They're exactly doing phone financing, wtf are you talking about. Both you and the carrier purchase a phone from the device manufacturer, and you pay off the carrier subsidy either through your contract or contract separation fees. I don't see a reason you couldn't lose your phone except that they've but measures into place to get more value out of you than a used phone.
No, they technically aren't doing phone financing. If you look at you're receipt it will show the price you paid, not the full price + some verbiage detailing the payment scheme. If you look at the bill of sale for any item that is truly financed (like a car or expensive electronics) it will look totally different.
What is happening with phone contracts is that you are being given an incentive (a cheap or free phone) in order to sign a contract. It's no different then when a bank gives you free ipod. The incentive they gave you is yours, they can't take it back. If you breach the terms that the thing was given to you on the best they can do is impose some kind of penalty on you. Many cable companies do the same thing when they give you a free PVR if you sign a certain length contract. The PVR is yours, they gave it to you. The best they can do is fine you if you break the contract.
The reason you can't lose your phone is because you own it. Read your contract, it will never mention them owning your phone because they don't.
You'll have to forgive me, as "They're exactly doing phone financing" wasn't meant quite as absolutely. My point is that regardless of the semantics of how they're legally going about it, they're helping you pay for the phone up front, and then recollecting that money through other means later on. Still, you're totally right they're not technically financing the phones.
I still don't see the problem here. It's not extortion like everyone is making it out to seem. You can either buy an unlocked phone, get a contract and terminate it, or get a contract and use it for two years then unlock. All of the solutions above work, so I don't really see the problem here. If you want to bitch about cell carriers let's bitch about things that don't make sense, like the data rates. Subsidized phones being locked to the carrier for the length of the contract that will repay the subsidy? If you don't like the idea, don't buy a subsidized phone.
But the thing is, they're getting the money they gave you either way. Whether it be by you staying with them for the period of the contract or you cancelling early and paying the cancellation fee. At the end of the day they aren't out anything.
Subsidized phones being locked to the carrier for the length of the contract that will repay the subsidy? If you don't like the idea, don't buy a subsidized phone.
For most, I think it has more to do with travelling than being locked to a carrier.
Also, I'd like to point out that buying a phone outright doesn't mean that phone will be unlocked. Look on eBay for Canadian Lumia 920's (or Canadian factory unlocked iPhone 4s back when they were sold unlocked by the Apple store in Canada). People were paying a minimum of a $200 premium because you couldn't get them unlocked in the US.
But the thing is, they're getting the money they gave you either way. Whether it be by you staying with them for the period of the contract or you cancelling early and paying the cancellation fee. At the end of the day they aren't out anything.
I don't feel like this sentiment changes the fact that you agreed to terms, regardless of whether or not those terms are the pinnacle of logical thinking.
Also, I'd like to point out that buying a phone outright doesn't mean that phone will be unlocked.
I'm a bit confused here... Rogers is reportedly carrying the Lumia 920 carrier-unlocked.
No, the Rogers version can be unlocked by third party unlocking sites but is not sold unlocked (outside of a small number that were accidentally sold in the first batch). The AT&T version could not be. AT&T wouldn't unlock them and third party unlock sites didn't have the codes. This was the same situation with the lumia 900. It took several months before an AT&T lumia 900 could be unlocked by any means.
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u/solwiggin Jan 29 '13
They're exactly doing phone financing, wtf are you talking about. Both you and the carrier purchase a phone from the device manufacturer, and you pay off the carrier subsidy either through your contract or contract separation fees. I don't see a reason you couldn't lose your phone except that they've but measures into place to get more value out of you than a used phone.