When can/will Sprint unilaterally change your rate plan?

garyflynn · #1 (**permalink**) 03-27-2011, 11:19 AM

After my contract expires, I would like to keep my current rate plan for as long as possible because it is about $20 cheaper than any currently offered data plan.

Is it likely that sprint is going to some time this or next year just announce that my plan will be automatically changed to a more expensive one?

**horndoctor** · #2 (**permalink**) 03-27-2011, 12:33 PM

Wirelessly posted (htc Pocket PC: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile6.0) Sprint T7380)

You may have to change your plan if you upgrade to a newer phone like a 4g capable phone otherwise I don't think they can but I guess we never know.

**elesbb** · #3 (**permalink**) 03-27-2011, 03:41 PM

the only way they can charge you more is if you willingly sign another contract stating you will be paying that new fee . If you never upgrade and remain with the tp2 forever , you will stay on the plan you have .

mountainwampus · #4 (**permalink**) 03-28-2011, 03:43 PM

If you try to "upgrade" your phone they will always try to charge extra BS fees. I have SERO 500 for $30, and I refuse to fall for these tactics. My advice would be to stick with TP2, because if you have a good plan, they will never take it away unless you want a new phone. If you get insurance on your TP2, they will probably be replacing them with the HTC Arrive soon enough, since it's basically a TP2 with Windows 7. If you don't want to deal with insurance, you will always be able to pick up TP2's on ebay, if it breaks, which it will, eventually.

bbf · #5 (**permalink**) 03-28-2011, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyflynn

Is it likely that sprint is going to some time this or next year just announce that my plan will be automatically changed to a more expensive one?

Sprint can legally change your plan at any time. Your only recourse if you're under contract is to get out of the contract with no early termination penalty. Else you can always leave Sprint.

HOWEVER, it seems that Sprint doesn't seem to change the major terms of plans if one stays with the same phone... but there are no guarantees that this will not change in the future.

I don't know if this answers your question, but unless a person is an executive at Sprint, I don't think anybody in the forum can guarantee "no changes in the near future." But when people state that "Sprint will not change your plan, period, if you don't change phones" it is only based on prior experience... as with the disclosures in all mutual fund prospecti, "past performance is not an indication of future performance" Sprint can change that unwritten policy if it wants to.

Looking at the trends of Pre-paid plan pricing with Virgin Mobile (which uses Sprint's Network) it would be highly unlikely that Sprint would raise contract customers' service fees without a massive loss of subscribers.

bimota · #6 (**permalink**) 03-28-2011, 08:12 PM

So my understanding is if a get a new phone (not a smart phone) and renew my contract for two more years, they can still rise my rates. I have six phones f&f with all the bling included I pay 99 dollars out the door with two tp2 insured. So after I buying six new phones they can rise my rate the next day, so there is no contract???

bbf · #7 (**permalink**) 03-28-2011, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bimota

So my understanding is if a get a new phone (not a smart phone) and renew my contract for two more years, they can still rise my rates. I have six phones f&f with all the bling included I pay 99 dollars out the door with two tp2 insured. So after I buying six new phones they can rise my rate the next day, so there is no contract???

That's mostly correct. Sometimes some carriers actually lock in the rate for the duration of the contract in writing, most do not. Honestly I haven't read the fine print of my sprint contract so don't know for sure even for my own Sprint contract.

However, I do know that if a carrier changes the plan materially such that it costs more, you can break your contract without having to pay any early termination fee. These days, most carriers won't piss off their valued post-paid subscribers this way since prepaid plans are so cheap... but that doesn't mean that they can't. Sprint has terminated contracts of SERO users that called customer service "too many times" to try to get more discounts in 2007. Sprint breaks up with high-maintenance customers | News Blog - CNET News

Many moons ago, Cingular doubled LD rates on me when I used to subscribe to cell phone service through them, and wouldn't let me break my contract without paying the WHOLE early termination fee (that was before legislation was passed to force carriers to pro-rate their ETF's) since they claimed that LD wasn't part of the basic cell phone contract... so I just got a sprint phone and overlapped coverage for two months since it was cheaper than paying the ETF... that was before I started reading about consumer rights in the Internet Forums.

**gTen** · #8 (**permalink**) 03-29-2011, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mountainwampus

If you try to "upgrade" your phone they will always try to charge extra BS fees. I have SERO 500 for $30, and I refuse to fall for these tactics. My advice would be to stick with TP2, because if you have a good plan, they will never take it away unless you want a new phone. If you get insurance on your TP2, they will probably be replacing them with the HTC Arrive soon enough, since it's basically a TP2 with Windows 7. If you don't want to deal with insurance, you will always be able to pick up TP2's on ebay, if it breaks, which it will, eventually.

You can't activate a HTC Arrive on old plans...period....even if insurance for some reasons messes up and sends it to you..you won't be able to activate it on your line without changing your plan.

As for changing the plans..I can't guarantee all of them, but I heard they can't change SERO plans because they used to work with 3rd party distributor who gets commission..if they take a person off the plan it would violate their contracts with the 3rd party...(I can't confirm this, but this is what I heard like years ago...)

quick99si · #9 (**permalink**) 03-29-2011, 03:39 PM

I remember being told by AT&T (before they were Cingular before they were ATT) to get a new phone+plan or GTFO. I believe it was during their "all-digital" conversion way back when. I spoke with my wallet and bought a $250 Nextel phone instead.

It is the same recourse we all have in the event that the carrier decides to make a material change to your access to their network. This isn't much consolation to SERO owners however, and while we're slowly being weeded out with new phones and technologies, it's important to realize that you always have a choice. One can't be forced to change to a more expensive plan, and as long as this is true, it's a fair game in their and regulators' eyes (sadly enough).

But realistically speaking, how long can a SERO/TP2 combo be a viable option for today's consumer?

theevilshiftkey · #10 (**permalink**) 03-29-2011, 11:41 PM

When my last contract renewal is up I'm going to assume that my SERO500 plan is DOA, and at that time I'll be shopping around for the best deal that supports a good Android phone.

The way I see it, I got the most incredible deal around for many many years and something that good can't last forever. I'm glad I got in on it, but I'm okay with Sprint needing to make some money instead. It's only fair.