got an iPhone December 2007 and he can upgrade just fine at the lower prices. I relocated around January/February and called to change my number to the local area code for free. (I have no idea what significance July 2008 has). So apparently there's some kind of reason why AT&T thinks that my contract has started later than it actually has. We started paying for both phones in December 2007 and no plan changes were ever made.
Click to expand...

Are you on a family plan? If so, it's possible the primary line on the family plan (your brother's?) would be eligible for an upgrade earlier than you. If the rate plan+data+text on the primary line is >$99, that line may be eligible for an upgrade every 12 months.

As for the secondary line, it should generally be eligible for an upgrade 18-21 months from when your contract started, based on what the charges on that line are. When you say you relocated in January/February, do you mean of '08 or '09? If it was 2009, then a two year contract from that date would be 1/11, but you could be eligible in 7/10 because that would be 18 months from 1/09. If you meant you relocated in January 2008, then that is really weird, and I can't see that the 7/10 date correlates with that at all.

So the next question is, why would changing your phone number reset your upgrade eligibility? If you didn't get a new handset at that time, that makes no sense, and it sounds like someone messed up. I would call AT&T ASAP to work on getting that straightened out, because it may take a while, and that has a big impact on upgrading to the iPhone 3G S, if that's what you want to do. It seems like they should be able to tell in the system whether or not you got a new phone around that time, and if not, hopefully they will fix your upgrade eligibility. Good luck!
 
Turns out I've wasted all your guys' time. I called AT&T and the account information got messed up because of the relocation. They adjusted my account to reflect eligibility to $199 16GB or $299 32GB. Thanks for all the replies though :)

Maybe (hopefully) someone with a similar situation finds the answer to their issue in this thread. But I think the wording in my screen capture is still a funny example of corporate double-speak.
 
bLiss said:
Turns out I've wasted all your guys' time. I called AT&T and the account information got messed up because of the relocation. They adjusted my account to reflect eligibility to $199 16GB or $299 32GB. Thanks for all the replies though :)

Maybe (hopefully) someone with a similar situation finds the answer to their issue in this thread. But I think the wording in my screen capture is still a funny example of corporate double-speak.
Click to expand...

go get your iPhone
 
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