I am not eccentric, I am concentric - Salvador Dali
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O2 customers ripped off over Iphone upgrade
THE GREAT IPHONE SWINDLE is under way, with mobile operator O2 offering contract locked punters the chance of a lifetime, owning Steve Jobs' latest creation.
The rip-off, masqueraded by the firm as an "early upgrade cost", will allow those who are on pay-monthly tariffs to pay off their existing contract for just £20 per month, or more accurately, pay almost 60 per cent of their monthly rental in return for nothing.
O2 even offers a calculator for fanbois who can't tot up the score, which brutally reveals the extent of O2's sham. Those unfortunate enough to have purchased an Iphone 3GS this month will have to shell out an astonishing 340 quid just for the privilege of signing away the next 18 months of their life.
A spokesperson for O2 told The INQUIRER that the early upgrade offer is merely a way of "acknowledging that many people buy the latest Iphone when it comes out, and those people would still be in contracts." So it seems that the cost of fanbois' recognition is having their wallets skinned not only by Apple but also O2.
O2's spokesperson then offered some sound financial advice by saying that it is "always best to wait until the end of the contract before upgrading".
Someone more cynical than The INQUIRER might interpret that as an admission that the upgrade package is a swizz.
The extent to which O2 is going to cash in on Jobs' disciples doesn't stop at merely short changing them. In an error strewn terms and conditions page, the firm states that punters' rights granted by the Distance Selling Act are null and void if they choose to take up the early upgrade offer.
The point in full reads, "Understand that you will be waiving the "change of mind" period set out in your new Airtime contract or any Distance Sales Act rights granted by law as we will be continuing to prove [sic] a service which you are already familiar with."
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) confirmed to The INQUIRER that O2's statement is above board and that in any continuation of a contract, the service provider does not have to abide by distance selling regulations. The firm may provide some protection at its own discretion but in this case, O2 seems to have acquired the art of customer service from Jobs himself, taking a like it or lump it attitude.
The O2 spokesperson would not release the monthly rate for Iphone tariffs but even with most UK mobile operators offering the device, expect pricing to be similar, after all there is honour among thieves.
With O2 first out of the blocks with its 'upgrade' pricing, similar rip-off schemes from Vodafone, Orange and Three should appear soon as fanbois' patience run out. µ
Tags: Apple
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This deal is primarily aimed at iphone 3gs customers that have taken out a contract in the last year - it's only reasonable that we get the chance to have the same phone as a new customer - therefore, trading in your 3gs with o2 gives you £220. That cancels out the money you paid for buying out the rest of your contract, and you only pay the upgrade phone cost, the same as any new customer. It's an excellent deal - some people will even make a small profit from upgrading. DO SOME RESEARCH, YOU ARE MEANT TO BE A JOURNALIST - THIS IS A JOKE OF AN ARTICLE!
You need to take into account you can keep your old phone and sell to a recycle company.currently a 3GS is quoted circa 160 ponds.I.e worth 8 months of contract plus you can take a cheaper tariff . Mmnn not such a rip off is it .
Unless you are a very busy caller, go Pay and Go. You will save huge amounts of money in just the first year:
- £10/month gives you 300 texts (or "free calling") if you want
- free internet is included for the first year
Do the math and you will be amazed.
Meanwhile, O2 is the only UK operator who is happy to unlock your SIM for you. If you unlock a pay and go phone, you lose the free internet for the first year. So wait for a year if you can. If you are pay monthly you can unlock it immediately since you are still committed to your contract. That instantly means you can go to Europe and the USA and use local SIM cards and save a ton of money.
Also - and I might regret saying this - the pay and go network is noticeably faster than the pay monthly one. I get 3G speeds that feel like I am on wi-fi all the time. And I get IP addresses very quickly when I first try to connect.
The "upgrade early" deal does seem bogus however. It's better than nothing, but if you unlock the SIM you can sell the phone VERY easily and use that to fund your new phone.
last year when the 3GS came out O2 made no special offer to let people get out of existing contracts. Offering the option to pay off at £20 for each remaining month is a really good offer considering all iphone tarrifs are much more than this. People should count themselves lucky, we were all complaining last year when no offer was made. You signed a 18 month contract so really should expect to have to honour it.
As for me, I bought a 3GS on PAYG and put my contract sim in. I am now contract free and have switched over to Orange so will buy contract or PAYG from them.
I hate apple! I own an Android phone. But this is NOT a rip-off. My understanding is that for all mobile phone contracts, if you want to buy yourself out of that contract, you have to pay the full amount i.e. if youre on a £30 per month contract and you want to end the contract 3 months early, you have to pay £90. This is the case with ALL CONTRACTS. What O2 is doing is actually letting you end your contract more cheaply. So whats the problem?!?! Do you honestly expect to enter an 18 or 24 month contract but be allowed to tear it up at no cost just because a new model has come out? Get real!!!
In any walk of life it is morally wrong to take advantage of the mentally challenged. Albeit, even if they are Jobsian Dystopists, they surely deserve to be treated as a normal member of the human race. Shame on O2, and shame on those making fun of the Cider-ians.
I'm only a month into my 18 month contract with o2. It's £50/month, and I got the 3gs for free, so presuming I have 16 months left on my contract I will need to pay O2 £320 to get out of contract, in order to sign another contract with the iphone 4. If they also have the iphone 4 free on £50/month tarrif and I can get £250 for the sale of my iphone 3gs, then all in, it will cost me just short of £100 and add 2 months onto my 18 month contract...
I'm game
Why are people making an issue about this? It quite clearly explains how it works on the O2 website and even how much it will cost an individual to do it. If you think its a rip off or too expensive, then dont do it.... SIMPLES.
I paid off my last contract to get the 3GS when it came out and it cost me lots more than £20 a month so I am buzzing!!
Folks should just shut up about this offer. They expect WAY TOO MUCH stuff for free these days. You signed a contract, and you are obligated to pay it. They are at least giving you an option for that obligation if you are interested in newer equipment. For that you should be glad. Otherwise, you can just simply stick to your obligation. DUH!
O2 have always had the option of paying off your contract early. I paid of 6 months of my contract to get an HTC Desire when they released it.
Think I'm crazy? I mizuma'd my old mobile for £135 (so I made £15 profit)! Still think I'm crazy!?!??!
o2 knows iphone customers are mugs so this is just their way of jumping on the extortion bandwagon.
stupid fanbois deserve it
I forgot to add that if the mobile network were to change the T's and C's to your detriment and you decided to leave their network because of this then you would be able to keep the mobile phone as it's not part of the original tariff agreement and is not bound by the same conditions.
I've read of people walking away with brand new smart phones and their recently signed Orange mobile contracts because Orange changed the amount that they were charging for minutes used over your normal allowance around a year ago.
Cheers!
The reason they are doing this is that technically O2 could ask you to pay off the whole remainder of the contract before allowing you to upgrade to the new iPhone 4 so by doing this they are putting some positive spin on it.
It's not the mobile network's fault if you have signed up for a 2 year contract with an iPhone 3GS and then 6 months down the line you're bored with it and want to upgrade to Apple's latest shiny gadget.
When the customer made a commitment to have the contract for 2 years then they should stick to it.
The contract works both ways because if O2 decided to change the call costs of the tariffs they'd have to inform you by giving you 30 days notice otherwise you can turn down the new T's and C's and walk away owing them nothing for unilaterally breaking the contract.
Cheers!
What is so hard to understand about this?
The original price of the iPhone on contract was subsidised by O2 - you want to end your contract early then you have to pay off the remaining subsidy, they call it an "early upgrade fee" - to me that's kind of self explanatory really.
The penalty is believed to pay for discontinuing the current contract. Then you will have to signup for a new (18 - 24 months) plan for the iphone 4.
I think this is what they meant.
You're paying a penalty of £20 per remaining month to end your phone contract... plus you're continuing your contract?
Am confused.
Fortunately don't have or want an iPhone so it is someone else's problem.
Do you have to pay this to get a software upgrade for your existing phone to the allegedly wonderful iOS 4 ?