bell mobility customer? dont count on getting that upgrade anytime soon!

[mdutka]

so i have been with bell mobility for about 8 years, i have two phones with them. usually 2 years after you start your contract you are eligible for a $200 hardware upgrade credit which i have taken advantage of a few times. anyways, my hubby and i both have HTC phones and they are constantly breaking down, we are both hitting the 2 year mark in our current contract, so we went to the bell store so look into getting our upgrades and getting better phones.
the gentleman at bell very rudely informed us that bell no longer offers hardware upgrades at 2 years, now they offer them at 2 years and 11 months-uh so you are eligible for an upgrade 1 month before your contract expires? sneaky!
so i called bell and spoke to 2 cs reps and then finally a week later a supervisor called me only to tell me that there is nothing they can do for me even though both my phones are about to die and i will almost certainly be forced to spend several hundred dollars on two new phones. i am very dissappointed! if i want to get out of my contract with bell i have to pay $400 in cancellation fees. either way i will never do business with bell again.
my dad is with fido and has never paid for a phone.
some friends of ours are with telus and have never paid for a phone.
a coworker is with rogers and also has gotten several free phones.
i dont even want a free phone but something would be nice!! they arent even trying to keep my business.

anyways, just a warning to anyone with bell. dont count on getting an upgrade!

[lekate]

I had that problem with Rogers, my phone bit the dust 6 months before the end of my contract (3 year one) and they wouldn't let me upgrade! I would have had to cancel my contract, pay the cancellation fee and sign onto a new one! Or just pay the exorbant prices for a new phone! Sooo I cancelled my contract, went with Fido, who pays for your cancellation fee and it's been smooth sailin' since. They're nice because they ENCOURAGE you to upgrade!

[KK7]

I love Bell lol I have upgraded recently and only paid 20.00 for a phone for my son that is a double flip fancy phone and put anoter phone on and got it free, I have 4 phones pay 20.00 month for first then 15.00 for the three additional. I guess it is what floats your boat. Sometimes you just have to fight with the right people. Telus was giving my dad a really hard time and wouldn't upgrade his phone and it is acient lol. hope you find some kinda of break!

[mdutka]

did you upgrade before the summer? this change is recent which is what bugs me because dh should have been eligible for upgrade in sept but we waited till now.

[sarajk]

I never used the upgrades. its just a scam to lock you into a longer contract. And they are much better to get free things out of them just before your contract is up.

Just get a phone off of ebay.
Or they do sell cheaper phones, you don't have to buy a top of the line phone.

[mdutka]

I never used the upgrades. its just a scam to lock you into a longer contract. And they are much better to get free things out of them just before your contract is up.

Just get a phone off of ebay.
Or they do sell cheaper phones, you don't have to buy a top of the line phone.

i never had to extend the length of my contract to get the upgrade and i dont want a top of the line phone, their cheapest phones start at like $200 (full price) so x 2 =$400!

[sarahbaby]

Funny you say that........
I have had my bell phone since July 2007 and recently ended up with 2 phones and only needed 1 and found out by April of 2010 I would have had a $200 credit.So thats about 3 months before my contract ends and here i am not wanting to give up this $200 credit in April and I really never though about how close it was to my contract ending.I have really never liked Bell,I have had no problems but I have a rogers phone and have always paid more on my bell bill with the same bells and wistles as my rogers.The reasons why I don't like bell is there customer service, alot of times I get reps that I just can't understand and I usually end up getting upset and embarrasing myself by saying "can I please talk to someone that speaks clear english" or I have to keep telling them to speak up and repeat.I have nothing against bell but my choice would definetly be rogers all the way!

[sarajk]

Well I guess you have lucked out because Bells point of the upgrades is to extend your contract. And you'd not suppose to get it unless you extend your contract for a year.

And they had phones at mine for $129.
But like I said before, just use ebay or kijiji or whatever.

[Sally888]

I am so happy that I don't deal with bell at all anymore, I was so tired of them.

[danam314]

My husband had an issue with Bell's upgrade too. His $200 towards a phone magically got knocked down to $150. He was not happy!! He went looking at phones on a Friday, asked the sales guy how much of a credit he would get, the guy said $200. He went the following Wednesday to the same store to buy the phone and his credit towards a new phone was down to $150. What a rip off. We've been Bell customers for 7 years and this is our first complaint. But it's enough to start shopping around. My upgrade is coming up soon...

[love&happiness]

I don't know anything about Bell, however last time I checked Rogers has a Lost & stolen program, so if someone lost or had their phone stolen and was not up for a upgrade they could still get a phone for say $50 to $100 ( don't expect a iPhone). Most with no contract some with a one year term. I think the phones are refurbished phones, so ask if they are. Maybe ask Bell if they have something like this. If not my best advice is to speak with the retention dept.

[Bad Kitty]

I had the same problem with Bell... GRR. I plan to buy a new phone of kijiji or craigslist for $50 or $100, so many people are selling them and I don't use it often enough to justify the $500 for a new fancy phone.