So, I just got a new phone. The battery on my three and a half year old iPhone 5C was discharging all too quickly so I went into a phone kiosk to see about getting a new battery. 'Sure,' said the young man, 'but it’s not worth it. The battery will cost you about $200 so you may as well just get a new phone, you're eligible for an upgrade.'
Hmmm…well then…an upgrade it is; the ultimate cost to me being nothing more than a $5.00 increase in my monthly bill, no upfront cash, no nothing but a new iphone SE and five more little dollars a month to the phone co. 'So my $55 a month plan goes to $60 and I get a nice new phone...that's it?'
Hmmm? Curious George that I am, I ask what the life expectancy of the iPhone, or smart phones in general, is. He says, ‘These days it’s a year and a half to two years.’ ‘Wow…then I got a pretty good run out of my old phone.' ‘Yeah, they're just like cars, sometimes you get a really good one that lasts a long time, but mostly not.’
Okay…So every two years on average I can expect to have to upgrade my phone. Strangely enough, that’s the exact amount of time it will take me to pay it off. Which reminds me, I also learned today that the price I pay includes the cost of my phone EVEN AFTER MY PHONE HAS BEEN COMPLETELY PAID OFF…unless I notify my service provider. Really? If such a practice is not illegal it is at the very least sleazy. I’m going to check this out later (I have to post this blog soon… so tomorrow) and if it turns out that they’ve been billing me for a phone I finished paying for a year and a half ago I intend to make a fuss…or at least tell you about it…or call up Marketplace…or Justin Trudeau…or…
Shit
So, the phone co raises my rate every two years to the tune of 7-8% on the pretext that my old plan no longer exists, and hooks me into a two year contract to boot.
Jeez!
And I went for it!
Well, I have fifteen days to return the phone and switch servers OR I can call the bastards and whine about the sleaziness of their business model and get my rate slashed, maybe even get some free movie tickets ...with a popcorn voucher.
Hmmm?