[EdY]

Hope someone reads this thread... Seems like this area of the forums is dead.

Question... I need to get new service and have an unlocked device and don't want a new one. But I am willing to sign a contract with my carrier if they can give me a good deal. So if I sign a contract and get a free phone out of it, why will my carrier NOT reduce my monthly fee by the amount of the free phone they are offering me if I decline to take it?

Instead I have to take the new "free" phone and sell it to effectively reduce my contract total cost.

I understand charging me the same as normal (say $50/month) if I go month to month... No contract, no free device... Compared to someone on a contract with a free device. But I am willing to be on a contract, just not be given a free device I don't need. That so called free phone is making up $10-15 per month of my $50 charge... 24 months means $240-360 over the 2 years paid for the phone. So just keep the damn phone, lock me into your contract and save me $10-15/month. How hard is that?

No, I have to sign a contract, take the phone and then sell it on craigslist or kijiji or ebay and make my $240 that way.

Why why why????

[anon(3732391)]

Carriers are in the business of making money. That's the main"WHY!"
Depending on who your carrier is ,if they're not flexible go with one that is.

AT&T will set you up with "YOUR" phone and won't require you to get another one.

Unlike a lot of folks here that moan and groan about AT&T, I've used their mobile service for about 9 years now, and I can't complain at all.
If I have an issue that the "first" customer rep can't work out to my satisfaction, (because they're not given any room to change policy,) I simply ask to speak with a supervisor.
Sometimes, I go up the chain, three or four managers, but I've always ended satisfied.

You've gotta work the system, politely and patiently but I find that if you treat the rep on the other end of the phone like a real person, you'll be surprised what the end result will be.
The trick is to keep going up the chain until you get a manager that is allowed to make decisions .

[MobileMadness002]

You realize that the OP is asking why he has to pay the same cost per month for a service plan WITHOUT taking a subsidized phone as a customer that does take the subsidized phone.

[anon(3732391)]

You realize that the OP is asking why he has to pay the same cost per month for a service plan WITHOUT taking a subsidized phone as a customer that does take the subsidized phone.

You didn't correct me.... so I guess so!
The point I was trying to convey was, if you work your way up the chain, there's a good chance you'll reach someone who will give you what you want the way you want it!

It would be impossible to literally answer that question. I figured rather than give an opinion that wouldn't help, I suggested ways to approach to the carrier.

[MobileMadness002]

Fair enough. Fortunately for us, we have carriers that actually do decrease the plan charge when the flex tab is completed. When the device balance is paid off or immediately if using your own device.

[MrGabriel]

Sign a contract and buy the phone at a discounted price or get the plan stripped of features without a contract and pay full retail price for the phone. That's how it works and there's nothing you can do about it.

[RyanGermann]

SOME Canadian carriers offer a paltry 10% discount if you are on a no-contract plan and bring your own phone but not all do, an 10% is only something like $100 per year.

Here's the page from Virgin Mobile Canada:

Get a SIM Card and bring your own phone and number to Virgin Mobile - Virgin Mobile Canada

Canadian carriers don't try too hard to compete.

The other issue is that to qualify for a significant phone subsidy (like $500 off an iPhone or Galaxy Note III or HTC One) your monthly plan has to be sufficiently costly, like $90 per month... So the device subsidy is a false economy especially if you consider that you're stuck with them on a contract to boot.

[EdY]

Yes, lack of competition and the fact that they keep pushing their hardware every few years... needlessly creating more electronic garbage for people who may have their own good devices already that they'd like to keep using.

Seems like my only choice is to grab an iPhone on contract and sell the iPhone, while keeping the sim in my regular phone that I want to use. Maybe I'll get $300-400 for it, maybe more if I unlock it first. That is not much better than the $100 per year if I am stuck in a 3 year contract anyways.

Only concern is the IMEI numbers and SIM pairing, and whether the carriers will block anything or raise red flags because my account info and devices don't match what they think I'm using. I guess they probably don't even care.



Posted via CB10

[anon(3732391)]

Sign a contract and buy the phone at a discounted price or get the plan stripped of features without a contract and pay full retail price for the phone. That's how it works and there's nothing you can do about it.

Oh, contrar!
It depends on the carrier!
And, there's plenty you can do about it.
Well, maybe NOT you, but speaking for myself... I've done it with AT&T.
I got both my Torch 9800 and 9810 absolutely free with no charges of any kind and credit.

I got my Z10 One year before I was eligible for an upgrade.
There are loopholes in every contract. You just gotta know what they are and then have the patience to talk to the reps. till you get to the one who gives you what you want>