The talk of carrier contracts and upgrading continues. This latest is coming by way of US Cellular. In this case the carrier is making a change to the way they handle upgrades for existing customers. And in addition, there will also be a change coming that deals with the 15-Day Excellence Guarantee policy. That said, both of these items are set to go into effect on July 27th.
Beginning first with the upgrade portion. This deals with the carriers Belief Project. Moving forward current US Cellular customers looking to upgrade will be required to sign a new two-year agreement. The backstory here points towards what US Cellular once referred to as “One and Done.”
Under the One and Done option existing customers would not have to sign a new two-year agreement once they completed that first two-year agreement — even when upgrading to a new device at the subsidized rate. Simply put, as of July 27th both new and existing customers will need to sign a new two-year agreement for each and every new device they get.
The other side here deals with the 15-day guarantee. In the past a customer could use (and return) a device within 15 days and simply pick something new. Moving forward those returning a device under the 15-Day Excellence Guarantee policy will now have to pay a $35 restocking fee. With that in mind, the official statement from US Cellular reads as follows;
At U.S. Cellular, we are continually evaluating the entire experience we offer to our customers. Beginning later this month, all customers will be required to sign a 2-year contract when purchasing a subsidized device. In addition, a restocking fee of $35 will be introduced as an update to the 15-Day Excellence Guarantee policy and will be charged when a customer returns a device during the 15-day time period. These changes will allow us to invest in improving our customer experience and offering new products and services to our customers.
Bottom line here, these rules aren’t all that different from what we are seeing with other carriers. Of course, they are a not so nice change for current US Cellular customers. Knowing that July 27th date is quickly approaching, those who had been considering an upgrade may want to move forward before that date arrives and the rules officially change.
VIA: Engadget
they changed their policies because they are getting the iphone abd they paid
apple 4 billion dollars to carry it. so they need to recuperate the money
somehow