O2 and T-Mobile returned to the upgrade market this month after a three-month period where both operators had reduced subsidies on certain handsets and were offering discounts to customers who didn’t upgrade.
O2 vigorously denied in October 2008 that its move to offer a £15-per-month discount to customers who delayed their upgrades was a result of pressure to maintain cash until the end of the financial year.
The operator said at the time that the upgrade offer was about ‘allowing customers to save money, particularly in these credit crunch days’.
One O2 dealer said this week: ‘I thought the credit crunch was still here, and joined by a recession for good measure. If the offer really was all about helping customers, they would carry the offer into 2009.’
In defence of both networks, they continued to offer upgrades throughout the period.
An O2 spokeswoman said: ‘We regularly run short-term customer offers. This offer ran at the back end of 2008, customer interest was extremely low and so we did not extend it.’
O2 also brought back rich subsidies on high-end handsets one week before Christmas, making them free on £35-per-month tariffs after previously only being available for free on £75-per-month deals.