I have recently had a similar issue to this and am very interested if there is a breach of FCA regulations going on here. For me, I had a SIM only plan £16 a month for unlimited. It was great, I had an offer to upgrade as I was out of contract and as I was renewing my phone anyway, great. I wanted the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, loaded up the app, navigated to upgrade options, clicked on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, proceeded through no problem. Next day I recieve confirmation that the order had processed but was due for delivery over a month later. Due to the next day being the release date, I though the was a glitch and contacted Live Chat and was reassured this was a glitch. 

On the day the phone was released (i.e. the actual delivery date) i did not recieve my message from DPD confirming delivery so I contacted Live Chat again. ‘No your order has not been processed yet'. But I had an email stating the opposite. I asked the agent to cancel the order and I will go elsewhere as they couldn't give me any timescales or reasons. There were unable to do this and raised a complaint on my behalf.

Around 3 days later, I have a message confirming delivery from DPD. Luckly someone was in, the phone was delivered, GREAT! Oh wait, its a different number. Contacted Live Chat again… You must have ordered a new line rather than upgrading. NO I DID NOT! I know the process! I was then told that my only option is to return the device, I asked if i could take the phone number to another provider and back again to which they answered NO, this was against code of conduct and would cause a breach of contract. I escalated this to a complaint where i was told yes, I can do this. They were still adament that I had made the mistake however could not answer how they got my bank details considering I did not enter them (because they are not needed for an upgrade). At this point almost a month down the line, I am paying for 2 contracts.

Going back to sending the device back, I was told to return the device and to start the upgrade process again to keep my number, I was willing to do this although they would not answer the question if it was OK that the device was used as I had taken it out of the box and I didn.t really see the point as they had sent me the device so returning it to get a new one seems a bit far fetched, but if it sorted the issue then go ahead…. EXCEPT… I can no longer upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. I was told the i am not eligible. Now, how could that be. I'm sat here with the device in my hand under a ‘new account' surely if my credit rating does not make me eligible for this device, iD mobile should not give it to me in the first place right? regardless of me being an existing OR new customer? Considering I have hever made a late or missed payment, it would be better to give a ‘high tier' device to a loyal paying customer opposed to a new unknown trust level customer?

iD cannot give me a straight answer on this hiding behind ‘Policies' and up until this most recent upgrade, I was 100% iD mobile. This along with the poor Live Chat and complaints team now make me question the legitimacy of the business. Are the now the loan shark of the phone market? these ‘policies' which the cannot explain to their customers do not make sense which only leads me to believe that there is a breach of FCA regualtions which they are trying to cover up (Affordability and responsible lending, and double charging). I have seen multiple posts about this and this looks similar!

Just to update (having been notified about a reply on another thread), there has been absolute silence from iD on the formal complaint, so I can only assume that the issue has been closed with no resolution, and that my complaint has been brushed off as frivolous.

I have noticed from some more recent threads that the system no longer offers devices that the customer is not eligible for, which is an improvement, but there is still no visibility of the tier structure or device lists. I am very disappointed that there has been nothing said about agents being outright dishonest with customers - advising that I had failed a credit check, when there was no check carried out. Whether this was a matter of company policy, or just a member of staff trying to meet call closure targets, I cannot say, but the silence from iD on that part of the complaint speaks volumes about the attitude to paying customers.

Hi ​@P1nky.

Thank you for the update. I'm sorry to hear you feel your complaint has gone unanswered, that's certainly not the impression we want to give.

In terms of some insight on the tier structure: the upgrades made available to you are systemically calculated based on what you are currently paying on a month-to-month basis.

Regarding your formal complaint, including the point about being advised you'd failed a credit check when no check was carried out, we'd like to look into this properly.

Please could you contact us directly via https://www.idmobile.co.uk/live-chat with your complaint reference so we can chase this up for you?

Thanks,

Marquerita

The iD Mobile Team

I’m currently going through a similar issue, trying to find out why, existing customers are heavily persecuted on upgrade costs. See below!!!🤬

Poor retention, expensive upgrades

• 3 replies
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Why are my upgrade offers £10 plus more expensive than the offers for new customers, I assume ID are not interested in retention??

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Marquerita TANSWER

iD Mobile Employee

1 hour ago

Hi ​@Johnpaulc1990.

Thanks for your post.

Please be advised as you are already a paying customer the upgrades made available for you would be systemically calculated from what you were paying on a month to month basis whilst a new customer plan are cheaper due to the fact that we do not have history with them.

Therefore, their plans are cheaper so we cannot assess if they are able to pay the smaller or bigger amounts where as the upgrade are then calculated from system once the plans expire, if you upgrade you offered generally more than the new customer on a cheaper plan.

Thanks,

Marquerita

The iD Mobile Team

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Marquerita TANSWER

iD Mobile Employee

1 hour ago

Hi ​@Johnpaulc1990.

Thanks for your post.

Please be advised as you are already a paying customer the upgrades made available for you would be systemically calculated from what you were paying on a month to month basis whilst a new customer plan are cheaper due to the fact that we do not have history with them.

Therefore, their plans are cheaper so we cannot assess if they are able to pay the smaller or bigger amounts where as the upgrade are then calculated from system once the plans expire, if you upgrade you offered generally more than the new customer on a cheaper plan.

Thanks,

Marquerita

The iD Mobile Team

Did my comment help answer your question? If so, don't forget to mark the response as the Most Helpful Answer.

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Johnpaulc1990AUTHOR

New Contributor

10 minutes ago

Thanks for your response,

However, your explanation does not address the central issue. I understand that upgrade offers may take a customer’s existing plan and payment history into account, but that does not explain why an existing, paying customer is not being offered the same for an equivalent handset and plan, my upgrade options are more than £10 extra per month compared with a brand-new customer.

This pricing appears to disadvantage loyal customers. An established payment history should demonstrate reliability, not result in a higher price. The suggestion that new customers receive cheaper plans because iD Mobile has no history with them is not a satisfactory explanation and appears contradictory.

Please provide a clear explanation of:

1. Whether iD Mobile deliberately charges existing customers more for upgrades than new customers for equivalent deals.

2. Why existing customers are not eligible for the same promotional pricing.

3. What specific steps you can take to match the new-customer price or otherwise resolve this discrepancy.

I am not requesting preferential treatment. I am requesting equal and transparent pricing. If iD Mobile cannot offer the same deal, please explain precisely why and provide the best equivalent upgrade price available.

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Johnpaulc1990AUTHOR

New Contributor

9 minutes ago

Please answer, not with the generic reply as above I’ve read the exact same reply for other existing customer posts.