Can't transfer plan when upgrading?!?!

[nova79]

Hey all,

I was lucky enough to get an absolutely amazing rate plan a few years ago (I have a friend who got the same rate plan as well). When my friend spoke to a Telus agent yesterday, he was told that if he ever upgrades his phone, he will no longer be able to keep his rate plan and will be stuck to go with one of the insanely priced ones. Is there any truth to this? The rate plan I was given at the time was actually an out of province plan.

Does this mean that when I finally upgrade my S3 to a newer phone (which will most like the S5 by the time I'm due to upgrade next year), I will be stuck with a new rate plan of some kind? So essentially the only way I can keep my current plan is to keep my S3 forever?!?!

When I was given this rate plan originally, I was never told that this could happen so I was not a very happy camper when my friend told me about this yesterday.

[NFtoBC]

If you want a subsidized phone, yes you will have to choose from the options available at the time of purchase.  If you purchase a phone outright you may be able to continue your current plan on a month to month basis.

[nova79]

Thanks for the reply.

When you say that I may be able to continue my current plan, is that a confirmed answer or is it just an assumption?

By "may" do you mean "would"?

Sorry, just trying to clear up confusion on my part. 🙂

[NFtoBC]

I have no insight to Telus' plans for the future. Depending on the situation at the time you obtain a new phone, they may or may not be prepared to continue to honour the plan. Once you go month to month, there is no obligation on the part of either party to continue with the terms originally set. Either you or Telus can cancel at any time.

Thus the 'may'.

[tsizzle · Accepted solution]

Because you have an out of province plan, it is very likely you will have to change. Always worth checking though, call in and the rep should be able to tell you quickly whether or not you can keep it. 

Your options are basically:

• Buy a phone outright & keep your plan (Certified Pre-Owned devices are a cheaper option but still good quality)
• Take a phone on contract & change your plan - depending on what level of voice & data is included might not actually be the worst thing

You could always leave and go to another carrier but its almost certain you won't be able to get as rich a plan. Nobody told you you couldn't keep it forever at the time, the government also changed the rules by removing 3yr contracts though which drove up prices.

[Dark_Knight]

@nova79 Adding to what @tsizzle said, you're likely paying a lot less than current in-market rate plans. Buying an unsubsidized phone for $700 might seem like an insane proposition, but you will likely pay a lot more over the long run if you upgrade to a new plan.

Certified pre-owned or BNIB from the OEM is the only way to go. 

[SuperFred]

Hello nova79, thanks for contacting our friends here and I think that the answers provided by tsizzle and our Dark_Knight are pretty accurate. NFtoBC is also correct, being on a month to month term does give you more freedom and a better monthly rate but you'll need to pay way more for your new handset.

Thanks for your time!

[molsonman73]

People need to just start threatening to walk away from Telus,Bell, & Rogers.

they have us right where they want us. Ontario has THE HIGHEST cell plans in the world.

Until people start standing up for there rights, this will continue to be the way the BIG 3 operate.

check out the plans in Saskatchewan, you will lose your **bleep** at what you get for $65 a month, 10x more, what we get in Ontario 

[Nighthawk]

@molsonman73 - who would you suggest they get their service through? Koodo is Telus, Fido is Rogers, Virgin and Solo are Bell. Either way you're screwed. Only way to possibly get anything done is if there are enough complaints to the CRTC from Canadians, and that isn't likely going to happen soon.

[nova79]

---

@molsonman73 wrote:

People need to just start threatening to walk away from Telus,Bell, & Rogers.

they have us right where they want us. Ontario has THE HIGHEST cell plans in the world.

Until people start standing up for there rights, this will continue to be the way the BIG 3 operate.

check out the plans in Saskatchewan, you will lose your **bleep** at what you get for $65 a month, 10x more, what we get in Ontario 

---

Actually the plan I have was a promotional plan from Saskatchewan; 5GB for 60$ a month (back when they gave out of province plans).... now you can see why I have an issue with having to change plans if I upgrade my phone!

[Nighthawk]

Well according to Telus' website, if you went to pre-order an iPhone 6 and chose New Customer, it gives you the option of selecting the 5GB for $65 plan. I'm sure there is some way if you are still in Saskatchewan that Telus would do that still. 

In Alberta they are horrendously screwing customers as the voice only plan starts at $60, then you have to buy data on top of that.

[mymikestory]

I'm raging on this one. There's 3 years i could have 6Go for 65$ but because i wanted a new phone i had to quit that plan and get a new one for 85$ (despite that fact i take a cheap phone..) that's really not  TelusCool....

[Nighthawk]

The entire industry changed like that when the CRTC put the new contract limits in place. All of the carriers force you into a new plan if you upgrade your phone. That's the reason I bought my phone in full and kept my old plan. 

[NFtoBC]

I agree with @Nighthawk

If you have a stellar plan, it is usually worth buying a new phone outright to keep it. There's lots of folks holding on to plans obtained 5 or 6 years ago, due to the great offerings at the time, as the carriers were trying to attract users to the 'new' data plans.  

[sheamus]

Talk to a Telus rep on the phone (not a kid in store trying to make commision). They told me I can renew my plan (same one as you I think), and get contract pricing on a new phone. Then get them to make a note on the account, and go into store. Or just upgrade over the phone, and they ship your new phone to you.

I know not all accounts are 'upgradeable', but some are. You will have to have a telus phone rep tell you though.

[Bailrs]

I am trying to find a way to continue to keep my 65 dollar 6GB plan for the next upgrade. I don't want to be "that guy" who threatens things but having been with Telus over 20 years on the mobility end....there should be a perk to loyalty. I called tonight and the girl was unable to give me my current rate on an upgrade, fortunately i have 5 - 6 months left on the contract to perhaps call every so often and get my rate plan again. It is sad that many years ago you could get this deal and now it seems data is even more pricey.

Hopefully one day data will be cheaper.

http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/carriers/telus/telus-launches-65month-6gb-promo-voice-and-data-plan/

[nova79]

I posted this a long time ago; but I had no choice but to buy a phone outright as I absolutely refused to give up my 5GB for 60$ plan in lieu of a "less for more" one. I got a pretty good deal on a Galaxy Alpha brand new on Kijiji so at least I didn't have to spend the outrageous cost of a new phone via the retail store (I paid about half of the $700 Telus was charging for this device at the time).

After countless phone calls and visits to Telus, this was the ONLY way I was able to keep my out of province plan. Having been a good standing Telus client since 2002-2003 it's really unfortunate that they couldn't pull a few strings for a long time customer. Really would have gone a long way. I get that they don't "do" out of province plans anymore, but they should at least have the flexibility to let clients be grandfathered with their plans moving forward.