Quick call to customer service
Aug. 22nd, 2013 12:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janestarzMy phone is a 3-year old rickety Samsung, and has been getting slower and slower with every application I installed on it. Last Monday I de-installed all the old games I never play anymore, including Angry Birds and Word Feud, and this helped somewhat with the CPU speeds, although WhatsApp is still difficult.
Still, it might need replacing at some point.
I also noticed a charge on my phone bill for "phone insurance". I wondered if it was still worth paying 2 euro's a month for my phone insurance, for such an old phone.
And I'd also been calling a little outside of my normal call package, resulting in higher costs. My subscription allows for an x number of minutes, and as soon as I go over that limit, the calls are charged separately. In February and March this was quite a bit, having to call and arrange everything by my cellphone, but the use has dwindled somewhat.
All in all, three questions for the customer service. I know these things can be looked up online, but to be honest, the cell phone operator's websites are often more pointed towards people buying things (larger subscriptions) than on finding out terms and whether it's worth upgrading your subscription at all.
The call cost me all of 45 eurocents, and answered all of my questions:
- The insurance on my phone can only be canceled in a Vodafone store or when I send a letter to the offices. The insurance covers theft, water damage, and breakage and will be paid out in a repair job before paying out in cash. (Hm. But okay, I can see why.)
Whether this current phone is worth paying 48 euro insurance fee for each year, remains to be seen.
- If I decide to buy a new simlock-free phone in the store and switch my SIM card out, I have to call Vodaphone to give them the IMEI number of my new phone, so it will be covered in said insurance.
- My subscription runs for 2 years and has a 50% discount for the first 12 months. This means I only pay 15 euro per month until October 29th (or thereabouts). My current cell phone usage is not such that it pays to upgrade right now, as my recent bills were all under the 30 euro my subscription would normally cost. Upgrading to a higher bundle would mean higher costs each month and my usage is not such that it would be very handy. Also, with upgrading in the middle of the contract there is no 50% discount possible, so I'd be off more expensive in both ways!
- The customer service representative even said that it's always cheaper to buy a phone in the store and get a SIM-only subscription (like I currently have) because you can always get a new phone that's been on the market for a few months instead of a far-too-expensive subscription that covers the costs of the newest, hip, recently-released-and-therefor-far-too-overpriced phone.
Great and above all: honest answers from the Vodaphone helpdesk that helped me along a good deal. If I really want a new phone, I can start saving money, but to be honest -- let's see how much this old biddy will hold out.
Still, it might need replacing at some point.
I also noticed a charge on my phone bill for "phone insurance". I wondered if it was still worth paying 2 euro's a month for my phone insurance, for such an old phone.
And I'd also been calling a little outside of my normal call package, resulting in higher costs. My subscription allows for an x number of minutes, and as soon as I go over that limit, the calls are charged separately. In February and March this was quite a bit, having to call and arrange everything by my cellphone, but the use has dwindled somewhat.
All in all, three questions for the customer service. I know these things can be looked up online, but to be honest, the cell phone operator's websites are often more pointed towards people buying things (larger subscriptions) than on finding out terms and whether it's worth upgrading your subscription at all.
The call cost me all of 45 eurocents, and answered all of my questions:
- The insurance on my phone can only be canceled in a Vodafone store or when I send a letter to the offices. The insurance covers theft, water damage, and breakage and will be paid out in a repair job before paying out in cash. (Hm. But okay, I can see why.)
Whether this current phone is worth paying 48 euro insurance fee for each year, remains to be seen.
- If I decide to buy a new simlock-free phone in the store and switch my SIM card out, I have to call Vodaphone to give them the IMEI number of my new phone, so it will be covered in said insurance.
- My subscription runs for 2 years and has a 50% discount for the first 12 months. This means I only pay 15 euro per month until October 29th (or thereabouts). My current cell phone usage is not such that it pays to upgrade right now, as my recent bills were all under the 30 euro my subscription would normally cost. Upgrading to a higher bundle would mean higher costs each month and my usage is not such that it would be very handy. Also, with upgrading in the middle of the contract there is no 50% discount possible, so I'd be off more expensive in both ways!
- The customer service representative even said that it's always cheaper to buy a phone in the store and get a SIM-only subscription (like I currently have) because you can always get a new phone that's been on the market for a few months instead of a far-too-expensive subscription that covers the costs of the newest, hip, recently-released-and-therefor-far-too-overpriced phone.
Great and above all: honest answers from the Vodaphone helpdesk that helped me along a good deal. If I really want a new phone, I can start saving money, but to be honest -- let's see how much this old biddy will hold out.
