The ad and the linked terms don’t say anything about the deal being available only for new customers and accounts. It’s the lack of transparency that really gets me.
Eh don’t love it but “first 24 months” implies ‘news accounts’ it to me.
No Black Friday deal for loyal/previous customers
Submitted 3 weeks ago by gedaliyah@lemmy.world to mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/f84e005e-90d4-49f9-9feb-cfa70bb4a888.png
Comments
KazuyaDarklight@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Jhex@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
the lesson is “loyalty is for suckers!”
Flickerby@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Every single company has this kind of thing. Same as drugs. First hit is discounted to get you hooked. You bought from me already? Full price, fucker
RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
I don’t actually get that with drugs, just legal things
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
English calls medicaments drugs too (why ever).
victorz@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
My church that I grew up in had this thing where coffee and pastry and stuff was free for first time visitors. Otherwise it was like $2 or whatever.
binarytobis@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I used to be a long-time AT&T customer. One time I wanted a new phone after a long time of being the ideal customer, so I looked into making a new contract. Called their hotline and the rep said “We only do deals for new customers, but you can buy a new phone for full price. It’s no problem.”
It seemed weird to me. Shouldn’t the long term customer loyalty be encouraged? I’m not locked into a contract any more, so why aren’t you worried about me jumping ship for a better deal? I tried explaining this to the rep in different ways, but they were genuinely confused. I finally told them “Alright, I’ll just get a deal through Verizon.” and he asked “Why? I don’t understand. I told you that you could buy a phone at full price?”
Never used AT&T again. I haven’t tried the same conversation with Verizon, because I won’t really have many viable options left if I boycott them too. I hear lots of people say “Well you can’t really blame them, it’s a smart move!” which seems weird to me because the smart move they made was to alienate me in order to get new customers. Of course I can blame them. Me blaming them was the acceptable loss they decided was OK.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s only a smart move if you assume nobody will ever call your bluff. Meanwhile my VPN sees I haven’t renewed yet and it’s about to end and they offer me a deal so good I just do a quick check they’re still good enough then accept it. I’m not loyal loyal, but I’ve been a subscriber since the pandemic and I will be for another 2 years at least.
For comparison, I prioritize internet as local carriers > spectrumcast > seriously consider larping as amish > AT&T. AT&T will just offer new customers limited wifi data at low speeds for more money than spectrum and get shocked you won’t switch. Meanwhile spectrum makes me and my wife have to swap who’s name the account is for every year or two to keep the good deal, except when they just sign a deal with the landlord for a mandatory fixed price as a part of my building/complex’s rent. Local carriers offer reasonable prices where I don’t feel the need to keep chasing introductory deals.
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 3 weeks ago
Check into USMobile - they’re effectively a reseller of services on all the major networks, for far less.
I’ve traveled across the US using it, and I see it connect to different vendor towers (Verizon, ATT, etc) with 5g a lot of the time.
At home my phone shows US Mobile, as soon as I leave I get Verizon 5G.
TheTetrapod@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I deal with this at one of my jobs. We offer the moon to new customers, but existing customers are constantly getting screwed over. People complain about it constantly, but corporations have no incentive to reduce the amount of money they’re receiving from you, which could open the doors to losing income from every other customer who decides to ask, when they can just roll the dice on whether you decide to go through the hassle of leaving. It’s scummy and I don’t agree with it on a personal level, but the agent you’re talking to has no power to change the system.
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
i wish agents would at least try to not be insufferable about it, tell me “yeah i know, that’s the way it is” or something so i don’t feel like i’m trying to communicate with some sort of advanced fungus colony…
shalafi@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Verizon was always the best for me. Moved to T-Mobile because Verizon wouldn’t activate my funky new phone. Promptly lost the phone and wish I had never changed. T-Mobile isn’t awful, but they are compared to Verizon.
Nanook@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Imma just leave this here.
Mullvad
aislopmukbang@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
port forwarding
CriticalMiss@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
AirVPN seems to be popular amongst torrenters I know
jim3692@discuss.online 2 weeks ago
I use a VPS for port forwarding. Maybe my case is more special, as I already had the VPS for web hosting.
shalafi@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Been beat up on here, twice, for suggesting people just roll their own. Took me a couple of hours of carefully following directions, never touched it again, been 6 years. LOL, don’t think I can even log into it anymore, key’s lost.
BaroqueInMind@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
I forgot to renew my license with Proton and lost access to my password vault service they offer. After that bullshit, I never will pay a single dollar to this dogshit company.
They pull shit like this in this meme and somehow the entire internet continues to glaze this companies’ nuts all day like it’s the manifestation of a messiah, almost as if they weren’t a for-profit corporation that only gives a fuck about money.
gedaliyah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’ve had similar frustrations with trying to a change a bundle of services. Once you add any service to your account, it’s basically impossible to remove. That’s why my account lapsed in the first place. I just wanted to remove the unused Proton drive. I had to cancel the renewal, wait for the current term to expire, and then purchase a brand new service with just the VPN.
I understand they are a business and they want to market their bundled services, but I also am more likely to patronize a company that respects user choice.
People trust them with their data, their photos, their browsing history, and their passwords. Their customer service policies do nothing to earn that trust.
Cevilia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Proton as a company is mildly infuriating all by itself.
Tikiporch@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s easy to become a new customer.
TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
I got annoyed with this too many times. Next to my paid Proton account I also have a free account so I see all the deals they offer me.
But to be fair, they don’t need to offer deals to their loyal customers because their service is really good which keeps those customers from walking away. So why offer them less paying deals when you don’t need those tricks to keep them? You just need to lure in new people then to get them hooked on your proper well made service.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
This is why Mullvad doesn’t do deals. The price is the same, regardless of whether you get a month or 5 years at once.
Aneb@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Idk what the big savings is with storage. I have 200GB from my plan but store abt 2 GB of photos and documents. Am I just not using proton to the fullest potential?
TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I use my NAS as storage. The only stuff stored on the Proton cloud is emails.
dangling_cat@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
I allow existing customers to use coupons :3 It’s kinda like a neat treat for people who carefully read my newsletters :3
simple@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
is this not standard for every service? black friday deals are usually one-time or everybody would keep renewing their subscription on prepetual sale every black friday.
gedaliyah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
being standard isn’t an excuse, it makes it even more egregious.
01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
That’s a US company thing. Maybe in other countries, too. But definitely a US company thing.
halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
And yet Proton is Swiss.
01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
Never said they weren’t. All I said was that it was a US company thing to do what they did.
TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
gedaliyah@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s unfortunate that that was not on any of the pages that I saw. I actually did look and I actually did read the terms and conditions to see if maybe that was the case.
I did let them know in my response that they should probably include that for legal reasons at the very least.
JelleWho@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Ans this is why you need a new persona, to make life cheap enough
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I love how businesses say “Fuck you, pay up.” to longstanding customers and blatantly tell you that the good stuff is only for new customers.
Fuck you, cancel my subscription.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea to give everyone the 20% off for the month or whatever? You’d be like “Yeah! What an awesome company!” and stick with them.
PETE_OPSEC@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
no use crying over spilled honeypot OP—small victories hide everywhere; just gotta know where and when to find em👍
gedaliyah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I believe in celebrating every small victory! To be honest, the main reason I wanted to post this is because it was a small hassle and I hope to help someone else avoid it.
I figure I’m probably not the only one on Lemmy who might be shopping for a VPN.
nothrone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Well it says it right there, it will renew at $80/12 months.
I’m sticking with proton cause I’m grandfathered in to their old plan
Deconceptualist@leminal.space 3 weeks ago
There was another deal for existing customers. OP probably just missed it.
gedaliyah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I didn’t miss it. You can pay double as an existing customer on the same two-year plan, which is still a discount from the “official” price. As far as I know, that’s not a Black Friday deal. It’s just their regular discount that they run periodically.
The frustrating part is only that they didn’t give any indication on the ad or the promotion or the terms that this was for new accounts only.
Deconceptualist@leminal.space 3 weeks ago
No, I mean there was specifically a Black Friday deal that IIRC was even better. I’m kicking myself for missing it, heh
Aneb@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I saw the new promo for proton duo, marketed as $119 for two users this black Friday. I spent $220 some dollars on an individual plan for a 2 year term for a single user abt 2 years ago. I want a prorated refund or a better deal on individual rates because this is becoming major bs the more I’m thinking about renewing my subscription
PineRune@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I think some of their Black Friday deals can be “upgraded” for existing customers, though. Like upgrading from just VPN to Proton Unlimited or whatever it is. But not staying in the same tier.
gedaliyah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’m a previous customer looking to start a new account. I never had any problems with their VPN, and the pricing is fair, but it’s hardly the only option out there.
They could have just labeled it for new customers only and I wouldn’t have an issue.
Instead, when I click on the offer, there’s an option to log in with an existing account. When you log in, the price doubles with no explanation. They could remove the option to log in from the deal, or they could have a simple pop-up or explanation when you log in that the deal is only for new accounts. Without any indication on the ad or the terms, or even after logging in directly from the ad, it creates a frustrating and mildly infuriating experience.
cobysev@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Meh, it’s a deal to get more subscribers. I’m not mad at them for not extending it to all users. It is a little shady that they didn’t make it clear it’s for new subscribers, though. If that’s their target audience, they should make it a little more apparent.
spongebue@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The lack of mentioning it in the fine print is a pretty valid beef, especially given that this is the Mildly Infuriating community
gedaliyah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yep. If it said “for new subscribers only,” I wouldn’t have bothered trying to set it up on my lapsed to count. It’s a waste of my time and theirs and slightly sketchy.
Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Tbf we can’t read the fine print, that’s what the terms and conditions hyperlink is for. This is just the offer
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
If it’s for new customers only the. Why do they advertise it in the program for paid users? I’m tired of seeing ads for things I can’t even take advantage of.
TBi@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That happened to me before. I immediately cancelled the new contract. I had told them before I signed up that I was an existing customer and they still sold me the deal. But then when I tried to avail of the lower rate they said no, because I was an existing customer.
Pika@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
From a company POV it’s probally meant to try and encourage you to let a friend know, but it seems that the page in this case might change upon login because it says to sign in to see your deals if you are an existing member