[HTC One S] flamingblue8z:
I may actually have beat that...

In July of 2010 I got the Samsung Vibrant on an upgrade that was in the middle of my contract, and was dissatisfied with the blue tinted screen from the SuperAMOLED (yes, I know the One S is also SAMOLED), and all the GPS-locking issues, as well as freezing and other issues seen in the Vibrant. By October, after arguing with T-Mobile over and over again, they offered me a brand new G2, for free, so long as I signed to 2 more years. I said fine, and used the G2 for a year.

December of 2011, when my G2 decided to stop connecting to the towers, I had to get a warranty exchange. They had no G2s, and offered me the G2x or the SK4G. I took the G2x since it was far superior than both SK4G & G2. BIG mistake. That thing has been nothing but a headache for me. Even CM7.2 nightlies had a ton of issues. I started compiling CM7 on my own computer so I could throw in tweaks and what not into the compiling process. Finally, I gave up and reverted to stock when the v21y release of 2.3.4 came out last month. At any rate, I had 5 exchanges on the G2x by May 2, and I had gotten a letter from Asurion letting me know that they're cancelling the warranty portion of my PHP Bundle. I've been with T-Mobile nearly 8 years, and have had Insurance since then. My full discount wouldn't be available until September, but considering the problems I've had with my phone, and Asurion cancelling my warranty (the reason they claim is that I have a handset model with chronic issues prone to excessive warranty replacements, regardless of legit or not), I had quite a reason to gripe. Customer Loyalty (retentions) gave me every reason in the book not to help me. "Our policies have changed and we can't just GIVE you a new phone because the exchange being offered is not different from the phone you've had continued trouble with." The best they could do was move my full discount date up to May 28 from Sept 23, and give me an extra $100 off a new phone.

On Thursday, my G2x started experiencing all kinds of wild behavior, from reboots to freezes, stuck in the "Hanging up" screen after ending a call, it went on and on. I was through with it, called in, and even though I said I'd take an Amaze or Sensation, since I can't afford a new phone like the GSII or HOS, the rep said she will send me an HTC One S completely free. The final total came to $286 according to my receipt, but it's all being credited. She said the Asurion warranty cancellation alone is unacceptable, and that she would make right on the fact I didn't have another choice but to accept a G2x when the G2 died on me. Of course I signed 2 more years, but at just under $100/mo, I have an unbeatable plan: Unlimited Loyalty $50/mo, from before unlimited minutes were available to everyone, around 2008 or so. I also have Preferred unlimited SMS/MMS, $10/mo, and Preferred Android web, $20/mo with a 10GB throttle cap (I have verified the 10GB cap a few times, I typically go to about 8GB), as well as I get free tethering. It's amazing, and affordable, and the entire reason I feared for the AT&T purchase of T-Mobile, because that all would have gone away. Sometimes it all just depends on how you go about things. This gives me 2 more years with a top of the line device that, fortunately, I didn't pay full price for, and I won't have to constantly think "well my upgrade is coming in X months, I better save up so I can get rid of this mid-range POS I have".

Win for T-Mobile, they can claim 10 years of my life.

---------- Post added at 04:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:50 PM ----------

Wait a sec, you didn't sign a new contract then. Doing the 20 month payment is for OFF contract pricing, even I can't get that option (I tried...). The only contract you are locked into is that $20/mo for your phone. That's it. You can call Loyalty and tell them the rep at the store misinformed you that you didn't have an option to continue your contract. They CAN (and most likely will, with your tenure), put you back into your old plan if it's the plan you prefer, or they can offer you another contract option. Then they can sort out the price difference if you'd prefer not to pay the $20/mo for your phone, and give you full discount, and should consider that $280 you paid in-store as full payment of the phone. It really comes down to whether or not you want to remain off contract now, or get back into one, because your plan will be different either way. But most importantly, the rep at that store had no right to not keep you in the plan you had now. They must have had new training to try and get out-of-contract legacy subscribers into the no-contract plans, or that guy was just trying to get a value plan out the door for his quota. Either way, you have a voice in this matter, make sure you use it to get what you want!