Paying up a contract...laughable maths

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TheCynick

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So I call MTN SP to find out how much it will cost to pay up my contract - I'm leaving the country and want to migrate to PAYG to keep my number.

The cost? Almost R2400 for a contract that has 5 months to run. If I keep paying the contract until it runs out then I'll pay R375 *in total*.

It's bloody senseless. No wonder people despise cell phone providers so much.
 
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Moederloos

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subsidised or not, the settlement should not exceed the nett realizable value of the remaining period.
 
LandyMan

LandyMan

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TheCynick said:
Indeed. But R1500 for "handset clawback" is ridiculous when you consider that the maximum money they will get out of me over the rest of the contract's life is under R400.
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Oh, in total? I thought per month
 
CathJ

CathJ

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Yup, I had the same problem with top up contract about 2 years ago. Ended up letting a friend use up my airtime while I was overseas, with strict instructions to use up every cent of the included airtime every month.
 
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quovadis

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Why not just deposit the amount per month u would have had to pay into your cellphone account and not use it - then send a registered letter stating u wish to terminate as of the end of the contract or port the number to prepaid. That way you pay what you would've paid, have no termination fees as the contract has run its course and call it a day.
 
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ajax

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I think they charge so much cause their calculations are based on the loss that they would incur if you are an "average" user, an "average" user being one that uses more than the allocated "inclusive" minutes and sms. Still, the amounts quoted by TheCynick are very high.
 
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Moederloos

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ajax said:
I think they charge so much cause their calculations are based on the loss that they would incur if you are an "average" user, an "average" user being one that uses more than the allocated "inclusive" minutes and sms. Still, the amounts quoted by TheCynick are very high.
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True - however prudence would dictate that they base their profits on realizable values and not pipe dreams. I pay R139 a month for my contract "Family Top Up" and use maybe R60 of that. Have done so since I first got that contract - maybe 3 (4??) years ago.
I now have 6 months left on my contract, so their projections for me should be 6*R139 - yet they will probably "fine" me R3-4K to cancel now.

Silly.
 
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Edinetz

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Remember its all about interconnect therefore they are calculating the cancellation based on the loss of revenue of incoming calls as well. Why do you think MTN forces you to forward to voicemail - they want answered calls. It ridiculous that the network receiving the call makes the lions share when they have to bill and collect the cost of the call. Most of the bottom end contracts use up there free minutes and SMS and only sign a contract to get a "free phone" other prepaid would be a better deal - I mean its usually cheaper to take out a bottom end contract than purchase a phone and the network can justify it because on revenue from received calls.
 
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Moederloos

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Edinetz said:
Remember its all about interconnect therefore they are calculating the cancellation based on the loss of revenue of incoming calls as well. Why do you think MTN forces you to forward to voicemail - they want answered calls. It ridiculous that the network receiving the call makes the lions share when they have to bill and collect the cost of the call. Most of the bottom end contracts use up there free minutes and SMS and only sign a contract to get a "free phone" other prepaid would be a better deal - I mean its usually cheaper to take out a bottom end contract than purchase a phone and the network can justify it because on revenue from received calls.
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Except, they still get the interconnects on prepaid.
 
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bekdik

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TheCynick said:
So I call MTN SP to find out how much it will cost to pay up my contract - I'm leaving the country and want to migrate to PAYG to keep my number.

The cost? Almost R2400 for a contract that has 5 months to run. If I keep paying the contract until it runs out then I'll pay R375 *in total*.

It's bloody senseless. No wonder people despise cell phone providers so much.
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Why not prepay the 375 before you close you bank account?
 
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TheCynick

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bekdik said:
Why not prepay the 375 before you close you bank account?
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I'm not closing the account, but I want to do the port before I leave the country so I still have the number when I come back (only going abroad on a secondment, not emigrating). Anybody here had luck with doing a port from overseas?
 
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