EE Perk code does not work

[blueblue]

Hello

I am at my wits end with EE. I want to upgrade to a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and am in the point in my contract where I can upgrade anytime as long as I return my phone in good working order.

I went to add my EE Perk code at the checkout and the website will not process this.

As I was in town earlier today I visited an EE store and they told me that codes had to be entered online now.

So then when I got home I called 150 and was sent a link to the EE live chat. Which after 90 minutes back and forth with an advisor told me that they can't apply the code for me through the live chat and I have to call 150 again.

I then call 150 again and speak to a human who after placing me on hold for an extended period of time tells me that EE Perk codes can only be used online and they can't do anything for me over the phone. He said that he thinks the problem may be that you cannot use fresh Perk codes for upgrades any more, only for brand new contracts. 

The interesting thing is that if this is true there is no mention of this on the EE Perk site.

So what is going on?

I spend nearly £300 a month on four lines with EE, and this is really leaving a sour taste with me. My existing contracts start to expire from November and to be honest, I fail to see why I should continue with EE after being a customer for the last 8 years.

I am really keen to take advantage of the current free storage upgrade from 256gb to 512gb for a Z Fold 7, but the last day to claim the offer is tomorrow (24th July). 

Has anyone got any useful help or advice for me as to how I might be able to use my EE Perk code? I feel like I am going around in circles with EE customer service. I have never had this problem before.

[Matt_124]

Perk cannot be used on plans with Upgrade Anytime benefits.

This is detailed in the "Legal bit" here:https://ee.co.uk/nhs-perks 

"... Only available to new and upgrading customers taking a Flex Pay plan or a SIM only with a minimum term of 12 months or more. You cannot upgrade from a handset plan to a SIM plan to get this discount. Discount only applied if you use the code provided and you sign up via ee.co.uk. Discount applied to the monthly airtime plan price. After the minimum term the monthly plan price will revert to the pre-discount price, unless you upgrade again using a new EE Perk code. Not available on plans that include an annual upgrade or upgrade anytime benefit. The discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or discount. ..." 

A similar quote exists on this page here, although not as up to date as there are certain changes that have been made since, such as the fact it can only be done online and no longer in-store etc.  https://ee.co.uk/why-ee/emergency-service-staff-discount 

[blueblue]

Thanks for the reply.

It's not an NHS Perk or blue light perk, but I suppose it is probably a moot point.

It stinks as in previous years I got the Perk discount when upgrading without an issue.

If only EE Customer Service staff (or a message on the website) could have explained this. If I log in to the EE Perk site, nowhere does it mention not being able to use my codes for an upgrade.

[Matt_124]

Yes, Perk is Perk regardless of the source of eligibility for it, there are just different information pages for the different sectors.

You can absolutely use them on normal upgrades when in the last 30 days or outside of your minimum term, but the discount is now only applicable on certain types of plans in line with the statement above.

The issue you're running into is that you're availing of Upgrade Anytime as you are on an Essentials Plus/All Rounder/Full Works 24-month bundled device plan (one price for phone+plan), but when selecting those same types of plans to upgrade to they are now ineligible due to featuring Upgrade Anytime on them.

It would be interesting to see if your code works when trying to upgrade to an Essentials plan as this does not feature Upgrade Anytime. It may still not work due to availing of the feature to do said upgrade, but worth checking.

However if you were to upgrade to one of these Essential plans you would lose Upgrade Anytime and have to serve out the entire 24-month minimum term or pay an early upgrade fee (essentially monthly price x remaining months) if you wanted to get a new phone within that time.

[Paddyreilly187]

sorry for asking or sounding stupid but what do you mean when you say perks is it just something that only certain people get or is it something that everyone can get for some kind of reward or something like that i’m just being curious about it because i don’t know what it is and i just want to know what i’m reading about so if anyone can tell me i would be happy thanks 

[blueblue]

The company I work for use EE for their work phones (approx 6000 employees).  The employees get 5 codes per year which can be used to get 20% discount on any EE mobile or sim contract. Well... we used to get a discount on anything.... not any more it would seem.

[Paddyreilly187]

thank you for replying and letting me know what you were talking about it’s nice to know what you’re reading about and i never had a clue what it meant so thanks for letting me know 🙋🏻‍♂️

[blueblue]

I tried your suggestion Matt_124, but the Perk code won't work for any tarrif 😢

[Rach_H]

Hi @blueblue,

Welcome back to the Community!

I'm sorry to hear you've been having trouble, and none of the troubleshooting offered by @Matt_124 has helped get this sorted.

I've popped you through a Private Message so we can work to get this sorted.

Rach

[Rach_H · Accepted solution]

Hi Ash,

Thanks so much for your patience while I got this looked into.

I've heard back from the Perk team and they've advised that if there are no plas showing that there is nothing they are able to do, which is far from ideal. I'd recommend making a complaint about this, as there is only the one way of using your code, but it doesn't seem possible to do so in your situation, which isn't what we want to be seeing, so I'm hopeful the team will be able to work with you to get this rectified.

Rach