Cancelling my current T-mobile account, only to sign back up as a "new" customer. Will it work?

[AndyTN]

I'm trying to get my hands on the T68i, and I'm trying not to pay hundreds on eBay for one. I've already tried "upgrading" through T-mobile, but the T68 is not available any longer. But I've found a deal at Amazon, where (after rebates) the phone ends up costing $50. Of course, this requires activation, 1yr service contract, and that you be a new customer.

I've been a VS/T-mobile customer for just over a year, so I can cancel at any time, correct? So are they going to give me any trouble when I try to sign up again? Am I still a NEW customer? Has anyone done this? Thoughts..? Thanks


Andy

[IdiOTeQnoLogY]

that would be called false churn. at least at sprintpcs we have a policy to avoid that. a time period in which after you cancel you are merely re activating your old account not a new one so you would not get the rebates. perhaps this is fair or it is not. the jury is out on this one.

[TNDan21]

Several carriers now have that policy. I believe AT&T has something similar to that.

[AndyTN]

Originally posted by: IdiOTeQnoLogY
that would be called false churn. at least at sprintpcs we have a policy to avoid that. a time period in which after you cancel you are merely re activating your old account not a new one so you would not get the rebates. perhaps this is fair or it is not. the jury is out on this one.

Ok...exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks!

I want to do the exact same thing, and I tried the same route as you as well. But when I called Voicestream 'begging' for options, the person there actually suggested that I cancel my current account and open a new one! The only draw back is my phone number will change. I'm trying to figure out if there's any way to keep my old number though... hmm... maybe somehow by overlapping the two accounts... maybe...

[roamer1]

I don't know about T-Mobile specifically, but many carriers now require a waiting period before one can be considered a "new" customer again. (I was off then-VS for five months [canceled account with only a family member's line in Oct 2001, signed back up myself in March 2002] and had to come back in their systems as an entirely new customer, so I know their waiting period is shorter than six months. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] )

-SC

[IdiOTeQnoLogY]

i think it is 90 days for sprint though i am not sure.

[AndyTN]

Originally posted by: Anonymous
I want to do the exact same thing, and I tried the same route as you as well. But when I called Voicestream 'begging' for options, the person there actually suggested that I cancel my current account and open a new one! The only draw back is my phone number will change. I'm trying to figure out if there's any way to keep my old number though... hmm... maybe somehow by overlapping the two accounts... maybe...

Very interesting that they would suggest cancelling and signing back up again. I think I'll call and "complain" as well, see what they tell me. Of couse, I'll probably call a few times to talk to a few different customer service reps to get a "consensus".....it's so variable with them. One guy might tell you one thing, and then the other might tell you the opposite. I suppose that's common in customer service departments. Heck, I'll straight up ask them if there's any waiting period to sign back on as a new customer. Will keep you updated.

[TNDan21]

I believe its six months for AT&T Wireless although I am not sure.

[AndyTN]

90 days it is. Called VS/T-mobile, talked to two different reps. Guess I'll just have to sit tight and hope the T68i makes it to their handset upgrade department. Thanks for the replies.

Andy

[AndyTN]

Originally posted by: Rock
Here's some info to help you...

#1 We don't have the T68i, and we only had 300 T68ms out there, neither was available through the upgrade program. The T68i is out in stores but not in our upgrade program. So here's what you can do. If you're a current customer ask if you can stillg et your upgrade discount with buying the phone in the store, I've done that for customers and it's almost always accepted with a new agreement as if you got it through our upgrade department.

-I will try this, however, one problem--what upgrade discount? I talked directly to the handset upgrade lady on Friday and got prices on all the Motorola phones that are offered--none was discounted (see prices under #5).

#2 It's 90 days to become a complete deact and get a new account

-Yup, that option is out the window :-)

#3 These are phones coming soon that are branded T-Mobile. Nokia 7210, Ericcson T68i, Motorola c332, Siemens M46, Danger Sidekick (classified as a PDA, hot little item), Pocket PC (PDA - available through our upgrade program, first PDA that is)

-Any timeframe on the T68i?

#4 Phones not branded T-Mobile that are out there too..Nokia 8390, Ericcson T39, Ericcson R520

-I've also been eyeing the T39...it's a backup option.

#5 Phones available through upgrade. Pocket PC, Motorola v60 and v66, Samsung N105 and Q 105, Nokia 3390.

-As I was saying above, I called and spoke to handset upgrade on Friday. Since there was no Ericsson offered, I asked what Motorola phones were available just to get a frame of reference for how much one might cost. Here's what she gave me: P280--$179, V66--$149, V60--$299, V100--$179. Those prices are identical to the prices on the website for new customers, what's up with that? I was under the impression that as a current customer (since Aug '01), the phones would be discounted if I wanted to upgrade. Any rough estimate of how much of a discount I should expect on the T68i? Thanks again Rock

[ZaphodB]

I suppose it's worth mentioning here that the prices you were given ARE discount prices. The Motorola P280, for example, costs $399 from Motorola. That is what T-Mobile pay for your telephone (well, they get volume discounts, but that's different). They then sell it to you for $179 based on one of the following two assumptions:

1) You will be signing a 1-year contract with them, which gives them some time to recover some of the 'lost' money from you, or
2) You have been a customer for at least 1 year, which tells them you're a loyal customer and not likely to move. (I'm unsure whether T-Mobile make you extend your contract upon purchasing a phone at, in this case, $179).

Now, if you are a new customer, you also can get an instant rebate (the P280 for new customers is actually $129) based on assumption #1.

For your reference, mobile phones are much more expensive in Europe than they are in the U.S. - viz. the Nokia 3310 from SFR, one of the French mobile companies (and Bouygues and Orange are just as expensive). The phones are still discounted, just not nearly as deeply, because they are not SIM-locked and because so many ore people do pay-as-you-go mobile service. (The example I provided, the 3310, is listed at EUR219 on nokia.fr, is available from SFR on pay-as-you-go for EUR139 and on pay-monthly for EUR29. The similar US GSM model, the 3390/3395, is generally given away free.)

Everyone always wants everything for free. What a shame the economy doesn't work that way [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

EDIT: Bloody software doesn't allow the euro sign.