Better deals for 02 eksewhere

[Kiwiaccent]

Why is it that I can purchase a contract with 26 greater data, no upfront cost for phone and monthly costs £11.00 cheaper than if I buy directly from O2? Disgraceful after being a loyal customer for over 17 years!!! This is on the Limited Edition Red iPhone 8

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

It's because third party sellers get a commission from the networks to resell the phones and they often pass this on as a discount to the customer to entice them in.
Unless you buy direct from O2 you won't get refresh and you won't be able to claim any multi contract discounts, open discounts or share data with other members of your family.

If you are upgrading, call 202 and speak to the recontract team (I'm thinking of leaving option) as they can offer you better deals to stay and upgrade directly with O2.

[Kiwiaccent]

Thank you M15!!! As a fairly enlightened user of technology at the tender age of 64 I pride myself with the fact that I should not be penalised by 02 for no longer having any family members nor require multi contracts. Been there done that and got nothing for the additional contracts so ended those. EE is not a third party and they are offering me a far better deal as are two others. Better coverage in country areas as well. I called 02 as you suggested and clearly they have told their frontline staff that they don’t need to try to retain long term loyal customers and offered me zilch!!!! So as I am no longer in contract I will simply post this on all social media sites and let the consumer know just how much or in this case little 02 REALLY value their customers.

[MI5]

Sorry to hear that but I would do exactly the same as you in your shoes.
Loyalty counts for nothing these days and you gave them a chance, so you can do no more than that.
Best wishes for the future and hope all goes well for you with EE.

[Cleoriff]

Good move @Kiwiaccent EE have some good deals at the moment. A friend of mine has just moveed herself over to them and is very pleased with the phone and coverage

[Bambino]

@Kiwiaccent The one thing that should drive any decision you make is 'coverage'. A good deal, no matter who the provider is, is useless if you can't use the phone. O2 abandoned their customer loyalty policy a long time ago. If you think you can get better coverage and a better deal with another provider, then that's what you should do. If it helps you to vent by posting on social media, then go right ahead, but I doubt O2 really cares. I'm sure there are plenty of negative remarks on their social media pages, but it doesn't appear to alter what they do.

[Kiwiaccent]

Thank you Bambino. I respect both your comments and opinion. However , change never comes from lethargy nor caving in. Rattle enough cages often and loud enough and it WILL happen. I personally have made it happen with two major suppliers by rattling their Facebook pages. No one was hurt in the process but I the consumer won. Perhaps it’s because I’m a Kiwi and very probably bolshy as well but I will not be walked over and a European owned company like Telefonica is no different. Trends changes as does the consumer tide....... o2 are not immune to change and neither are their share holders ....... signal in Worcestershire/Shropshire far better with EE where as o2 wifi a joke. End of rant. I have written a formal letter of complaint to o2 sent by email, received a ‘read receipt’ so let’s see if it gets answered. If it doesn’t then that’s most unfortunate and what follows from m that will only hurt their purse not mine...... Duty of Care

[Bambino]

Your perseverance should be commended @Kiwiaccent, and you are more than entitled to make your voice heard. I'm just going by my many years of being an O2 customer since way before the days of Telefonica. I admit things are a little different now with the advent of social media, but I haven't seen a great deal of change of policy towards customers, and I doubt that I will. Good luck with your complaint. Let us know how it goes.