Mtn upgrade, 1 year early????

[blue-eye-boy]

So I know I can only upgrade next year July, but in this week I got a sms from mtn, telling me I can upgrade. If I check on the mtn menu on my phone, it still shows next year July. So can I force them because they sent me such a sms?

 

[LancelotSA]

What makes anyone think they can force a company to do something based on an sms received?

They will merely do what you did and check that you upgrade is due in July and say see you then. An sms is not a binding contract!

 

[Dean]

What makes anyone think they can force a company to do something based on an sms received?

They will merely do what you did and check that you upgrade is due in July and say see you then. An sms is not a binding contract!

Well, in terms of SA laws of offer and acceptance, this type of communcation may be a valid offer.
MTN may be willing to take it to court to try prove its not a valid offer, in which case it may land up costing the OP more in legal fees than the value of the phone itself...

Does anyone here know of any common law relating to this stuff?

OP: Either way, good luck and let us know what happens

 

[Friggs]

Even if you could get them to let you upgrade after only a year, why would you want to? All it would mean is that you have to wait 3 years till your next upgrade as the 12 months won't vanish. You can normally upgrade after 20 months, those 4 months don't vanish but are simply added to the new 24 month contract.

 

[LancelotSA]

Well, in terms of SA laws of offer and acceptance, this type of communcation may be a valid offer.
MTN may be willing to take it to court to try prove its not a valid offer, in which case it may land up costing the OP more in legal fees than the value of the phone itself...

Does anyone here know of any common law relating to this stuff?

You quote law, yet my recall of Commercial Law (admittedly from many a year ago) is that even a sign in a shop is also merely an offer and not a binding contract... I still state it would not even go anywhere near a court. Even if it did get that far any reasonable judge would recognise that at best it was an error which was made, which had little cost implications for the client, and dismiss it. Surely....

 

[Dean]

Yea of course the whole sign in the store is one thing

However, this is a direct communication to a specific recipient...

I'm not saying he'll get the phone/win the case/etc, just wanted to present a balanced, more comprehensive analysis of the situation

 

[HapticSimian]

Even if you could get them to let you upgrade after only a year, why would you want to? All it would mean is that you have to wait 3 years till your next upgrade as the 12 months won't vanish. You can normally upgrade after 20 months, those 4 months don't vanish but are simply added to the new 24 month contract.

Even if MTN concede that the offer was made, and offer to honour it, this ^^^ is why you shouldn't. From what I can recall from the contract's small print, it is explicitly mentioned that any period remaining on a current 2-year term will upon 'upgrade' merely be added to the new one. Thus, if my maths hold up, you'll be stuck with your replacement phone for 2 years & 8 months before you can once again renew your contract. I wouldn't.

There's no harm in asking though, is there?