Terrible retention deals - any advice on getting a better one?

[jimmmeh]

I have been a customer with EE for around 5-6 years - I have 2 lines with them and pay ~£40 a month. I am currently out of contract and thinking of moving elsewhere as I am seeing unlimited 5G deals with roaming for £15/16 a month elsewhere so paying £28+ seems like a waste, especially with no addons or free roaming.

My friend, who has been a customer for less time and was only paying £13 a month was given an £18 a month, unlimited 5G (limited to 100megabits) with free roaming add on for 12 month contract but calling their retention teams multiple times they won't offer me anything close to that.

Is there any tips to trying to get a better deal through them. I've been extremely polite, friendly, chatty with them the times I've called but all times I've been told they simply don't do a free roaming add on (even though my friend was given one) and won't get anywhere near that deal my friend was offered or anything competitive with almost every other deal out there from rival networks at the moment.

I thought if I asked for a PAC code it might trigger a better retention deal but nope, they just gave it me and wished me well 😄 Not sure if there is a best time to call or if anyone has any advice?

Thank you!

[Chris_B]

@jimmmeh  Just because you’re friend got a good offer it doesn’t mean you’ll get one.  Your trying to in theory blackmail  EE to give you a good deal, or you will leave EE.    You’ve probably been given an offer and that offer will have been logged against your account so you’ll not probably not be offered anything better than what’s already been offered.   

[jimmmeh]

So what you are saying is, it's complete luck of the draw - if you get someone who offers you a terrible offer, even if better offers appear later it's too bad, you will never be eligible because the terrible first offer has been "logged"? So a customer who potentially offers way less financially to retain is prioritised over someone who would be worth 2-3x more to retain? Seems like a pretty bad way of doing business, honestly.

We are talking about a huge corporation here, it's hardly blackmail to say, hey, the deal I have is absolutely uncompetitive with the rest of the mobile market, I would like to save some money but appreciate your good service so would like to know what you may be able to offer me to stay. This is common and recommended practice across pretty much any industry you have an account with where there are competitors in the market.

Framing it as "blackmail" is incredibly disingenuous and, frankly, a weird way of looking at things. Is it blackmail to try and do this with any other utility, your broadband, energy etc? I do this with all the accounts I have and successfully negotiate discounts elsewhere.

Are you sure that is how EE works, that they log and offer and after that hence will never offer anything better or is this just a guess on your behalf?

[Leanne_T]

Hi @jimmmeh 

Thanks for coming to the community. 

If you would like to discuss the offer you have been given and see if anything else is available, please give us another call on 150. The team can access all the available offers and let you know what is showing for your account. 

Leanne 🙂

[Chris_B]

@jimmmeh  To give someone an ultimatum, if you don’t get what you want then, yes it is classed as blackmail.    In your case it’s give me a better deal than whats been offered or I’ll leave.    how would you define blackmail.  

[bristolian]

You've mentioned wanting a 5G plan/phone, but is there anything you want to use your phone for - that 4G isn't sufficient? It may alter the position.

EE have always positioned themselves as a premium network, and have never competed on price. If that's your primary driver, there's a strong chance you could get a cheaper deal elsewhere. But do make sure that your chosen new network offers suitable coverage & service in all the areas you'll want to use your phone -  a PAYG SIM is a good way of doing this.

It's far better to get coverage shock before potentially porting out, after which buyers remorse would get more complicated.

[jimmmeh]

I am just going to have to presume English isn't your first language because otherwise your responses are frankly quite embarrassing. I define blackmail like the dictionary does, not like someone who is clearly terrified of negotiating with another human being, I guess you must just enjoy paying over the odds for things! Is Martin the money saving guy like the ultimate extorting super villain to you because, as I say, most people will use their power as a consumer with choices when it comes time to re-negotiate a contract. Let's just leave it there and agree to disagree on what is normal practice as a consumer.

[jimmmeh]

Thanks, Leanne, but it seems to be being suggested that once and offer has been made I won't get a better one, are you saying that there may be better offers available if I call again, even though I've already been made an offer previously?

Thanks for your reply!

[jimmmeh]

I don't disagree with your points, I work from home and like the comfort of having a strong, unlimited 5G backup should I need it, especially as I have incidents with my broadband at home going down in the past.

I think the way I look at it is, I am an existing customer, I have a sim only contract, they can look at their systems and see I never call or text and my average data usage is pretty low, I just like having the backup and I manage two lines on one account so it's easier for me to stay with EE than leave. I would expect I would be classed as a pretty low-impact person on the EE network and so, from a business perspective, it would make sense to retain my business for the little usage/strain I put on them, it's essentially lost profit if they let me go!

I was more curious as to if this just wasn't the way EE operated, fair enough if they don't and are happy to let existing customers and their monthly payments go! Thanks for your input.