Whats the catch with those “lifetime discount” deals? Do they actually let you keep this contract for as long as you want?

by Alexx_FF

30 comments

  1. I am looking for a second phone contract just for work related stuff and see a lot of those “lifetime” discount deals, what am I missing?

  4. in my experience, the price is real. however, the “what’s included” and especially the “unlimited internet” likes to change over time, especially for internet outside of europe

  5. Salt is shit, they increased my so called lifetime deal. And unlimited internet abroad.., but if you use too much they cap the speed.  I changed to another provider.

  6. The catch is that it’s a lifetime contract on the discount and not the price so they can increase the base cost and your price will also increase.

  7. It only means, that after the minimum contract duration, you will not be charged more. They can change the terms and then you can terminate if you disagree. There is no obligation that they need to keep these terms forever.

  8. Most of the times the contract has a minimum period Eg 2 years and in order to make any change you need to wait for the period to expire. For example if you want to cancel the contract or change operator you need to wait for the minimum period or pay the difference. Exception is if you leave the country

  9. No, had one that expired after two years and they tried to “upgrade” me to a more expensive one after the two years. They also increased the price bcs of “everything gets more expensive so we increase your monthly price too”. Just call them and say you quit if you dont get the same or better deal. Worked so far for me.

  10. Lifetime discount does not mean lifetime price cap.

    If the price changes, your discount stays the same.

    It’s a marketing gimmick.

    Example:
    – Initial price at signup 50 and “lifetime discount” of 10, cost 40

    – Surprise! Price change! New price 70, same lifetime discount of 10, new cost 60

  11. I’ve had my lifetime-discount-super-duper-abo since 2020 and they didnt change the price

  12. In my experience the absolute discount is lifetime, not the final amount. So let’s say original it’s 40, discount 30, you pay 10. The discount stays, but with the overall price increasing to 50, the discount 30 only brings you down to 20.

  13. Here an article discussing this: https://www.konsumentenschutz.ch/online-ratgeber/was-gilt-bei-werbeversprechen-wie-lebenslanger-preis-oder-rabatt/

    From your handle (Geneva) I assume you don’t speak German, so here a summary:

    * Lifetime **Price**: The telecom provider is not allowed to change the price at any point in time, even if their small print says they can. It is simply not allowed. But they may still terminate the contract whenever the contract allows them to.

    * Lifetime **Discount**: The telecom provider is allowed to increase the price, as long as the discount rate to the non-discounted price stays the same. E.g. if you buy it at a discount of 10% and the non-discounted price increases, they may also increase yours, as long as yours is still 10% cheaper. Those price increases are often under scrutany and you have to check with them/ price watchers if it is correct or not.

  14. I took the offer from Yallo two years ago. Was more than half of what I paid with UPC before and the only thing that happened in the last two years was an increase of CHF 1.- for each (mobile & home internet). Which is still more than half of what I paid before so… 🤷‍♂️

  15. > Do they actually let you keep this contract for as long as you want?

    The contract, yes. The fee will be adjusted according to inflation or whatever. This year they did one such adjustment and even though it was a marginal price increase (in my case from 19.9 to 20.4 or such), they did change the price.

  16. I have Salt. The thing is, they always have a discount, all year long. Now it’s Black Friday. Then Christmas, the new year, then Easter then summer etc. Etc. The prices is always around 29chf, it never is 80. I bought a contract with them 5 years ago, and after it ended they said that if I renew it, it will still be as cheap, so I did. I think overall in the last 5 years they increased my bill by 4 chf only. They are always cheap.

  18. I’ve had one with yallo for years, they never changed the price.

  19. The “lifetime discount” is legit, meaning your discount (66% for example) would stay the same even if price increases.

    However, here’s the real catch:

    That discount is actually a fake discount. 27 fr is what that subscription would cost anyways, or otherwise slightly more in other non-super discount periods. But guess what.. they barely increase the price for a limited time just to avoid the law of “fake advertising”, and then come back straight after with another very similar offer.

    If I can recommend, go with one of their sub-brands. Salt would be Go-Mobile (uses the same network), Sunrise would be Yallo (uses Sunrise network), Swisscom would be Wingo (uses Swisscom network). It’s the exact same subscription, just cheaper because on a different brand, but owned by the same parent company.
    The only thing that Salt / Swisscom / Salt adds it’s usually some “”free”” smartphones / tablets /PS5 etc for a very overpriced subscription.

  20. Only works because people have super short term memory.

    What would you do with a super discounted subscription from the 2010s? Like, capped to an early 3G connection.

    Tech evolves so fast, there really is no risk promising you a lifetime subscription with set characteristics.

  21. I believe these are the actual prices. Last time I was shopping for a phone plan, 25-35 chf was the price range for unlimited data in europe (after haggling a bit, always haggle if you go in person)

  23. Never ever take Salt,take yallo or wingo without contract or activation fees

  24. The big thing as a users with all these offers that aren’t fixed term contract (or if you don’t buy a phone with it) is that don’t get attached, be ready to move contract if there’s a better offer (considering the activation fees).

  25. Lifetime in the area of mobile providers is usually 8 years. The catch is that the speed is fixed at the current level.
    If, due to technological leaps, 6g is on the market in 2 years and the “normal download speed is 100gb/s, you are not entitled to an increase
    (The values are of course fictitious for the speed and only serve as an explanation)

  26. My Salt is 7 years old and every year the harass me to get “a new amazing” deal but I show middle finger because my deal is unlimited EU for 24.9

  27. What is likely to happen is that prices will continue to go down and you’ll keep this deal and they won’t notify you of other offers even when they advertise them under the same name.

    I had one of those and was misled as to what it contained because their website only had the new version listed that had data in France. I didn’t know I had the older version. I had to dispute the cost and insist to be moved to the new plan.

  28. I love it how they sneakily try to conceal the fact that calls **from** Switzerland **to** the EU are not included. Which is what people usually expect from a “Europe Max” plan that costs CHF 82.95 (undiscounted).

  30. I’ve used yallo for over 6 years and it’s been great. These discounts are legit and those who don’t take advantage are missing out. I don’t understand why people would pay the crazy Swisscom rates.

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