My Phone Saga

Dahil sobrang naging stressful & frustrating, I've decided to write it here para naman may closure na sya. Madrama ang intro ah, pagbigyan nyo na ako, hehe. And yes, tungkol lang sa cellphone ang kwentong ito!


Ive been with this provider O2 for a long time. I was happy with them coz I get good value for my plan. I get unlimited data, 600 mins calls and texts plus unlimited picture messages. I don't shop much nor do I go out often - mga gadgets ko lang talaga ang hilig ko. I read through my phone, blog and tweet na rin specially when I'm waiting for the work bus or Papa Erick. I get to YM, Skype and iMessage my family through it as well. Not to mention the thousands of pics and videos of Poj that I take & keep on my phone. So when November came I was so excited to upgrade my contract.


I rang them and asked what my options were. I was surprised when I was told that my unlimited data will be taken away when I upgrade because they don't do this anymore. And worse, they told me that they can't give me the new iPhone 4S for free. The best offer for the handset was for £75 (PHP 5,128) not bad, I know and would  have been okay if I know that's the best they could do.


Then Papa E showed me this website dedicated to NHS (National Health Service) employees. All the dealers/shops on the site offers different discounts for all staff. They are offering employees the iPhone 4S for £37 (PHP 2,529) as a business customer with double the minutes/data that my old provider is willing to offer. So I rang O2 to cancel my order. And when I rang them again to get my PAC (Port Authorization Code) to port my old number to my new network, they offered me the phone for FREE and promised to deliver the next day. I decided "great! I don't need to go anywhere, sure I won't get my unlidata which means I just have to make sure I switch 3G off when I get home & use my home wifi - no big deal. And I don't have to do anything else, though I also thought - pwede naman pala ibigay ng libre eh". 
I rang after 2 days to check why I've not received my order. The rep on the phone was surprised & told me that there is a 14-day wait for the said phone. I told them about the "next day delivery promise", they apologized and gave me a £20 credit as goodwill for being "misinformed".  But 2 weeks later I'm still waiting. When I called to complain, they told me that they have problems with their stock, they can't give me a direct answer when I asked them what's taking so long or when they could actually deliver. At that point I decided to just cancel my oder. They again tried to stop me but I said I'll just take my business elsewhere.


I went back to my computer to searched for a mobile package suitable for me. I found one, & decided to ring them instead of ordering online. The chap I spoke to told me that they can offer me the same deal that I saw online. And the best part is not that the iPhone 4S is free, or that they have it in white. No, the best part is that they have it in stock and they WILL deliver the next day. So I did get my phone of choice in the end, for free with a better deal, with free calls to one number of my choice, sympre si Papa E, and 2 for 1 movies voucher every Wednesdays. Don't think it gets better than this!

And I love my personalized phone case

Lesson learnt? Perseverance do pay off. I know it's taken me a long time but I got the phone that I wanted & got the deal that suits me and I need not pay a penny for it is just the icing on the cake!