Nextel: If you're a good and loyal customer...it don't matter!

We signed up with Nextel almost two years ago. A few weeks ago my phone was acting up and tonight it finally crapped out. I've got no service at all.

So I call to upgrade my phone with the plan to extend our contract for another two years. Well, in order to upgrade from an i710 to an i730 it would cost me over $200. I thought well, I'll pick another kind of phone. This one would cost us $199, but if we were brand new customers, we'd get it for free.

They loved us when we were new customers. Our bill has always been paid on time and we liked the service we got. There was never a question of staying with Nextel. We planned on it.

Hubby is a truck driver and for him Nextel has been the best coverage given how far he has to go. This worked great for us.

Now, I'm so damn pissed that I can't even see straight. I can get the phone replaced for $35, but it still irks me that we have to pay such obscene prices after we've shown we're good and loyal customers. At one time that used to mean something.

:grr:

SBC's combined phone rates (I'm talking home, not a mobile phone) because the AT&T long distance combined with local phone charges were outrageous. Guess what? AT&T and SBC are merging; I wonder how they will try to collectively screw me?
What happened to deregulation?

See #4 below, 'sister.

My advice is to stay in contact and get the best deal you can before the merger.

At Cingular there is a scheduled time at which we get a discount on a new phone (though not quite as good as a new customer).

I have t-mobil and my SO uses cingular and has for years (since the AT&T days).

We have two phones on her plan, one for her and one for our friend who sometimes walks our dog.
She has been with them for years, never late, etc.
I have taken this year off and rarely used my phone at all. So I dropped the service (free at last!).
I called cingular to add another phone to that plan and was told the cingular system could not simply add a phone to our account because we were a "pre-merger" (read "loyal, long-term") customer.
But we COULD enter into a new contract and have three phones on that one.
Now the kicker...
WE WOULD HAVE TO BUY THREE BRAND NEW PHONES TO ACTIVATE THE ACCOUNT.

I told her cingular could go Cheney themselves.

upgraded phone--i'm one of these people that keeps the same phone forever unless it dies, so i've had this current one for 4 years now and i finally go to the sprint store coupon and hand and decide it's time for me to finally get that new shiny phone and--"Sorry ma'am, that coupon for new customers only". I didn't upgrade my phone.

Theres no incentive to keep your existing service when the contract expires... As a matter of fact theres no incentive to have a contract at all!!

I'm a trucker, too. Had VZW for about 5 years and have never
had a problem with service, billing, or upgrading. I also use
VZW for wireless internet access. PM if you have any questions.