Contract renewal date

L

Light

Active Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2004
Messages
63
Reaction score
3
Location
South Africa.
Hi,

I have been with the same SP now for over 10 years. Each time I have renewed my contract (every 2 years) the contract renewal date has always stayed the same, that is in December of the second year.

On my previous renewal, I was unable to get the phone I wanted (an N80) for a few months past the normal renewal date. On renewal my renewal date was moved forward to start in the month when I renewed.

Since I was still on the contract rate for the interim period between the end of the one contract and the beginning of the new one, I should get something for this, or should have been dropped onto contract rate excluding the handset?

My question is, what is the norm regarding this in the industry?

I have spoken to a few people at my SP and gotten replys from "but the phone is free" (yeah right, then why do contract rates vary depending on the phone) to "that is just policy and there is nothing you can do"

I am now up for renewal again, and I have overrun my contract again waiting for the HTC Dream/Magic (still haven't decided which one I want) to come out.

So now I have to decide if I should stick with my current SP and just write off the extra monies I have paid them, or if I should be looking to move somewhere else.

Any and all comments on this would be appreciated.

Note: I have intentionally not put my SP's name in this post (yet) to try and get a more fair response on this issue.
 
Hi. Let me see if I can explain this properly. This now is for Vodacom service provider company. We have two dates for your line on the system. The term date when the contract comes to a end and a upgrade date for when you can upgrade. Your upgrade date is 3 months before your term date. Below is a example of my dates as reflected on the system.

Contract Term 2011-06-08
Upgrade Date 2011-03-09

When you upgrade your line, the contract is extended from that date the upgrade is processed for 24 months ahead, and the upgrade date will then once again be 3 months before the Term date. If you do not upgrade, whether it be because you waiting for a phone to be released etc does not matter, the line will be extended from the date the actual upgrade is done. Upgrade dates can not be rolled back due to the fact that the client waited 5 months etc to do his upgrade. Remember, the term date is when the contract lapses and the upgrade date is when the client can upgrade.

If you are looking for a discounted rate because you were out of contract for a certain amount of time, then this is not how it works. You cant get a reduced sub on certain contracts depending on the deals issued by Vodacom from time to time...but this is considered a upgrade aswell and your line will be extended as per the normal upgrade rules.

Does this explain your question?
 
Thanks ocleroux this definitely gives me more insight into how the policy works.

It does however beg another question and that is as to what is happening to the extra money.

Let's say I'm paying R200 for a contract and there is a handset and airtime as part of this contract. Now I think it is reasonable to assume that a portion goes towards the handset and a portion goes towards the airtime. So let's say further that the split is R150 for the airtime and R50 for the handset.

This means that during my 24 month contract period I happily pay R200 and get a bunch of airtime and ownership of the handset.

But then the contract ends and I am still charged R200, but I have not recieved a new handset. This means I am being overcharged by R50 each month.

To my mind this means that the SP, in order to balance this out has 3 choices to avoid being involved in fraudulent activity.

a) They could pay me back the different of R50 each month

b) They could discount my new contract

c) They could start my new contract as per the end date of my previous contract

Does anyone know where my extra R50 is going to?
 
Im affraid I can not answer that. The tarrifs and subscriptions are worked out by highly qualified people that will take all factors into consideration. Remember, Vodacom have huge running costs involved which is surely also factored into the tarrifs. It does cost money simply to have a sim active on the network, even if it is not in use. I understand you question and your reasoning, but look at it this way....you cant go to the SABC and say I have not been watching your channels now for the past 3 months, so give me a discount. It does not work that way. You can get a reduced subscribtion determined by the deals issued by Vodacom at that time, but this is seen as a upgrade and your line will be extended for a further 24 months again.
 
I don't think an SABC licence is a good comparison at all. The SABC does not provide me with a new TV each year as part of the licence.

A far better comparison would be a car service. If I take my car for a service I am charged for both the service provided and the parts used in providing that service. Imagine you took your car for a service and they charged you for new brake pads but didn't install new brake pads. Would this be ok?

I'm saying that a contract includes both a service (the network, airtime, etc) and the hardware required (a handset).

I am not querying the service charge at all. I am querying being charged the hardware portion and not recieving anything in return.

My rights as a consumer cannot be violated by "highly qualified people that will take all factors into consideration". If I pay for something, I expect to receive what I pay for.

I take it though from your reply ocleroux that the money in question is turned over to the network operator (Vodacom/MTN/Cell C) and not kept by the SP?
 
I am sorry I can not shed more light on this query for you Light. I work for a Vodacom dealership so when it comes to the actual financials I am not sure of the exact ins and outs. I do however always try to answer a question as best I can. You not going to like what I say now, but this is how it works with all networks as far as I know. Also, when you take out a month to month contract with Vodacom and no handset etc is issued, then normal rates still apply. The tarrifs published by Vodacom and service providers are the base tarrif. That is what is advertised and that is what will be charged. Only time that it might differ is when you take a reduced tarriff on your upgrade or if you take a financed deal for a expensive phone where the pay in is then devided up into payments over 24 months and loaded onto your debit order.

My apologies for not being able to shed more light...but this is as far as my knowledge goes.
 
No problem ocleroux and thanks for taking the time to try and answer this for me.

Anybody else out there have anything to add?
 
Wow. . . Never seen this question before. . . Dont have an answer either. . . Its just the way things have always been. Your argument makes sense, however you did have the option to upgrade and have a new phone. But you didnt so its really your fault for paying the extra money.
 
I do agree GayTechie that I could have upgraded and averted this issue.

At no point in time did my SP make this issue clear to me or in any way note that by upgrading late it would make any difference to my renewal date. They didn't even tell me about it when I renewed. (No doubt there is some clause or subclause in the small print of the contract that covers this.) I only found out about this when I thought my next renewal had arrived and was told the date had been moved.

I do not agree that I am any way at fault though. By this argument the victim of any sort of crime is the one at fault.

Saying that this is the way things have always been is all fine and well, but it doesn't make it "right" or lawful to do.
 
I am sure the new Consumer Protection Act will change this, for example as there are requirements in there that force service providers to unbundle their offerings if cheaper to the consumer.
 
ocleroux said:
I am sorry I can not shed more light on this query for you Light. I work for a Vodacom dealership so when it comes to the actual financials I am not sure of the exact ins and outs. I do however always try to answer a question as best I can. You not going to like what I say now, but this is how it works with all networks as far as I know. Also, when you take out a month to month contract with Vodacom and no handset etc is issued, then normal rates still apply. The tarrifs published by Vodacom and service providers are the base tarrif. That is what is advertised and that is what will be charged. Only time that it might differ is when you take a reduced tarriff on your upgrade or if you take a financed deal for a expensive phone where the pay in is then devided up into payments over 24 months and loaded onto your debit order.

My apologies for not being able to shed more light...but this is as far as my knowledge goes.
Click to expand...
Am I right in saying that if you have a contract for 24 months and decide to sign a new one early, it doesn't change the 24 month term. In effect you could end up with a 27-month term.
 
Sackboy said:
Am I right in saying that if you have a contract for 24 months and decide to sign a new one early, it doesn't change the 24 month term. In effect you could end up with a 27-month term.
Click to expand...

Effectively you do end up with a 27 month contract. To be fair, the current contract will then be less than 24 months, but if you add the two together you still get 48 months, which is two full terms.
 
Good points, and I see where you're coming from Light.

I had a similar query when I did my upgrade (4 months late) in Jan 2008 at Vodaworld Midrand. They give away gifts/bundles there at electronics stores.

So I asked if they can compensate with a voucher or something and the person taking care of my upgrade told me that because it was my first upgrade (contracted started only 2 years before that) that her hands are tied, she said by the time my next upgrade comes they might be able to do something...

I don't trust what she said one bit, but I was young and stupid and she was pretty, so I walked away :P
 
I am also starting to believe that my SP doesn't care about client retention at all, or at least if they do they do not enforce this with their staff.

As case in point: I emailed my sales contact at my SP last week Thursday (4th June 2009) stating that I am interesting in upgrading but I would first like an offical reply to my grievances and what, if anything, they are going to do.

Today it's Thursday again (11th June 2009) and I haven't heard a word from him.

I wonder if he realises that the SP actually has to have customers in order for him to have a job.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X