Want an iPhone 4S? Switch to Vodafone says o2!

Here’s an interesting one. Our Pete tried to get an iPhone 4S today. Even though the local store had stock, they wouldn’t let him upgrade. Here’s Pete to explain more.

To upgrade, or not to upgrade… that was my question. Looking at the spec of the iPhone 4S, there seemed to be no need to rush out and upgrade, and so, I’d decided not to go and queue for the 4S – but might upgrade when the rush had died down. That having been said, we’ve received a few emails asking for us to review the 4S for the next show, plus tweets from tech chums playing with Siri and the new camera, making me twitchy to upgrade.

Casually checking the o2 site to see how sales were going on Saturday, I did a stock check, and found that a store a couple of miles away from the town I was visiting… had stock. I thought it might be worth a look, so strolled past.

At the o2 store, there was no queue, but a sign saying “No stock”. I popped in anyway, to be told that they did actually have stock after a delivery this morning. So, I thought I’d upgrade.

Please may I upgrade, sir?

Sitting down with the “o2 Guru” at the Basildon store, my details were fed into the computer. I’m one month away from an upgrade. “No problem – I’ll pay the extra month to get out of my contract”. That’s where the problem lies, apparently.

o2 appears to have changed policy on its “Fast Track”, meaning that I couldn’t buy myself out of the contract. Neither could I take out a new contract now, and let the old one lapse – At least, not without losing my number.

o2 Fast Track

It seems that if you’re on a tariff of less than £40 a month, o2 don’t value you enough to let you “fast track” out of a contract. The store manager at o2 wasn’t interested in trying to sort anything out, and the floor staff, while sympathetic, couldn’t do anything. They suggested I call o2 Customer Services…

o2's online upgrade notice - Wait 5 weeks, or go to Vodafone, apparently

Shock 1 – Switch to Vodafone, says o2

A call to o2 Customer Services seemed fairly encouraging, but ultimately fruitless. I could switch to a £41 contract, then Fast Track, but I’d have to pay an extra £6 a month to get any data with that contract (more on that in a mo).

So, I’d go from £36 to £47 a month to be able to get an iPhone 4S. Even if I wanted to go ahead with this craziness, it would take anywhere between 12 hours and my next billing cycle for the tariff change to go through on the o2 system before the in-store team could see the change and flog me a phone.

“Are there any other options?” No, it seems. Then I worked it out… “Can I cancel my contract, and move networks?” Oh yes, that’s fine. Seems I’d have to pay a month’s fee to get out of my contract, but then I’d be free to take out a new (and cheaper) contract, and shift my number to another network operator.

The helpful chap at o2 Customer Services, and then the team instore, confirmed that the only way I’d be able to get an iPhone 4S would be to call for a PAC (the code needed to move to a new network), and shift to another provider. o2 agreed that my shifting to the Vodafone network was the way to go, and did nothing to try to keep me.

Shock 2 – No data on new tariffs

Something else that’s changed in o2’s iPhone policy. When you upgrade to a new iPhone, you have to take out a new contract – and the new contracts don’t include data. Our £35 a month contract with 500MB of data, would convert to a £36 a month contract with no data. A 500MB bolt-on is an extra £6 a month.

As you can’t use an iPhone without data, that’ll now be a £42 a month tariff. A little sneaky, o2?

So long and thanks o2

So, being loyal to o2 for nearly 15 years counts for nowt, and rather than taking my money to fast-track upgrade, tying me into a new long contract, and taking my cash for a new iShiny – I’m off to Vodafone. I can get a phone faster, and be paying less as their tariffs include data (unlike o2’s). Thanks a bucket o2!

We’re assuming that o2 is relying on customer’s lethary, and hoping that customers won’t mind paying more to stay with them, as the alternative is hard work. Which it isn’t.

To switch, call o2, free, on 202, and follow the “want to leave o2” menu option. Ask for a PAC (Port Authorisation Code), then pop off to your local Vodafone store (or online at Vodafone or Carphone Warehouse)

Audio Update

If you’re interested, young Pete and Carl recorded some audio on the subject: