So I am a long time customer who travels overseas often. I use my Blackberry extensively all over the world. So lo and behold I am offered an upgrade with another three year contract. So I ask “Will my new phone work with European connections?” and am assured it will. I get to the UK and it doesn’t work. I get to Europe, it doesn’t work. I get into Norway and it doesn’t work. So when I get back I stop into a mobility shop and am told “Sorry you signed a contract there is nothing I can do… but there is a phone over there to speak with support. I call and they say “Well we can send you another phone for another three year contact and you have to pay $278.00 for the new phone because you still have one year and six months on this new upgrade you got! I explain that my old phone worked fine in Europe and Africa and I was told this phone would work “Even Better!” Bull fuckin’ shit! It’s not worth a fuck. Then you tell me “Well that’s the best we can do unless you want to buy out your contract and sign a new contract for a new phone! It was your mistake that this phone is in my possession in the first pace… now you want me to buy out the contract? Then you said “Well you can try selling the phone online perhaps to recover some of your costs of a newer phone! I said “Great… will you buy it?” Answer “Um… No.” You are lying, unhelpful scum suckers. Shame on you and your shitty service. This good customer will just toss your fuckin’ phone… not pay the bill (which is always paid) and you can chase me while I get a phone from your competitor that works in Europe. Scum! —Phoneless in Europe and Any Fuckin Place Besides North America
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2012.
OB, stop falling for this “renew your contract” BS. My cell company did this to me when I broke my cell phone. I renewed, like the gullible idiot I can sometimes be. Then my BF, who is also on my plan, wants a new phone. So he called them up, and ended up buying a really nice, refurbished phone from them, without any renewing.
Thank goodness my contract is almost up. I just signed on to the online form to be included in the class action lawsuits that were just ok’d by the supreme court to proceed. It will try to recover the BS “system access fee” the big cell companies have been stealing from us for years.
Oh yeah, the refurb cost us $49.99, payable on my next bill. That’s it.
Be careful – you don’t pay your bill and your credit rating is affected and OH HAY! you don’t pass the credit check with the competitor.
🙁
PS: Is there some fucked up setting that needs to be changed on your phone in order for it to work in Europe?
Just because a sales person says something doesn’t mean they know what they’re talking about, unfortunately. I remember once a sales person couldn’t tell my cousin what the difference between the regular ipod was and the nano because the regular ipod held more, but the nano was so much more expensive per gig of music it held. The sales person who SOLD IPODS FOR A LIVING, couldn’t tell her that the regular ipod was a hard disk and was less stability/durability and was cheaper technology than the nano which has flash technology, which at that time was more expensive.
All they’re interested in is that sale.
I feel for ya, OB.
I hate to say it but it’s not the cell phone companies responsibility to research what phones will work in europe or not. That would be your responsibility since you plan to use the phone there.
VOT — I think it IS the companies responsibility to know what their product is and isn’t capable of. Or to at least answer products questions with a) the right information and b) truthful information.
When OB asked if the phone worked in Europe, I’ll betcha the sales person, who likely works on commission, gave the answer the customer wanted because OH HAY! he wanted to make that sale and what happened afterwards isn’t his problem (as evident by the response from the company’s ‘customer service’ rep). Either they didn’t know the answer and didn’t want to lose the sale, OR they did know the real answer and didn’t want to lose the sale.
Either way they didn’t want to lose the sale.
“Just because a sales person says something doesn’t mean they know what they’re talking about”
http://allthingsd.com/files/2012/07/You-Do…
there ya go zilla… gettin good at er.
http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo…
Fuck you, Zilla!
And fuck you too, Zed!
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/5356/yo…
slow day at work. Not funny. I laughed while I was making it. Not funny.
So you signed a contract without looking it over and you’re angry becasue YOU didn’t see the part which said it wouldn’t work overseas…
You’re angry because YOU relied on some lame-ass clerk/salesperson (who probably didn’t know about the switch in service).
Well darling… YOU are angry with YOURSELF!
For phones, considering how badly the companies are out to screw us, just get an unlocked one and a SIM card. Also saves a shitload of money by popping a local card in the phone instead of roaming.
For worldwide compatibility, look for GSM 3-band or 4-band. Should cover just about everywhere.
Gotta be that company that rhymes with dodgers. They are the devil, right after women and Harper.
I’ve spent a lot of time and energy on this in past when I had more occasion to spend time abroad, and my conclusion is it’s better to have your phone you use at home and just get a PAYG to use in Europe that you top up when you’re there :s Sales people have no idea the specifics of the phones when it comes to region issues like this. Less headache and heartache!
Not sure if you know this already, but the new NS consumer protection legislation enacted this summer will apply in your case if you entered or renewed a contract after May 17.
If you are on a three-year plan, you can cancel your contract and pay no more than $50 cancellation fee, plus the remaining cost of buying-out your phone, based on pro-rating the cost of the phone over the period of the contract, minus any deposit you paid.
For example, if your phone costs $500 with no plan (retail), and you get it for $150 with a 3-year plan (36 months), and then you decide to cancel your plan after 2 years (24 months), here’s what you’ll owe the company:
Monthly pro-rated phone price: $500/36months = $14.
Value paid on phone in 2 years: 24months x $14 = $336.
Amount paid in advance: $150.
Cost of phone buy-out: $500 – $336 – $150 = $14.
Cancellation fee: $50
So, according to my reading of the legislation, your cost to get out of the contract should be $64, and you keep the phone.
You can read the new rules at http://nslegislature.ca/legc/bills/61st_4t….