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The Saga Comes to a Close

Posted by Garth on Thursday, August 9, 2007

Finally back to Toronto, and on Tuesday (first business day back) I get a call from a Telus rep which went something like this:

Telus Rep: Hello. I’m calling to make sure you received the notification about Amp’d and to let you know that Telus will pick up your contract.

Me: Hmm... so what are my options here?

TR: Telus will pick up your contract and give you a new Telus phone since the Amp’d phone you have will cease to function in a week. Since you have the Q we will offer you any PDA phone or $300 credit towards another phone.

Me: What if I don’t want Telus to pick up my contract?

TR: {head jolts violently to one side, centers, jolts violently again}... Not 6! I said 7! 7’s the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 doors. 7, man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin' on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office.

Me: Why?

TR: 'Cause you're fuckin' fired!

Ok, maybe that’s not exactly how it went, but basically the Telus rep could not offer me anything other than a Telus contract. I told him thanks for the info and that I’d call him back. The following day I called *611 and talked to customer service. This guy fed me the same info about Telus taking over my contract, but then I told him I didn’t want to stay with Telus. He asked if anyone I knew would be interested in taking over my contract and waiving the activation fee. I told him it’s possible, but that either way I want out of my contract. That’s when he told me that if I got someone else to pick it up I could avoid paying a cancellation fee.

Whoa! Back up a minute. This is when I laid into him a bit, telling that unless I’m mistaken, nowhere in my Amp’d contract does it say that should they go under Telus will assume control of my contract. I told him that if I want out of my contract at this point I should not be obligated to Telus for anything, especially a cancellation fee. And you know what? He agreed. And told me that I could get out of my contract if I want. And that he made a note of it in my account so that I don’t have any issues with it when I call back (which I actually believe, unlike when Rogers tells me that but they’ve really just logged a :P emoticon). Then he started offering me better service plan rates than advertised on the site to try to retain me as a customer.

This irks me. Sure, in the end, I get a good deal and walk away happy... but what about the less confrontational people who just blindly accept what they’re told at first? Every single Amp’d customer should be offered a break of contract OR a super deal. Offering me a free phone when I already received one as part of my contract is not a bonus, especially since it involves me returning the one I’ve already received (since it will no longer function in a week or so).

This ends the Amp’d saga. Amp’d, it was fun while it lasted, but in the end I’m happy to be done with you. At least with Rogers I know what to expect. And on that note, I will likely be moving my service back to Rogers. Mostly cuz I can’t deal with being tied down to carrier-branded phones. I want the flexibility that GSM offers. And what will be my next phone you might ask? Well, for the next month or two it’ll be a big-ass crappy old Blackberry. But upon it’s release the Kaiser will be mine! Ooo baby!

3 comments:

Gregg said...

hey i was drooling on that Kaiser (TyTN II) one before you big boy! I wonder if we can get a bulk rte from PhoneSource? She won't be cheap....

Anonymous said...

What a "toy" that is--don't suppose it would make a good Christmas present--??

Anonymous said...

I ahve that problem too except i didnt get any phone calls or text messages or info. Now they are charging me a $700 cancellation fee for breaking a telus contract. Wondering what i should do here. Also i can't find my Amp'd contract. Any chance you can email me a copy of your old contract with your info blacked out? I really need to fight this and they are being really difficult. My email is hallmarkm@shaw.ca I waon a contract in canada.

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