Lied to by Bell rep about hardware upgrade

I don't mean to be negative but after this I'm really considering switching providers. I've been with Bell for 3.5 years now and rarely had any problems until this last year. The biggest problem being recently when I was lied to about being eligible for a hardware upgrade. I went in to the Bell store to see when I was eligible and they told me November 21st. I thought "awesome, only a month away." So I picked out my new phone and went back in on November 21st to upgrade. I was then told that I was only getting a $50 credit instead of the $200. I was furious. They told me that sometime during my contract they changed their policy and now only give full upgrades after 2 years instead of 18 months. I knew this, which is why I went in to ask in the first place. They had told me that because I signed my contract before the switch, I would still get the full $200 upgrade. The guy at the store then told me that the upgrade isn't actually part of the contract at all, and while the rep shouldn't have told me that it was, there's nothing they can do. I then called Bell customer service and vented some of my anger on them, and found out that all your contract is good for is that they can't change your base plan rate without telling you. Not that they can't change it, they just have to tell you first. And they can change anything else, like the service fees and everything without telling you as well. I can say one thing for sure, I'm getting everything in writing from now on and I am never going to trust them again.

Ok, there's some errors in this.

Yes, if the hardware upgrade policy changed, then yes, it affects you. Partial rebate is at 18 months, full rebate at 24 months. The rep told you that you were eligible on November 21st. He didn't lie, you are, just not for the full rebate. Perhaps a miscommunication on his part.

Contracts lock in your rate plan. It CANNOT be changed during your contract term, notice or no notice, they simply can't. Features, such as Caller ID, voicemail, etc, can be changed on you, as well as the system access fee and e911 fee, provided they give you 30 days written or verbal notice (usually it's a letter or bill insert). Once you are off contract, they can change your base plan on you, again they must give you 30 days notice.

They did definitely directly lie to me. I asked specifically about the rebate, because I knew it had changed. I asked if I would get the usual $150 after 18 months like it used to be, or if I would get the full $200 that it is now. She said I was lucky because I only had to wait 18 months but still would get the full $200 rebate. The whole bit with the contract seems to change every time I call in and ask about it so you may well be correct about that. I think that's basically what I said anyways, just worded different.. but either way, they (and all phone companies in general) are shady and it's unfortunate. I signed up with Bell when they were a lot smaller in the cell phone department and they had the best of everything.. best rate plans, deals, customer service, everything. Lately (in the last year or so) everything seems to have gone downhill. Unfortunately I don't think any of the other companies available around here are any better though so I may as well stick it out. I'm on the corporate rate plan so at least I can't complain about that. I didn't post this just to be negative towards the company, I think I just basically wanted to pass on the wisdom of writing down names and employee numbers when you talk to them, have a little information to back yourself up if anything happens. The manager in the store said if I knew who it was that I talked to he might have been able to do something for me but wasn't about to grill every member of his staff. I definitely learned my lesson