New SERO Oct 1st

[nerys]

Don't pay the fee
Refuse to upgrade.
Complain in writing to sprint
Complain in writing to the BBB (its unethical)
Complain in writing to your representatives.

If we let them do it this time INEVITABLY the end result is they KEEP reducing your phone selection until you are MOST DEFINITELY forced to choose upgrade or cancel.

like I said TO A POINT I can understand the 4G charge (its dirty but historically valid)

the $10 to use newer phones is UNETHICAL and DOES changes the terms of your service.

I will say it again. 2 years ago there were NO RESTRICTIONS on what phone a sero customer could use. They could goto ebay buy ANY TECH COMPATIBLE phone they wanted and USE IT without an issue.

Now you can not. They are saying while these phones are 100% tech compatible we are going to REFUSE to let you use them "JUST BECAUSE" we know you desire them and want to use that to FORCE you to pay more.

[chardog]

Originally Posted by beserker15

Seriously man, no one here is unable to understand this issue. You don't need more analogies, the logic is very simple. Everyone understands where you are coming from. No one wants to pay more by default... those who disagree with you are not "dumber". I've already stated that we SERO customers...old customers on a plan unavailable to anyone else, do not have anymore say. We can whine and moan about it, there will be people that support you, and those that oppose you. You are not going to be able to convince anyone with what you have been saying.

You keep saying it shouldn't be tolerated, what do you want to do? Should we all start a petition and complain? We aren't getting "dumber" because we aren't trying to rally and dispute every unfair act put on us by businesses. Some of it just isn't worth it...If you think $10 more is too much, then just don't upgrade? A "dumbphone" now is comparable or better than a smartphone 2-3 years ago. 2-3 years from now, there's a good chance that a good dumbphone will be a worthy upgrade from the TP2 and you'll be able to get it without increasing costs. So instead of thinking everyone here is too sympathetic and stupid....why don't you just agree that people all think differently and $10 a month isn't enough for some people to start complaining and grabbing their torches and pitchforks.

if a dumbphone were comparable to an older smartphone, I probably wouldnt complain, but it's simply not. I mean if I can find a dumb phone that has all the features of an older q9c, even ppc6700, I'de be on it. email, texts, contacts, calender, notes all synced to outlook, and opera mini.

by biggest gripe is sprint going out of their way to exclude SERO users, as if they had planned make the plans obsolete from the get go.

as for the "dont upgrade" comments, thats fine, as long as they leave some viable phones on the market as opposed to actively excluding them.

[austin420]

Originally Posted by chardog

by biggest gripe is sprint going out of their way to exclude SERO users, as if they had planned make the plans obsolete from the get go.

do you realize that this paragraph is completely contradicted by the your next statement?

Originally Posted by chardog

as for the "dont upgrade" comments, thats fine, as long as they leave some viable phones on the market as opposed to actively excluding them.

there are "viable" phones available at sprint. the touch pro 2. its still being offered. it can be activated on sero. its a fine device. for all you or i know, they will offer the tp2 indeffinitly. they havent shown any signs that its being phased out. as long as thats an option, id say sprint is holding up their end of the deal. what im really interested in is seeing a pdf of a sero contract. ive googled and cant find one. any one have a copy of an original sero contract?

[beserker15]

Ok, don't upgrade - check. There isn't a worthwhile phone to upgrade right now and pay the $10 fee anyways.

Complain in writing to Sprint, BBB, representative. - Ok well umm if you are that motivated. Since I'm not upgrading, I'm not paying the fee...so I guess my complaints is against the lack of upgrade choices. Damn, well that isn't a big enough deal for me personally to file all of those complaints. And there are quite a bit of people here that won't do all of that either (and no, we aren't stupid for not doing it).

Of all the services you get from companies, is Sprint the worse for you? Because if I had to start writing letters and complaints, I would start with Comcast, then go down the list of companies screwing their customers over. Sprint, right now, is very low on my list so it won't make much sense to target them first. Especially since you haven't actually pointed out a contract infringement. Point to a line in the contract that said Sprint will offer their services to all available power vision phones and you might be more convincing.

[beserker15]

Originally Posted by chardog

if a dumbphone were comparable to an older smartphone, I probably wouldnt complain, but it's simply not. I mean if I can find a dumb phone that has all the features of an older q9c, even ppc6700, I'de be on it. email, texts, contacts, calender, notes all synced to outlook, and opera mini.

I think this might just come down to personal preferences. I'd much rather get an LG Rumor or a Samsung Seek versus a q9c or ppc6700. They can also text, contacts, calender, notes, sync with email, opera mini, etc...just not sync with outlook I guess. It also supports social networking, instant messaging, and youtube.

[nerys]

What happens when you phone finally dies and the used ones you get finally die and there are NO LONGER viable options for you? sure you could upgrade or goto another provider such as prepaid but in all those cases YOU LOSE.

act now and you probably still lose but at least you might have a shot. Once the precident is set its going to be VERY hard to get anything changed.

[muyoso]

Originally Posted by nerys

What happens when you phone finally dies and the used ones you get finally die and there are NO LONGER viable options for you? sure you could upgrade or goto another provider such as prepaid but in all those cases YOU LOSE.

act now and you probably still lose but at least you might have a shot. Once the precident is set its going to be VERY hard to get anything changed.

What entitles you to SERO for life? Your contract has expired after 2 years and Sprint can end your SERO service at ANY TIME, since they are no longer under a contract to provide you those services and they do not allow new contracts to be signed at the same rate. You sound like some sort of extreme progressive ranting about corrupt corporations and your idea to write to the BBB about this is both humorous and childish. Sprint owes you NOTHING, but they are first of all letting people past contract on SERO maintain their amazing rates, as WELL as offering these people an upgrade path that is EXTREMELY fair. Again, what happens when your TP2 dies and there are no more used ones to fill your plan with? Get a new plan. Sprint doesn't owe it to you to give you service for the rest of your natural life at 30 dollars a month, all the while heaping new technologies and services on top for free.

Edit: I bet you would be super fun at parties ranting about how McDonalds used to offer BBQ and Honey Mustard sauces for free when you ordered chicken nuggets, but now those corrupt corporate overlords are demanding you pay them 10 cents a piece.

[otterit]

Originally Posted by beserker15

We aren't getting "dumber" because we aren't trying to rally and dispute every unfair act put on us by businesses. Some of it just isn't worth it...If you think $10 more is too much, then just don't upgrade? A "dumbphone" now is comparable or better than a smartphone 2-3 years ago.

Agreed! That's why I am *keeping* the TP2. I have seen the Android phones and they are "nice", but I know my TP2 "dumbphone" does everything I need.

There is no such thing as "phone neutrality". Sprint has made the decision that a 4G phone is in a different category than my TP2 and SERO plan. I have made the choice *not* to accept the revised plan in order to own a newer phone.

As others have stated, I am happy that Sprint has decided not to force me to drop SERO. That's the most important thing.

[beserker15]

Originally Posted by nerys

What happens when you phone finally dies and the used ones you get finally die and there are NO LONGER viable options for you? sure you could upgrade or goto another provider such as prepaid but in all those cases YOU LOSE.

act now and you probably still lose but at least you might have a shot. Once the precident is set its going to be VERY hard to get anything changed.

Honestly, with me? If my TP2 dies, I'll currently look at the selection of phone Sprint has available. If they make a kickass dual-core iconic, non-4G, phone that only requires a $10 increase...I'll go with that route. If not, I'll look at what "dumbphones" are available that is comparable. And...if by then if Sprint has no more TP2's for sale and no other dumbphones comparable, I'll hit up craigslist because by then the TP2's will be quite cheap. I consider Sprint fulfilling their contract with me in two way... 1) Not raising my prices... 2) Not reducing or lowering my experience with them.

I started my contract with them with a simple flip phone that did basic internet browsing. I got a HUGE upgrade in experience via this TP2. Now...if I can't further "upgrade" my experience with them, I'll still be satisfied in the fact that it isn't going to lower.

[my pants are tight]

I don't feel sorry for the majority of SERO customers. I have a $30 line for my mom on SERO. I have a grandfathered free & clear plan with a TouchPro2. A lot of the SERO customers are people with entitlement issues who found out about SERO o Slickdeals.net

They try multiple devices and return them and hassle Sprint for credits upgrades and stuff I can't even imagine.

Sprint has the worst customer service in the industry. I have been a Sprint customer for 9.5 years. They gave away the kitchen sink to keep me. It's like a bad marriage, I get too many benefits to file for divorce.

Once a plan is eliminated, it becomes grandfathered. Sprint can write whatever they want in their contracts. The government makes the final decision. In the case of Sprint, they are doing a classic bait and switch routine with SERO, Free & Clear and Fair & Flexible users.

It violates anti trust laws to offer a rate plan only to later cancel it by eliminating the plan by forcing customers to upgrade to a new plan to obtain new devices. Android is a free OS compared to windows mobile or the Palm OS. This brings the costs of phones down, not up. Squeezing out customers by eliminating phone upgrade options works for dumb customers.

I know exactly how to stop this practice by Sprint. I would give a detailed course of action but I do not support the strong arm tactics of many of the self entitled SERO users.

I will simply say that just because a company changes the rules does not make it legal because they say it is. The federal government makes and interprets the rules, just ask Roger Clemons. The long arm of the law when visible is swift and without flexibility in this country.