Telus made me an offer today.

[Phantasee]

So Telus, my ISP and phone provider, calls me up. They say they have a wonderful deal for me. I give them a listen.

This is what I got. I pay $38.95/month for High Speed "Velocity" (1.5Mbps) service, and it's been good. No downtime in the last year or more, I've had only one occasion to call the customer service and it was all good. So I like using the company.

This is what they want to give me: I pay the same rate for a term of 1, 2, or 3 years, with a massive cancellation fee ($120). They say that if the rate goes up, I pay the same rate as now, and if it goes down, I pay the lower rate. So basically it's an offer to lock myself in for a decent price. Also, for $2/month, I can get the High Speed "Some-Fancy-Name-Or-Other" (3.0 Mbps) service, and for $5 more I can get High Speed "Extreme" (6.0 Mbps) service. I think the former option is worth it, but I'm leery of getting a contract I can't get out of.


Now, Daddy Dearest pays the bills. So the end decision is up to him, but I think it's my job to help him make an informed decision.

What's everyone's take on this?

[Master of Cards]

So Telus, my ISP and phone provider, calls me up. They say they have a wonderful deal for me. I give them a listen.

This is what I got. I pay $38.95/month for High Speed "Velocity" (1.5Mbps) service, and it's been good. No downtime in the last year or more, I've had only one occasion to call the customer service and it was all good. So I like using the company.

This is what they want to give me: I pay the same rate for a term of 1, 2, or 3 years, with a massive cancellation fee ($120). They say that if the rate goes up, I pay the same rate as now, and if it goes down, I pay the lower rate. So basically it's an offer to lock myself in for a decent price. Also, for $2/month, I can get the High Speed "Some-Fancy-Name-Or-Other" (3.0 Mbps) service, and for $5 more I can get High Speed "Extreme" (6.0 Mbps) service. I think the former option is worth it, but I'm leery of getting a contract I can't get out of.


Now, Daddy Dearest pays the bills. So the end decision is up to him, but I think it's my job to help him make an informed decision.

What's everyone's take on this?

you pay the extra 7 bucks because damn that looks like a good deal.

[Fiji_Fury]

Personally, I've had no good experiences with Telus and long term contracts. Are you certain that taking any of those last two "extra" options you detailed won't nullify the deal about same or lower fees in the future? I'd check on that, and not verbally, with Telus before signing up.

Ask to see the contractual paperwork. If they won't produce it for you until your signed up, tell 'em to fuck off. If they do give you the info and contract, read it very, very carefully before making a decision.

[Phantasee]

The deal says that the price I pay (whichever version I get of the service) is the price I pay for the term of the contract. So if I switch to the faster services, I get locked in at those prices.

Fiji, was it a phone contract, or internet? Or wireless, even?

My take on this is thatthey're just trying to secure a guaranteed income for a certain amount of time, while ensuring they can raise prices all they want without losing customers. I mean, if you have a large customer base, you don't want to lose it all, right? So they figure, prices are gonna go up, new users can get the shaft and pay up, but old users won't leave us. That way they can lower rates to compete with Shaw Cable if they need to, and also raise prices to make the same mad cash Shaw does if it goes that route. I dunno. I haven't even finished the first year of my business degree, no idea how a business works.