Why are people so into defrauding the telecommunication companies?

[Nocturnal]

This guy has an old phone, wants a new one. He said he plans on keeping his old number. So I had to inform him that when he cancels his month-to-month contract that there is a three month grace period in between cancelling and re-starting a new contract and that he would not be able to keep his same number. Majority of the carriers do not want you to cancel in order to get a new phone (this is called false churn). So after him getting upset because he would have to PAY for a phone instead of getting it at a discounted price for new subscribers he walked away. He was pissed to say the least.

You guys cannot defraud the telecommunication companies! (I'm talking to guys like him, not ATOT)!~

 

[SackOfAllTrades]

Everyone wants something for nothing, and when they get "close" but are unable to succeed, their egos can't handle it.

 

Why not?
Turnabout is fair play.

 

[McCarthy]

Heck with number portability he can just move to another provider, get a phone as their sign up promotion and keep his number can't he? Still a false churn in a way if he's just doing it to avoid buying a phone outright. Might be worth it for him if he can switch to someone else for a year when the cost of the new phone is factored into the monthly bill.

Just guessing, but seems to me a big part of the incentive to try to defraud your provider is the retail price of phones. Cable company doesn't give away $300 retail value mechandise for signing on with them, wired telephone companies might give you an extension cord if you ask nice, so for cellular companies to be including a phone when you subscribe to their service it makes the whole thing seem rather fishy to the consumer. Either they're getting the phones really cheap, meaning the retail price is really inflated, or the cellular company is overcharging if they can afford to give away such treasure. That only one national cellular provider is in the black isn't all that important to consumer perception.

 

[Heisenberg]

Originally posted by: SammySon
Why not?
Turnabout is fair play.

 

[LuNoTiCK]

If I was him, I would just switch providers. But I really don't care about my phone number, I don't like it anyway.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: LuNoTiCK
If I was him, I would just switch providers. But I really don't care about my phone number, I don't like it anyway.

I am about to switch my wife from AT&T to Verizon. AT&T keeps offering her credits to continuse the service with them.

 

[MaxFusion16]

seems fair, since he has lived up to his part of the bargain, the contract has expired, he's effectively a new customer

 

[Imdmn04]

I woudn't call it defrauding, heck I would keep switching companies every year after this number portability thing started so I can get a free phone every year from hopping to different companies.

How much does a typical free phone for a one year contract cost to the company? Around $150, when most people sign up, they sign up for the 30 or 40 dollars/month plan, which in turn is 300 or 400 bucks a year. The company makes all of the money back because they know they can make all the money back that they lost on the phone because of a contract commitment.

The way I see it, aint nothing wrong with getting a new free phone every year. The guy just didnt know how to do it the right way, he shoulda went to another company and did this number portability thing. Then the year after that, if there is a good deal that involves a free phone, he can port his number back into the original company.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: LuNoTiCK
If I was him, I would just switch providers. But I really don't care about my phone number, I don't like it anyway.

I am about to switch my wife from AT&T to Verizon. AT&T keeps offering her credits to continuse the service with them.

Watch out if you're taking your number with you. ATTWS has been violating FCC regulations regarding number portability. Link