What is Meteor playing at?

stepbar

Here's the deal, I have a Meteor bill pay phone on a yr contract since Jan 06. Im on the lowest tariff Talk 60. Anyhow I went into the Meteor store (Grafton St) on Monday to enquire about getting a new upgrade phone (lost my other phone so it was a bit earlier than planned). Said it would be no problem and tol me to come back with my Passport and POA. However yesterday, as the Henry St store is closer I decided to go in there and get the phone. Didnt have the phone I wanted but told me there should be no problem and all I would have to do is sign up to a new 12 month contract. Fair nouf. Went back up to Grafton St during lunch to see if the phone I wanted had came in yet, not in yet he says come back after work. But he slips in that to get the phone I would need to sign a contract for 18 months. 18 months, surely some mistake I ask.... Nope and the manager double confirmed it :rolleyes: Anyhow not convinced I decided to give customer care a quick call, not only did they confirm that there was NO SUCH THING as an 18 month contract, they rang the store while I was on hold and told them the same. Fair nouf. Went back up after work, phone not in, mentioned my conversation with customer care. Well I might as well have been talking to a brick... "well if customer care are happy with that", the eejid was still insisting that it was an 18 month contract. By this time I was sick of arguing; so I says to him, I'll be in on Friday. Walked out the door and straight into the carphone warehouse, got a new upgrade phone and 1yr contract for the lovely sum of 59eur. No hassle, no bullsh1te.

My question is, can anyone tell me what is Meteor playing at? Why are they blatently trying to get people signed up on 18month contracts when there is no such thing???

Random

Sounds to me like another case of poor communication between departments and training for staff....

Cal

They do seem quite inconsistent. While getting an upgrade last week they confirmed all my details and the fact that they had the required phone in stock. All was going well till it came to me not having photo ID with me. They were not satisfied that I had all the details of my account and even my sim card with me. They wanted photo ID.

I returned the next day with my photo ID. I managed to get the required upgrade and they never even asked to see my bloody photo ID !!!!!

Cal.

chrislad

There's some miscommunication there.

Basically, as of 6 months or so ago, all Talk 60 plans are not entitled to an upgrade for 18 months. It is not an 18 month contract but you cannot upgrade for 18 months. Obviously if you signed up before about Aug 06 or so, they will override it for you, but if you got an upgrade on Talk 60, you cannot upgrade for 18 months from your last upgrade. Now, this can change on your spend. If you're on Talk 60, and have a high spend (which you really shouldn't as you should be on a different tariff), the upgrade can be earlier than 18 months, but not guaranteed.

stepbar

chrislad wrote:

There's some miscommunication there.

There shouldnt be any, it would be akin to going into a shop looking for a apple and coming out with an orange with the cashier having convinced you its an apple. The guys in the store seem to be afraid to stick the heads out incase it comes back on them. Anyhow they wont see me tomorrow....

Cal

chrislad wrote:

It is not an 18 month contract but you cannot upgrade for 18 months.

That would seem a crazy situation to put people in. If you think about the typical subscriber to Meteor. A young person who likes 'new' toys. If a person finds themselves out of contract after 12 months and no sign of a new phone for at least 6 more months. They would very likely see some tempting offers from the rival networks and jump ship in order to get a new phone. I know I moved from O2 for that very reason in the past. Now O2 are offering me a free phone to come back to them.

Cal.

chrislad

Cal wrote:

That would seem a crazy situation to put people in. If you think about the typical subscriber to Meteor. A young person who likes 'new' toys. If a person finds themselves out of contract after 12 months and no sign of a new phone for at least 6 more months. They would very likely see some tempting offers from the rival networks and jump ship in order to get a new phone. I know I moved from O2 for that very reason in the past. Now O2 are offering me a free phone to come back to them.

Cal.

Never said it made any sense for the very reason you said

stepbar

Cal wrote:

That would seem a crazy situation to put people in. If you think about the typical subscriber to Meteor. A young person who likes 'new' toys. If a person finds themselves out of contract after 12 months and no sign of a new phone for at least 6 more months. They would very likely see some tempting offers from the rival networks and jump ship in order to get a new phone. I know I moved from O2 for that very reason in the past. Now O2 are offering me a free phone to come back to them.

Cal.

I thought that as well, its rediculus. Meteor are penny pinching TBH and are not as good value as they used to be. In fact the Meteor guy was very frank when I suggested that an 18 month contract was madness (didnt know he was talking thru his arse at the time). He told me to check out O2 and the rest before I made a decision, such was the level of his confidence. Thing is Meteor cant afford to be confident in a market that is as fickle as the mobile one.

chrislad

Call prices have not changed at all in the last 18 months for all Irish calls. In fact, international calls and roaming have gotten cheaper!

Phones, yes, have gotten a bit more expensive on bill pay, but not hugely, normally by no more than 30euro. 59euro for a Sony Ericsson W810i (which is over 100euro on O2 if I recall) is a pretty good deal.

Random

I reckon unless you spend an insane amount of money each month (as in, a few hundred) and qualify for something like O2s Diamond upgrade (basically a free phone) then you are always better to switch networks yearly. You get the best deals (99% of the time) as a new or returning customer than you do with an upgrade.

My thoughts anyway.

MickH503

stepbar wrote:

My question is, can anyone tell me what is Meteor playing at? Why are they blatently trying to get people signed up on 18month contracts when there is no such thing???

Ahem ... isn't Meteor owned by Eircom?