Plans for those who BYOD?

[dude00]

Hey folks,

So here's the scoop - my old 3-year contract is up for renewal this October. I had the Samsung Galaxy S2 and back in March wanted to upgrade it desperately (I don't think these phones are made to last three years). When I spoke with the Loyalty & Retention rep, he told me that due to the new two year contacts, I would not be able to grandfather my data package and I would be forced to pay extra to receive the same amount or downgrade. Unfortunately, since I don't have internet at home I have come to rely on my 6GB I receive and the fact that I only pay $30/mth for it was incredibly convenient. Since I needed a new phone, the rep told me that I might be better off buying a phone directly from Google (Nexus 5) and bringing the unlocked phone to Telus. So that's what I did. So now, I'm coming up on "renewal" which I assume will bring me month to month - but I'm nervous, that because I'm not in a contract that Telus can just change terms on the price of my data at any time. I'm also frustrated that if I require more airtime, I have no choice but to upgrade my plan as there are no add ons for it. Right now I pay $35 for 150 minutes plus unlimited texting.

My monthly bill is $65 for my 150 local minutes and unlimited texting and 6GB of data.  From what I understand, just to keep my data package would cost me more than my entire plan as it is right now ($85) PLUS an extra $60 for the talk plan. 

Now, while I appreciate that Telus (and all the other major telecoms) charge such high amounts for these plans because they need to stretch out the cost of the new phones over two years instead of three, but what about those of us who BYOD (bring your own device)? Especially since I'm not a new client, I've been with Telus now for 8 years. They can't use the offsetting cost excuse when I have my own device. Why can't we / they offer their reps the ability to grant grandfathering and respectable plans for us who don't need to buy a new phone? Am I missing something here?

So far, the only alternative I've come up with is to buy their $3/mth unlimited call forwarding feature and use a VOIP app called Fongo to send and receive unlimited calls within the GTA... for FREE. And I guess the kicker is that is only uses (so they say) about 500MB for 1000 minutes? It sounds extremely reasonable but it's not the most reliable... not to mention I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO THIS!

Where the hell has the loyalty gone? The Telus rep flat out told me there was nothing he could do for me and that even though they'd hate to lose me, "it is what it is"..... what's the point of a loyalty department if they can't offer you anything to keep you from canceling service?!

[hellochuman]

You're right if you're not under contract they can do what ever they want.  Off contract since July 2013, I got the 300 nationwide/400 mb data for $43 plan - 10%.  I pray they don't raise the price.  I hope with the huge data plans that are out there they forget about my plan.  They will follow Rogers lead soon and charge $35 for that 6 gb add on.  That will be their excuse saying they are keeping up with the market.  Got to deal with it, prices go up on everyday items.  At Rogers if you wait for iPhone 6, you can not use your grandfather plan.  Telus will follow.

[Dark_Knight · Accepted solution]

There are always going to be trade-offs if you want to switch something on your plan. If you can make due with the 150 minutes, i would recommend keeping your current plan. 

[GhawdixintaKanada]

Although i'm still on a 3 year ending Nov 2015 I have the following for $70/month

200 local minutes + 100 nationwide

Unlimited International SMS

Unlimited Nationwide SMS
Voicemail 25

Caller ID

6GB data

The international SMS is just a $5 L&R addon that I got added on to meet the $70/month requirement when I got the iPhone 5, but I use it alot as I have family that lives abroad. So you won't need the $5 international SMS addon and my plan then costs the same as yours, $65/month. Oh I forgot, I have Favourite numbers 10 as well.

Maybe you could ask for this plan.

[tsizzle]

Couple important things to note:

• They will not switch your plan or force you off the data add-on if you're off contract (it is possible they do something like raise prices on it in the future but you would be notified)
• They do actually have options to buy extra minutes (e.g. $10 for 100 mins or $20 for 200, not very affordable but still), check it out online in your account or through the app, should be in there

Not sure what math you're doing but the total cost for 6GB + unlimited nationwide on their Shareplus plans would be:

$65 for 6GB

$40 for unlimited nationwide talk & text when bringing your own device 

It is more expensive but clearly your current plan doesn't actually meet your needs from an airtime point of view. Your VoIP solution would work but can be a bit of a hassle.