Meteor are lame

eyesofvenus

I think i can say bye bye meteor after 5 years of using them.

Was in The Square in tallaght earlier, big promotions and hullabaloo going on outside the Meteor shop to advertise the IPhone 4 on meteor.

Went into the shop to inquire about upgrading to it. I am currently on a connect €20 18 month contract of which I have 12 months completed.

I asked in the shop if could upgrade to the €60 a month IPhone plan and was told shouldn't be a problem but to ring customer care to confirm.

So I rang customer care and was straight out told no. In order to avail of it I would have to buy myself out of my current contract before I could avail of another contract(bear in mind the IPhone one is 24 months).

I told the guy that this doesnt make sense that in order to take out a more expensive and longer contract I would have to but myself out of my current one, and that when my contract is actually up i will be moving to another network.

Wasn't bothered at all, just kept reiterating the same spiel.
So what I plan on doing is paying off the rest of my contract with meteor and then moving to another operator who'll gladly take my extra business.

It really is pathetic, I feel punished because I signed up to a contract a year ago and now they release one I would have been interested in I can't avail of it without forking out more money.

Just a heads up for anyone in the same boat.

Rant over

Paul

bd250110

It's not about spending more money, or less money. You are in contract, one you freely entered into. Meteor are under no obligation whatsoever to chance the contract. From their point of view they would loose significant revenue if they let you do what you suggest. They would be effectively be giving you a 33% discount for the first 6 months, why would, or should, they let you do that?

Solair

None of the networks are as generous with the upgrades as they used to be.

It doesn't make much difference to them i.e. you'll have to either complete the contract, or pay to exit it anyway if you are changing network.

If you don't complete the contract, the network's losing money on the subsidy that they gave for your current handset. It's not really in their interest to offer you a new handset just because you asked.

You could try e-mailing Meteor and asking if they'd be interested. I don't think you'll get much help from a the operators on the helplines as they have no power to do anything other than implement the policies that are laid out. They're not sales people who have flexibility.

eyesofvenus

From a contract point of view you are right.
But lets look at it this way, by meteor not coming to some sort of
case by case agreement via a sales rep, and i did request to be put onto one but none were available!, they are losing a long time customer.

As has been pointed out on other threads, meteor are late getting the iphone 4 and their basic €45 one is not as good as competitors, but for god only knows what reason, i actually want to stay with meteor.

You point out that they will lose 33%, that may be true, but that 33% adds up to €120, I would be giving them a minimum of €1440(24x€60) with the new contract(ive been bill with meteor for 4 years and have never missed a payment, so im not a liability).

Instead now i will be moving to vodafone or three and meteor will lose out on over a thousand euro from my pocket, their loss another companies gain.

You'd swear eircom were doing well or something

Oh and the handset i got for my current contract was a nokia x6, prepay price at the time was €250, i had to pay €110 to get it on my current contract, so i don't think they're losing much on the handset, also my contract hasn't got free meteor texts or calls so my bill runs well close to €30+ every month...

Max Power 2010

At the end of the day your in a 18 month contract and not entitled to an upgrade.

Their is nobody at fault here.

superfish

Max Power 2010 wrote: »

At the end of the day your in a 18 month contract and not entitled to an upgrade.

Their is nobody at fault here.

he must be entitled to an upgrade after 12 month thats just crazy id snap the sim and cancell the direct debit an feck meteor go wit someone else

eyesofvenus

superfish wrote: »

he must be entitled to an upgrade after 12 month thats just crazy id snap the sim and cancell the direct debit an feck meteor go wit someone else

I would have thought the same? Why is someone in a 12 month contract entitled to an upgrade after the 12 months yet im not entitled to one til 18 months?

Problem I have is that people in this country are too self righteous, sticking up for these lousy companies instead of trying to get what you pay through the ear for out of them.

Anyway its neither here nor there. Meteor is cancelled, have letter posted. Signed up with three. Got samsung galaxy s2 for free, €40 a month, a ton of free data, over 850 free texts a month and free 3 to 3 calls.

Makes me now wonder why i even bothered ringing meteor with my business today...

partyatmygaff

eyesofvenus wrote: »

I would have thought the same? Why is someone in a 12 month contract entitled to an upgrade after the 12 months yet im not entitled to one til 18 months?

Problem I have is that people in this country are too self righteous, sticking up for these lousy companies instead of trying to get what you pay through the ear for out of them.

Anyway its neither here nor there. Meteor is cancelled, have letter posted. Signed up with three. Got samsung galaxy s2 for free, €40 a month, a ton of free data, over 850 free texts a month and free 3 to 3 calls.

Makes me now wonder why i even bothered ringing meteor with my business today...

You do realise you're going to have to pay €120 to Meteor now for early termination, don't you?

superfish

cool the s2 a class phone I got the galaxy s a while back free on contract, next thing ya know the s2 is out well only 9 more month till im due an upgrade

superfish

partyatmygaff wrote: »

You do realise you're going to have to pay €120 to Meteor now for early termination, don't you?

I would not give them a fecking penny there aint much that they can do other than sent threatening letters and eventually write it off as bad debt unless you owe them over 1500

eyesofvenus

partyatmygaff wrote: »

You do realise you're going to have to pay €120 to Meteor now for early termination, don't you?

Well aware of that. I saved money doing this though.

I decided I wanted Galaxy S2 over the IPhone. So in order to get it on meteor the cheapest you can get the handset for is €179 and thats for a €75 a month contract.

Even meteors €50 a month contracts charge €229 for the phone, include less texts, less minutes and far less data, and its more expensive per month too...

Best €120 il spend this year i think

partyatmygaff

superfish wrote: »

I would not give them a fecking penny there aint much that they can do other than sent threatening letters and eventually write it off as bad debt unless you owe them over 1500

Except you probably won't be able to ever take out a contract with Emobile, Meteor or probably Eircom again without having to pay a massive deposit.

eyesofvenus wrote: »

Well aware of that. I saved money doing this though.

I decided I wanted Galaxy S2 over the IPhone. So in order to get it on meteor the cheapest you can get the handset for is €179 and thats for a €75 a month contract.

Even meteors €50 a month contracts charge €229 for the phone, include less texts, less minutes and far less data, and its more expensive per month too...

Best €120 il spend this year i think

It works out better that way then. Let me be the first to say you made a good choice picking the S2 over the iPhone

eyesofvenus

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Except you probably won't be able to ever take out a contract with Emobile, Meteor or probably Eircom again without having to pay a massive deposit.


It works out better that way then. Let me be the first to say you made a good choice picking the S2 over the iPhone

I've no problem paying what i owe, just can't understand for the life of me why in this climate companies are just basically throwing customers away. I mean the guy on the phone made no effort whatsoever to help my cause. Oh and don't worry I won't be going near eircom or that rip-off emobile(€69 a month for iphone haha). They can keep their "next gen" 8mb broadband and i'll be happily using my 30mb upc broadband

Oh and after a bit of research i went for galaxy. Didn't realise how long the iphone has actually been out and it's being replaced soon, imagine going into 24 month contract with a phone thats about to be upgraded :P

KevArno

I understand that it seems logical for them to try and extend your contract period, but if you think about it from the networks perspective I think you are being unfair here.
Contract periods are there because the network has subsidised the cost of the handset for you. So if you paid €100 or so for the handset at the beginning of the contract period, Meteor do not start making money off your connection until well into your contract as the phone may have a value in excess of €300 or €400. (Granted you may be an exceptionally high spender, but these exceptionally high spenders ARE dealt with on a case by case basis. An example of this is the fact that there are customers that have been supplied with iPhones by Meteor for a long time now as incentives to stay with the network)
If Meteor allow you to upgrade now, they will be giving you a free iPhone, once again costing them anywhere up to €600. And who is to say a year in, the iPhone 5 launches and you will be back on the doorstep of a Meteor store looking for another upgrade with a subsidised phone...?
The line has to be drawn somewhere, and when you signed your contract you drew that line roughly 18 months away.

eyesofvenus

KevArno wrote: »

I understand that it seems logical for them to try and extend your contract period, but if you think about it from the networks perspective I think you are being unfair here.
Contract periods are there because the network has subsidised the cost of the handset for you. So if you paid €100 or so for the handset at the beginning of the contract period, Meteor do not start making money off your connection until well into your contract as the phone may have a value in excess of €300 or €400. (Granted you may be an exceptionally high spender, but these exceptionally high spenders ARE dealt with on a case by case basis. An example of this is the fact that there are customers that have been supplied with iPhones by Meteor for a long time now as incentives to stay with the network)
If Meteor allow you to upgrade now, they will be giving you a free iPhone, once again costing them anywhere up to €600. And who is to say a year in, the iPhone 5 launches and you will be back on the doorstep of a Meteor store looking for another upgrade with a subsidised phone...?
The line has to be drawn somewhere, and when you signed your contract you drew that line roughly 18 months away.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the phone I got in this contract was worth €250, for which i had to front €110. Its the only upgrade i've ever availed of with meteor in all the years ive been a bill pay customer.

As I also stated I go way over the €20 a month too, usually €32-35 a month and I don't have free meteor to meteor calls or texts like my €20 a month pre-pay counter parts, so yeah id say meteor have well made their money back already.

KevArno

Well I didnt miss your points... but you need to remember that they are a business, and aren't interested in just making their money back from you. They want to make money from you. My point is that all the networks pricing is taking into account subsidising handsets and providing your service, and if they give early upgrades, for the sake of getting everyone on longer contracts then they will need to revisit their tariff pricing to compensate.
And you wouldnt be happy with that either. You signed the contract, and should be willing to see it out.

In future you should just take sim only plans for the freedom and flexibility to move all you want, and pay full price for your handsets.

eyesofvenus

KevArno wrote: »

Well I didnt miss your points... but you need to remember that they are a business, and aren't interested in just making their money back from you. They want to make money from you. My point is that all the networks pricing is taking into account subsidising handsets and providing your service, and if they give early upgrades, for the sake of getting everyone on longer contracts then they will need to revisit their tariff pricing to compensate.
And you wouldnt be happy with that either. You signed the contract, and should be willing to see it out.

In future you should just take sim only plans for the freedom and flexibility to move all you want, and pay full price for your handsets.

And being a business they need to maximize their custom, like any retailer or bank etc. In turn they have now lost a customer. This is good business practice?

They have sales rep's for a reason and thats to help with individual cases. The guy wouldn't even put me onto one. There could be a go between, like for instance in order for me to avail of the upgrade I pay the difference in cost between the 12 month contract and the 18 month one(€5 per month i believe it was). So I pay them €60 and they can offer me the upgrade after 12 months.

Look, i'm not out for blood here. I just can't understand the mentality of companies these days. I wanted an Iphone with meteor, they wouldn't give me one, so I took my business elsewhere, funnily enough three are the only network to offer the galaxy s2 on a contract under €75 a month for free, strange much?

Kristopherus

I'm in a similar position to you, OP. I'm 14 months into an 18 month contract. I text Meteor for an upgrade and I get a text back saying I'm not entitled:(. Yet my local Meteor shop send me a text inviting me in to choose an upgrade . Like you I'll be off to Three as soon as my time is up. They are way better pricewise compared to Voda of O2, and I was with them up to 2 yrs ago and had no problem with them. Only reason I'm staying with Meteor for now is besause I have an Affinity Discount from them:).

eyesofvenus

Kristopherus wrote: »

I'm in a similar position to you, OP. I'm 14 months into an 18 month contract. I text Meteor for an upgrade and I get a text back saying I'm not entitled:(. Yet my local Meteor shop send me a text inviting me in to choose an upgrade . Like you I'll be off to Three as soon as my time is up. They are way better pricewise compared to Voda of O2, and I was with them up to 2 yrs ago and had no problem with them. Only reason I'm staying with Meteor for now is besause I have an Affinity Discount from them:).

Yeah the conflicting advice between their in shop and over the phone support doesn't help the situation.

Main reason i wanted to stay with them was because most of my friends are meteor and i assumed they had the free meteor-meteor texts and calls, turns out most of them have the any network texts so it was easy choice in the end

Max Power 2010

As it states on their website you must finish your existing contract before you can upgrade.

http://www.meteor.ie/plans/bill_pay/upgrade/t_and_cs.html

So you have 6 months to wait, they do however let you upgrade in month 14 I believe, I think someone posted that in the iPhone thread.

On the otherhand those are the terms you agreed to when you signed your current 18 month contract,

eyesofvenus

Max Power 2010 wrote: »

As it states on their website you must finish your existing contract before you can upgrade.

http://www.meteor.ie/plans/bill_pay/upgrade/t_and_cs.html

So you have 6 months to wait, they do however let you upgrade in month 14 I believe, I think someone posted that in the iPhone thread.

On the otherhand those are the terms you agreed to when you signed your current 18 month contract,

You really are missing the point of this. I'm well aware of the t&c and all that.

Sales reps can and have previously, reevaluate your contract if the proposal is going to be more favourable to the company than your current contract and the potential for further business. The reception I got from meteor is that they don't care about my business.

Which is ok now, three have got my business now instead.

krudler

superfish wrote: »

he must be entitled to an upgrade after 12 month thats just crazy id snap the sim and cancell the direct debit an feck meteor go wit someone else

yes thats the solution. invoke your self entitlement clause.

upgrades are a reward not an entitlement as well.

eyesofvenus

krudler wrote: »

yes thats the solution. invoke your self entitlement clause.

upgrades are a reward not an entitlement as well.

Its attitudes like this why we pay through the roof for everything in this country. Ever here of waivers for being a good loyal customer? They used to exist but not anymore...

chrislad

eyesofvenus wrote: »

Sales reps can and have previously, reevaluate your contract if the proposal is going to be more favourable to the company than your current contract and the potential for further business.

No, they can't. Only the cancellations department can.

eyesofvenus

chrislad wrote: »

No, they can't. Only the cancellations department can.

They all work for the same company. The sales rep deals with the proposal then speaks to the relevant department within the company to see if it is a viable proposal.

Cancellation departments will not speak with you from a negotiations point.

Max Power 2010

eyesofvenus wrote: »

You really are missing the point of this. I'm well aware of the t&c and all that.

Sales reps can and have previously, reevaluate your contract if the proposal is going to be more favourable to the company than your current contract and the potential for further business. The reception I got from meteor is that they don't care about my business.

Which is ok now, three have got my business now instead.

Well, I was slightly off topic, but my point is its not really fair to slate a company for not giving you something you are not entitled to.

I think you'll find no operators are this generous in the current climate, and think its bad form, that's all.

I'm sure you will be asking Three to upgrade to the iPhone 5 once it arrives and im quite sure they would not allow you upgrade either.

eyesofvenus

Max Power 2010 wrote: »

Well, I was slightly off topic, but my point is its not really fair to slate a company for not giving you something you are not entitled to.

I think you'll find no operators are this generous in the current climate, and think its bad form, that's all.

I'm sure you will be asking Three to upgrade to the iPhone 5 once it arrives and im quite sure they would not allow you upgrade either.

Kettle and pot springs to mind here...you give out to me about giving my opinions and then you defame me by making out i'd be doing something i never alluded to, i.e. asking for an upgrade with 3.

I was four years a bill pay customer with meteor, for the first three i never availed of an upgrade, only reason i did last time was because my previous phone broke.

Generally im happy with a phone for years, not months til the next fad comes out, so your suggestion above is utter rubbish and has nothing to do with my current situation.

KevArno

eyesofvenus wrote: »

Kettle and pot springs to mind here...you give out to me about giving my opinions and then you defame me by making out i'd be doing something i never alluded to, i.e. asking for an upgrade with 3.

I was four years a bill pay customer with meteor, for the first three i never availed of an upgrade, only reason i did last time was because my previous phone broke.

Generally im happy with a phone for years, not months til the next fad comes out, so your suggestion above is utter rubbish and has nothing to do with my current situation.

But you dont seem to understand that a company with 1million+ customers don't know you, and yes they can see your history with them, but they cannot possibly make these rules based on the individual. The contract structure and pricing, and upgrade elegibility would be made a mockery of, if you weren't expected to actually see out your contract period.

You seem to think that you are fighting "the man" here or something, and you are doing something for the little people by moving your business, but in reality ALL the networks operate in a very similar manner.

Meteor like all the networks, do want to maintain and increase their customer bases, but they also have to safeguard their interests from an accounting point of view.

Do yourself a favour, and as I said earlier, never sign up to a contract again, it's not for everyone, and it's certainly not for you!

eyesofvenus

KevArno wrote: »

Do yourself a favour, and as I said earlier, never sign up to a contract again, it's not for everyone, and it's certainly not for you!

Yet ive been in a bill contract for the last 4 years and never missed payments or no other problems...

i love how people on these forums continuously feel the need to tell you what you should/shouldn't do purely because you think outside the box and maybe stand up for yourself as a paying customer.

I went through the motions with meteor, have paid off my contract, didn't leave any arrears, all of which im entitled to do if im not happy with the service/contract

KevArno

eyesofvenus wrote: »

Yet ive been in a bill contract for the last 4 years and never missed payments or no other problems...

i love how people on these forums continuously feel the need to tell you what you should/shouldn't do purely because you think outside the box and maybe stand up for yourself as a paying customer.

I went through the motions with meteor, have paid off my contract, didn't leave any arrears, all of which im entitled to do if im not happy with the service/contract

Stand up for yourself??? Are you having a laugh, you paid off your contract and didn't leave any arrear, good for you. You signed a contract stipulating that you would so there is nothing impressive here. The issue is that you are here giving out about a company that only expected you to do the minimum you committed to when you signed the contract.

I see nothing wrong with trying your luck and requesting an early upgrade, but to be indignant when they won't bend to your whim is ridiculous.

You didn't make a point to Meteor. There sometimes are people that to a company are just bad customers (although reading some of your posts here you would swear every cusotmer needs to be revered). They should be let leave. You cannot please everyone.

chrislad

eyesofvenus wrote: »

They all work for the same company. The sales rep deals with the proposal then speaks to the relevant department within the company to see if it is a viable proposal.

Cancellation departments will not speak with you from a negotiations point.

Not the way it works. Cancellations department are there for the very reason you say they aren't: to negotiate. Sales staff have no say whatsoever.