Hello Three_Deborah1,
Received with thanks your acknowledgement following my original posting on the 3 Community forum.
I realise that THREE Ireland have different promotions from time to time as do all the various mobile networks. It's nice that THREE Ireland have incentives for competitions and concerts at the 3Arena for those who may be interested in such promotions although; that is not something that would be of interest to every customer such as myself.
Why would THREE Ireland website invite "existing customers" to check if they are eligible for an Upgrade, only to find that even if and when they are confirmed as eligible BUT then discover that the price of the new handset is not what was first displayed but significantly higher after they have followed the Upgrade instructions process. It's like a lesson in how NOT to value and show appreciation to your loyal existing customers!
It can be misleading if an existing customer sees the term: Only X Price on Prepay as per the website. I am referring to the below web page display on the THREE website
https://www.three.ie/online/voice/prepay/
Huawei Y6 2019 handset:
Price is €109.99 at THREE for existing THREE customer with an "eligible upgrade" like me!
Price is € 49.99 at Vodafone if I switch to Vodafone & bring my current number from THREE!
It should probably say something like From X* Price on Prepay where the * symbol used denotes that lowest price quoted is for new customers only who switch and bring their current mobile number to THREE. Right now, an existing THREE customer only discovers this AFTER you click on special offer green ribbon. In other words, they may see the new customer switching price first even though it may not apply to them at all!
I suppose my central point on all this is that I could not really find competitive prices if I was to upgrade my mobile handset as a long time existing THREE customer. Unfortunately the price offers on THREE.ie do not seem to come anywhere close to the same ballpark as the offers I've seen with your main competitor Vodafone. You may say THREE has other rewards & incentives but I am focusing on the large price difference on prepay mobile handsets between THREE and Vodafone who are probably both the biggest mobile networks in Ireland.
Another major price difference is set out in below example.
Samsung Galaxy A20e handset:
€169.99 down to €139.99 @Three (no distinction between new & existing THREE customers
€149.99 down to € 49.99 @Vodafone for New customers switch & bring their current number
Vodafone Black Friday Sale Offers run from 15th November until 2nd December:
https://n.vodafone.ie/shop/offers/pay-as-you-go-offers.html?c_id=8063239429&c_name=IE-GO-Black+Frida...
Customers like myself would probably prefer to stay with their existing mobile network although; when it comes to upgrading my mobile handset, it is not something I would do on a frequent basis so; I tend to check out what the competition is willing to offer Versus what my existing network is prepared to do to retain my custom. Right now, I am not convinced THREE offers existing customers like me enough in terms of price difference where new mobile handsets are concerned. Perhaps Vodafone and other networks do the same with their existing customers too although; what I am learning is that if a customer wants to buy a new mobile handset on Prepay, they are always best to switch network and bring their number as otherwise they will probably pay more for the privilege every time.
Regards,
A disappointed existing customer who is still considering switching mobile network due to the large price difference for similar Prepay mobile handsets with a rival network.
