What does "eligible for upgrade" mean?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

DotCom - 22 Dec 2005 18:18 GMT

What exactly does eligible for upgrade mean? We are having a problem with a
phone that is out of warranty and cingular web site says we will be eligible
for an upgrade soon so what does that do for me if I wait until we are
eligible?
TIA
dot

Reply to this Message

jayton - 22 Dec 2005 18:26 GMT

That means you are able to get a new phone at the same price as a new user,
and you extend your contract another 2 years.

You get "eligible for upgrade" status when you have had your account for a
while, (such as the 18th month on a 24 month contract).

I am not sure if that means you have to get a new plan also or not.

> What exactly does eligible for upgrade mean? We are having a problem with a
> phone that is out of warranty and cingular web site says we will be eligible
> for an upgrade soon so what does that do for me if I wait until we are
> eligible?
> TIA
> dot

Reply to this Message

Lord Vader - 22 Dec 2005 18:47 GMT

jayton Wrote:

> That means you are able to get a new phone at the same price as a ne
> user,
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> I am not sure if that means you have to get a new plan also or not.

Yep, new contract is required. $18 Processing fee applies as well

Reply to this Message

DotCom - 22 Dec 2005 19:13 GMT

I don't have any problem with the $18 charge but what if you recently
already signed a new contract and now want to upgrade after the fact?
TIA
dot

jayton Wrote:

> That means you are able to get a new phone at the same price as a new
> user,
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> I am not sure if that means you have to get a new plan also or not.

Yep, new contract is required. $18 Processing fee applies as well.

Signature

Lord Vader

Reply to this Message

Steven E. Harris - 22 Dec 2005 20:12 GMT

> $18 Processing fee applies as well.

Why are returning customers looking to renew their vows charged for
the privilege? Shouldn't this scenario call for a rewarding discount?

Signature

Steven E. Harris

Reply to this Message

Anonymous - 23 Dec 2005 00:00 GMT

>> $18 Processing fee applies as well.
>
>Why are returning customers looking to renew their vows charged for
>the privilege? Shouldn't this scenario call for a rewarding discount?

To keep people who are happy with Cingular and happy with their phone
from getting a new phone each year "FOR FREE" just cause they can.

The $18 is small enough bite to not stop MOST people from getting a
new phone that really want one, and not large enough to make MOST of
these people feel like Cingular is ripping them off when they get a
new phone.

It's like the deductible on insurance.

Reply to this Message

Steven E. Harris - 23 Dec 2005 00:40 GMT

> The $18 is small enough bite to not stop MOST people from getting a
> new phone that really want one, and not large enough to make MOST of
> these people feel like Cingular is ripping them off when they get a
> new phone.

Yet now with number portability, the $18 fee creates an incentive to
jump to a new carrier to get a similar new phone for less. It's like a
loyalty tax.

Signature

Steven E. Harris

Reply to this Message

Steve - 23 Dec 2005 03:45 GMT

If you've been a good customer, not normally late with payments and been
there for 2 or more years, they will normally waive the $18. Just be sure to
do the work over the phone by calling cust service.

Stores usually don't have the latitude. And more important, these days many
stores are Cingular agents/resellers and hard to distinguish. Same signage,
furniture etc. Ask the person if the store is owned by Cingular? Or are
they independent agents?

If you must go to a store, go to a company owned store. Not an "authorized"
agent or reseller. They have to charge the $18 to get their commission.

Signature

Steve

>
>> The $18 is small enough bite to not stop MOST people from getting a
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> jump to a new carrier to get a similar new phone for less. It's like a
> loyalty tax.

Reply to this Message

DotCom - 22 Dec 2005 19:12 GMT

ok I see but the problem is we did just both renew our contract for another
2 years 2 months ago. That was before we starting having phone problems.
Has anyone here been able to do an upgrade without having to renew contract
given our situation?
TIA
dot

That means you are able to get a new phone at the same price as a new user,
and you extend your contract another 2 years.

You get "eligible for upgrade" status when you have had your account for a
while, (such as the 18th month on a 24 month contract).

I am not sure if that means you have to get a new plan also or not.

> What exactly does eligible for upgrade mean? We are having a problem witha
> phone that is out of warranty and cingular web site says we will be

eligible

> for an upgrade soon so what does that do for me if I wait until we are
> eligible?
> TIA
> dot

Reply to this Message

Aaron - 22 Dec 2005 23:25 GMT

> ok I see but the problem is we did just both renew our contract for another
> 2 years 2 months ago. That was before we starting having phone problems.
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> > TIA
> > dot

just buy a new phone and forget about signing any contracts.

Reply to this Message

Bill Kraski - 23 Dec 2005 04:59 GMT

> ok I see but the problem is we did just both renew our contract for
> another
> 2 years 2 months ago. That was before we starting having phone problems.
> Has anyone here been able to do an upgrade without having to renew
> contract given our situation?

I had a similar situation. I had moved shortly after renewing my contract.
The new location was notorious for bad cell reception (which I didn't know
until after I moved). I needed a phone with better reception than what I
then owned. I called CS expecting to be told I couldn't upgrade, except by
paying full price for the phone. The CS rep allowed me to start a new 2
year period (a 1 month move of the 2 year contract period), no $18 fee, an
extra 100 anytime minutes & the phone at the upgrade price. So, it can be
done.

Several things to keep in mind:

1) You're more likely to get the upgrade through CS on the phone, rather
than online or at a store.

2) It might take calling back two or three times till you get a CS rep
willing (or knowledgeable enough) to help you get what you need.

3) Once you've found the right CS rep, it might take getting pushed up
through channels to get to the right group or person who actually has the
proper authority to make it happen. That includes some wait time on the
phone, while getting there -- if you hang up, tired of waiting, the process
starts from scratch. And

4) my experience was over a year ago. This all could have changed since
then.

HTH

Bill K

Reply to this Message

DotCom - 23 Dec 2005 15:18 GMT

Thank you all. I did call CS and she had to talk to her manager but she was
able to move us up to "eligible" now instead of waiting until March, and not
have to start a whole new contract which we just started in Oct. She said
it would take about 30 minutes to go through on their web site and indeed it
did take just about that. I don't remember what she said about the $18 fee
but that is not a biggie. So hubby can now order a new phone off their web
site instead of waiting to be eligible and not have to start a new 2 year
contract. She did check out our history and said we were in good standing
which helped I'm sure. I like Cingular now! <s> This is what I look for in
a Company I want to do business with. Someone who is willing to work with a
customer who has been in good standing and makes their payments on time.
dot

DotCom wrote:

Reply to this Message