Got the iPhone!

Stinicker

After a massive souring of relation with Meteor I dumped them today leaving my contract early after their refusal to provide me with the iPhone or a crappu cheap phone after losing my previous phone.

I switched to Three on the €40 a month package with unlimited data and got the iPhone 4 16gb for €179, am pretty happy so far and left Meteor due to their bad customer service, ignorant staff and unwillingness to do something for me as a higher value customer.

What I need now from Apple aficionados is some advise on accesories for the iPhone, I need to get one of those rubber bumper things, a case and maybe some of those clear contact protection sheets for the screen and back. All of which were offered by the Three store however when I saw the crappy case and its velcro I decided I may only end up with something of inferior quality and over priced!

I was in Bangkok last week and they have literally two floors of the MBK shopping centre dedicated to mobile phones with express on covers etc. The craze there is like how it was here about a decade ago when phones caught on, a waitress making 10,000bt (€250) a month will save up for the iPhone, Samsung etc. totally amazing because of the social status a snazzy phone will give.

Kensington

Did they agree to let you out of contract early or did you have to buy your way out? I would hope you came to an agreement with them, for your own sake, or they will be looking for a buyout fee, which they will pursue with a debt management agency if necessary.

Anyway, to your answer your question, ebay is your friend. You'll get decent accessories for next to nothing, I got a silicone gel case and five screen protectors for under €10, great quality too. The phone has suffered a few knocks already but there's not a mark on the phone itself. Fairly good value, considering Carphone Warehouse were looking for €6 for just ONE screen protector alone!

dingding

www.dealextreme.com has some cheap stuff as well.

Comes from Hong Kong so can sometimes take up to 3 weeks.

byte

I'm curious as to how you managed to get the iPhone 4 on the €40pm bundle when shops I go to want €249, or €239 on three.ie

gingernut79

you can get the 3gs for free on that tariff

dont mind me I have iphone brain. Roll on June (off contract, change to three meself)

Stinicker

byte wrote: »

I'm curious as to how you managed to get the iPhone 4 on the €40pm bundle when shops I go to want €249, or €239 on three.ie

http://www.three.ie/iphone/plans.html I could even have got it for €169 if I ordered online! I'd rather the iPhone 4 because of its tethering option via the hotspot.

I had multiple exchanges with Meteor and broke out of contract early, they will try to charge me €100 for the remainder of my contract which I will refuse to pay and it will be uneconomic for them to recover and they will have to write it off instead. I am not worried about Debt collectors as I don't owe debt and am not worried about banks, or credit ratings as I don't foresee myself needing a loan ever.

I won't give Meteor another penny, having reviewed my spend and previous bills I paid them nearly €6k since 2005 across two subsidised phones with my most recent one being last year (which I lost) having had my old one for five years until the number pad went. They refused to even give me the Nokia 1616 worth €30 as a replacement in the interim until my contract expires in August. Clearly they don't give a fiddlers about their higher spending customers and showed nothing but sheer contempt for me.

I am happy to go over to three and despite all the bad reports of their crappy mobile broadband, their smartphone plans seem ok and crucially they are the only 3G coverage where I live.

Nemanja91

I'd recommend trying a HMV store for a case, I got a case much like the apple bumper but it also has plastic on the back for 12.99, I think it was called the Gear4 Icebox.

drunkmonkey

Stinicker wrote: »

I am not worried about Debt collectors as I don't owe debt and am not worried about banks, or credit ratings as I don't foresee myself needing a loan ever.

You do owe the debt, and the possibility of getting your credit rating effected should be something you should be very concerned about. It's not probably going to happen in this instance but such a flippant attitude to your legal obligations when entering contracts will eventually lead you into trouble.

I presume you took out insurance with your iphone? Or if you didn't if that brakes will you default on 3 as well?

I don't know your financial position but even rich people use loans and regardless of what you think now, your more than likely going to need a loan at some point in the future.

Pay the €100 you owe to meteor, the alternative could end up costing you a lot more in the long run.

barryd09

drunkmonkey wrote: »

You do owe the debt, and the possibility of getting your credit rating effected should be something you should be very concerned about. It's not probably going to happen in this instance but such a flippant attitude to your legal obligations when entering contracts will eventually lead you into trouble.

I presume you took out insurance with your iphone? Or if you didn't if that brakes will you default on 3 as well?

I don't know your financial position but even rich people use loans and regardless of what you think now, your more than likely going to need a loan at some point in the future.

Pay the €100 you owe to meteor, the alternative could end up costing you a lot more in the long run.

i agree with all of this BUT i also agree with the OP in principle in so far as not paying for a crap service.
TBH if its only going to cost you €100 to get out of the contract & not do damage to your credit rating its WELL WELL WELL WORTH IT.

Kensington

Stinicker wrote: »

I had multiple exchanges with Meteor and broke out of contract early, they will try to charge me €100 for the remainder of my contract which I will refuse to pay and it will be uneconomic for them to recover and they will have to write it off instead. I am not worried about Debt collectors as I don't owe debt and am not worried about banks, or credit ratings as I don't foresee myself needing a loan ever.

I won't give Meteor another penny, having reviewed my spend and previous bills I paid them nearly €6k since 2005 across two subsidised phones with my most recent one being last year (which I lost) having had my old one for five years until the number pad went. They refused to even give me the Nokia 1616 worth €30 as a replacement in the interim until my contract expires in August. Clearly they don't give a fiddlers about their higher spending customers and showed nothing but sheer contempt for me.

Meteor won't pursue the debt, or write it off, they will sell it to a debt management agency. Meteor get their money and you will get harassed by a debt management agency who, since their sole existence is chasing debt, will be a hell of a lot more ruthless than a mobile network in getting their money. These guys do it full time, it costs them next to nothing to pursue you personally.

Sure, by the amount you've spent you would like to think they'd value your custom a little more, but from a legal point of view you haven't a leg to stand on.

barryd09

if its only €100,just pay them.its a whole world of hassle avoided.

ironclaw

Stinicker wrote: »

After a massive souring of relation with Meteor I dumped them today leaving my contract early after their refusal to provide me with the iPhone

Did you expect them to give you an iPhone even though they are a non-iPhone network? I have an iPhone 4 on Meteor and I'm more than happy with it. They are a much better network than Three (There are countless threads here about how bad Three are) I feel you've made a rash decision.

xebec

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I don't know your financial position but even rich people use loans and regardless of what you think now, your more than likely going to need a loan at some point in the future.

Agreed. And even more likely a mortgage. Don't want to have something as small as this affecting your credit rating.

Stinicker

Kensington wrote: »

Meteor won't pursue the debt, or write it off, they will sell it to a debt management agency. Meteor get their money and you will get harassed by a debt management agency who, since their sole existence is chasing debt, will be a hell of a lot more ruthless than a mobile network in getting their money. These guys do it full time, it costs them next to nothing to pursue you personally.

Sure, by the amount you've spent you would like to think they'd value your custom a little more, but from a legal point of view you haven't a leg to stand on.

I am not afraid of debt collectors and am not afraid to make a stand against those scumbags who are making peoples lives a misery nationwide. As for Meteor I couldn't give two hoots about them and one thing for certain is they will never see another penny from me and neither will their debt collectors.

The country is broke I am not personally worried about Credit Ratings and if they try send any scumbag debt collectors to my door, it will end very badly for them.

drunkmonkey

Stinicker wrote: »

I am not afraid of debt collectors and am not afraid to make a stand against those scumbags who are making peoples lives a misery nationwide.

But your the type of guy driving up the cost of business and costing the rest of us more money in the process because you won't honor your obligations. Your standing up for nobody.

The debt collectors may fail to collect the money but when your caught for their legal costs the €100 will seem very cheap, not to mention the little article in the stubbs gazette which will prevent you from even signing up for a simple thing like a mobile phone contract again.

Don't be a fool, have respect for your credit rating.

120_Minutes

Who cares about credit ratings when you have the latest trendy inanimate electronic device to show off to your mates?

This is 21st century "I'm entitled to everything" Ireland for chrissakes.

Stinicker

120_Minutes wrote: »

Who cares about credit ratings when you have the latest trendy inanimate electronic device to show off to your mates?

This is 21st century "I'm entitled to everything" Ireland for chrissakes.

Oh Please! If I wanted Hyperbole I'd have just read the Daily Mail! If you knew me, I am the exact opposite of what you described and bought the iPhone for easy functionality and most of all for easy management of my Music. Its an iPod with a phone built in, its more expensive and less functional than the competition, the new Hotspot function was what swung it for me over the HTC Desire HD.

I'm making a stand against what is unethical bad business and the sort of stuff that is anti-competitive in Ireland. Ireland is long a ripoff and the same plan I am on could be got for far less elsewhere.

Because I got the iPhone it automatically makes me some sort of Celtic Tiger spoilt brat who should automatically go with the flow and never question the sheer criminality of banks and unethical business practices.

Banks lend on collateral not credit ratings, I recently got charged some ripoff fees in my bank for using my laser card abroad, a phone call to them telling them to get the money ready for transfer to a competitor quickly saw the charges reversed and they maintained my custom.

Fools play by the rules, and this is one of the main problems in Ireland our undeniable sheer sheepness and unwillingness to ever stand up against bad practices, whether they be religious, political or in business. I'd gladly pay several times the figure saved just to stick it to them as a manner of principle and respect.

drunkmonkey

Stinicker wrote: »

its more expensive and less functional than the competition, the new Hotspot function was what swung it for me over the HTC Desire HD.

:rolleyes:

byte

Stinicker wrote: »

http://www.three.ie/iphone/plans.html I could even have got it for €169 if I ordered online! I'd rather the iPhone 4 because of its tethering option via the hotspot.

Ah, yes, over 24 month contract.

I've only ever considered 18month contracts maximum. A 2 year one seems too long for me, though best of luck with your purchase.

120_Minutes

Ok op I Gotta call you on this, you first claimed that you switched from meteor as they wouldnt offer you an iPhone or a crappy phone as you lost yours.

Why should they? For starters meteor don't supply the iPhone, they made no agreements with apple to do so, secondly YOU LOST YOUR PHONE. How is that meteors fault? Yet you feel you should stick it to the meteor man? Please...

Secondly you go on about unethical business practices when in this case meteor have done nothing unethical, and in fact you could be the one facing trouble for your "unethical" behaviour.

You're not standing up for the little guy, your posts are the classic "I'm getting what I want and who cares who I **** over to get it" which frankly is the attitude that had ****ed our country: I want mine and I'll get it by whatever means.... From the government to the banks to the iPhone user in the street.

I'm sorry sir, but from your contradictory posts you have very shaky credibility.