mid term upgrades are no more?

[Anonymous]

have been on a small business tariff (£37 per month) since June 2009, got an iphone 4 on mid term upgrade in June 2010 (for around £110). one of the selling points of the tariff was that i could upgrade every 12 months.
rang o2 upgrades today to price a mid term upgrade, but was told that they no longer do a "mid term" but could still upgrade me to a new phone for a scandalous price (£259 for a Galaxy S2, HTC Sensation £278). wow!
i asked what the going rate for an upgrade to an iphone4 is...£335.
so basically, when the new iphone 5 comes out next month, theoretically a "mid term upgrade" will cost £300+ ?!

[Anonymous]

Yes that's right, any mid term upgrades for contracts that started after 15/2/10 will start a new 24 month contract, and on contracts since 29/3/11 there's no mid term upgrade. O2's line is that due to the financial situation, and the escalating price of (smart)phones, it's no longer financially possible for them to give a massive discount on a phone at the start of the contract, then a massive discount 12 months later.
To the point where they just can't do them at all.

[Anonymous]

and when did they plan on telling the 1000's of customers who still think this is a feature of their contract is what i wanna know.

[Anonymous]

There's a similar discussion here (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=66507) but they announced it back in March this year on their website. Provided they made it publically available and gave at least 30 days notice it is legal apparently, even if many people didn't know about it.

[Anonymous]

do you know where on the website it is mentioned?

[Anonymous]

Good question! I've been having a look around on the website and can't find anything, even on the business terms and conditions, which are here: http://www.o2.co.uk/assets2/pdf/2120%20 ... ONLINE.pdf
Of course, it might have been removed in the last six months, now that it's in common use.

[Anonymous]

found this on Ofcom's website, interesting...
"If a communications provider wants to alter a contract’s terms and conditions, they must consider, among other things, whether the change will be of material detriment to their customers.
Under General Condition 9.3, communications providers must provide customers for whom a change is likely to be of material detriment with one month’s notice of the change.
Customers must also be informed that they are entitled to terminate their contract without penalty if the change is not acceptable to them."

[Anonymous]

found this on Ofcom's website, interesting...
"If a communications provider wants to alter a contract’s terms and conditions, they must consider, among other things, whether the change will be of material detriment to their customers.
Under General Condition 9.3, communications providers must provide customers for whom a change is likely to be of material detriment with one month’s notice of the change.
Customers must also be informed that they are entitled to terminate their contract without penalty if the change is not acceptable to them."

That would be the case if o2 had changed the t&c's but they havent, the only change is to customers that have resigned their contract since Feb 2011 & they have resigned on the new t&c's. If you took out your contract prior to Feb 2011 (old t&c's) you would still be eligble to a mid term upgrade, just dont expect a free iPhone.

[Anonymous]

found this on Ofcom's website, interesting...
"If a communications provider wants to alter a contract’s terms and conditions, they must consider, among other things, whether the change will be of material detriment to their customers.
Under General Condition 9.3, communications providers must provide customers for whom a change is likely to be of material detriment with one month’s notice of the change.
Customers must also be informed that they are entitled to terminate their contract without penalty if the change is not acceptable to them."

That would be the case if o2 had changed the t&c's but they havent, the only change is to customers that have resigned their contract since Feb 2011 & they have resigned on the new t&c's. If you took out your contract prior to Feb 2011 (old t&c's) you would still be eligble to a mid term upgrade, just dont expect a free iPhone.

re: my first post I am elligble for an "upgrade" (which ties me into another 2 years), i never expect to get a phone for free but they are looking stupid money for a new handset.

[Anonymous]

found this on Ofcom's website, interesting...
"If a communications provider wants to alter a contract’s terms and conditions, they must consider, among other things, whether the change will be of material detriment to their customers.
Under General Condition 9.3, communications providers must provide customers for whom a change is likely to be of material detriment with one month’s notice of the change.
quote]
As I mentioned above, O2 did post this on their website at least 30 days before it came into effect