Ineligible for upgrade pricing all 11 years of service!

Thanks to all who have replied. I was contacted by a representative
of Dan Hesse who was simply wonderful.

If you buy your phone at full cost, your eligibility date should NOT
change.
If you buy a phone and receive a discount on that phone, your
eligibility date will change.

After researching my issues, all was resolved. My eligibility date
has been fixed. Each time I purchased a phone at full cost, the
system was changing my eligibility date to expire 2 yrs from the date
of that activation which shouldn't have happened. The same thing
happened when I upgraded my connection card and that was fixed as
well.

Every 12 months I get a mailer telling me its time to upgrade.
Sometimes I do sometimes I dont, but it also explains that if I had
bought a phone within that year the upgrade date may be pushed back.

Its pretty clear, if you choose to pay full price the upgrade deal
gets moved back.

Doesnt matter if you have been with sprint for a year or 10 years its
the same for everyone. My brother in law's wife used her upgrade to
get her and her husband new phones with the buy one get one free
blackberry sale. Now his upgrade date got pushed back to the date he
activated his blackberry.

Switching phones should not change your eligibility date. I have had
better luck with sprint and have actually gotten some free phones. I
have five lines on my account. Each time I get the BS from Sprint, I
call them to cancel my service. They immediately ask me what can we
do to keep you as a valued customer. I explain that their phones and
service sucks!

GOOD LUCK!

I used sprint twice and each time I got screwed, I'm on prepaid now I
refuse to go contract with any company. The prepaid plans are alot
cheaper.

I don't see how someone who doesn't use the same phone for two years
really cares that much about the pricing of their plan. And it sounds
like if you'd just wait two years full, you'd be eligible for an
upgrade. ARe you one of those people who has to have the latest and
greatest phone, at any expense? Sounds like it.

I see it as you should receive an upgrade when you would have
originally qualified for one on the original phone purchase and
contract signing.

Since you are buying all your new phones for full retail, the contract
is no longer subsidizing the new phone.

For example, you sign a contract, buy a new phone at full price 11
months in, and then at the 2 year mark, you want a new one. They
should give it to you because that is the point that you would have
qualified, and they did not lose any money at all because the other
phone was full retail.

Actually, you don't have to wait 2 years to get the upgrade discount.
According to this (taken directly from the Sprint site), there are two
discount tiers...the first one kicks in at 11 months and the second at
22 months. Of course the discount won't be as great at 11 months but
it would still be a discount.
**************************
"Customers' eligibility date is set at the time a device discount is
given or that the new device is activated. .....One upgrade per line
will be processed in a 11 or 22 month period."
**************************

In my opinion, they should give you a phone with an upgrade discount.

But that won't help you moving forward as long as you insist on
getting new phones in intervals of less than 11 months. If you want to
upgrade early then you'll have to pay full retail and continue to pay
full retail for any new phones you get. And the reason for that is,
as others have said, because the discounted phones are subsidized by
the two year contract. You may have a contract for "service" but you
don't have a contract for "upgrade discount eligibility" and that's
why you have to pay full retail in your current circumstance.

You should contact their retention department and see if you can work
out a solution so you can at least get one discounted upgrade.

Good luck!

Thank you all who've replied. I appreciate hearing others opinions;
whether I agree with them or not. :)
I'll try to respond to future responses just as fast as I can; but
this has been one busy wknd.

" I feel that I am being penalized because I don’t use the same phone
for 2 years straight. I read or heard that this nonsense was supposed
to stop yet I seriously believe it hasn’t."

This sums it all up. You agreed to the terms of the contract when you
got your service. One of which was when you were eligible for
upgrades. You choose not to follow that, and so by the terms of your
contract you are getting the service you have asked for. You are
indeed eligible, you choose not to take advantage of the times you
are. This is totally your decision and within your control.

Oh, and having heard or read something doesn't replace a contract.

Okay, I'll bite: so why don't you keep the same phone for the two
years? Is it your job? Do you need a better phone than what you chose?
Are you the type of person who wants the newest phone the moment it
comes out? If you keep getting new phones more than once a year, of
course you're never going to get the upgrade credit.

Like the others said, stick with a phone for the amount of time needed
and you'll get the upgrade credit. If you stick with your phone for 1
year, you'll get a $75 credit, 2 years $150 credit. Keep in mind that
each time you upgrade your phone, you *will* get your contract
extended. So consider carefully when you do upgrade. The more you do
it, the longer you'll be in a contract with Sprint. I say this with
experience.

i would suggest playing hardball

i'm assuming these attempts to upgrade are coinciding with contract
renewals?

if so then... if your contract is up for renewal it means you can drop
them without penalty.

sometimes you have to play hard to get

You have two choices here, wait until the two years are up or take one
year contracts if upgrading less than every two years is that
important to you.

I don't know what "nonsense" you heard was supposed to stop but it has
nothing to do with upgrades. The only issue that may change or has
changed in some states in the Early Termination Fee. Many states now
mandate that it be prorated rather the a flat fee.

As for the Live Chat, you probably logged on at a busy time. The reps
handle more than one chat at a time and it's possible the first rep
got tied up on something.

The bottom line is you are the one causing yourself to get the "short
end of the stick" because you can't or won't wait the two years for a
new phone. I've had the same cell phone for 8 yrs now since I don't
have to have the latest and greatest.

Why is it you haven't been able to use the same phone for 2 years?
The only reason I upgraded my last phone was because my state
implemented a hands-free requirement for cell phones while driving.
My old phone was so old it wouldn't accept Bluetooth, so I got a new
phone. Those type of changes are typically one-time.

If you've been changing phones before the 2-year requirement is up,
that's on you.

Try something radical, keep your phone for over two years!! Then you
will get your upgrade pricing.


Good Day

Madeline R.,

While you might have run up 11 years of use the key is that you by
your own admission.... I don’t use the same phone for 2 years
straight..have not met their requirements.

Rules are rules.

BillR.

I have used the same compact cordless flip phone for 10 years
straight. It still works perfectly, and meets all my needs. It has
been quite durable - I carry it outside while working, and it has
fallen on the ground, once from 15 feet. I bought a backup on Ebay
years ago, because I like it so much. But I haven't had to use it.

Maybe I read the letter wrong, but it sounds like you simply need to
wait 2 years for a discount. You have never met a 2-year requirement,
which is why you had to pay every time. These payments per your
contract don't "accrue" like silver stars and make you eligible for a
discounted upgrade any time you want. You aren't getting the short
end of a stick.

I believe that all the major cellular carriers work this way. That's
the whole point of having a 2 year contract before you are eligible
for an upgraded price on a phone. If you keep switching phones all the
time you will never be eligible for an upgrade price on a phone. Why
don't you keep a phone for the full 2 years? I've had the same phone
for over 3 years now.