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Early Upgrade Charge Scam

Sastran0
Explorer

I purchased an iPhone 15 Pro Max last December in an EE store and got what I though was a decent deal for the Full Works package with Early Upgrade option. I was sold this package under the guise that I would be able to upgrade the phone anytime (such as when the next iPhone came out) and all I would have to do is trade in my current iPhone 15 Pro Max and sign up to a new contract, he explicitly stated it wouldn't cost anything, the upgrade would be FREE.

New iPhone comes up for pre-order today and I contact EE sales over the phone asking for the upgrade and agreed to sign a new contract that was a bit more than my current one, one issue though, they want £300 for the early upgrade, excuse me?

They refused to do anything, told me to go to the store I purchased from as they can't see any contract details on their systems. I live over 100 miles away from that store now so visiting isn't an option.
I called the store and spoke to someone, explained the situation and mentioned the name of the employee who sold me the contract and he basically said the same thing that he said about the free upgrade. He said it was in an instore deal, something that wasn't mentioned would be an issue when it came to the upgrade, as far as I knew it would be an effortless free upgrade, I mean that's what i've been paying extra for, something that sealed the deal for me.

What do I do now? Completely unhappy with the fact i've been missold this contract. Who in their right mind would pay more for a contract for a chance to upgrade earlier only to have to pay £300 for the privilege. I'd have turned that down immediately.

5 REPLIES 5
Northerner
EE Community Star
EE Community Star

Hi @Sastran0 

You can complain here:

https://ee.co.uk/help/contact-ee/complaint

Thanks 




To contact EE Customer Services dial 150 From your EE mobile or 0800 956 6000 from any other phone. You can call Freephone +44 800 079 8586 on Skype

EE standard opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 9pm - Saturday and Sunday, 8am to 8pm.
Lawrence24
Investigator
Investigator

Same I was also told no fee to upgrade and now they want £100 

Alana85
Established Contributor
Established Contributor

Yeah hate to say but the guy in the store is at fault, the Anytime Upgrade always has a fee for the first 12 months of the contract,  that fee decreases throughout the 12 months though 

I flanged to sort it, went in to a local store and they completely wavered the £300. The staff I spoke to over the phone via 150 were completely unhelpful and quite confrontational. Bad experience.

Mistr_ZeN
Established Contributor
Established Contributor

From my understanding - the free upgrade is based upon a full 1 year in contract! Unfortunately - due to the issues of EE stock most didn’t get their device on release day and because the deliveries were so staggered it meant nearly everyone was charged either £100 or £300 early upgrade fee! 

In your case you purchased in December, so at this point you are 3 months away from the ‘free’ upgrade! Hence having to pay £300! You could simply sell your current phone privately and use the funds to clear the balance and fee and then upgrade. 

Alternatively - you’ll have to wait till December to upgrade for free. The downside is you will have this same issue every year and won’t be able to get a free upgrade around iPhone release in September. The other option is to issue a formal complaint. Give EE 8 weeks then escalate it to the Ombudsman!

Good luck. Hope this helps