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T-Mobile is making it easier for customers to switch mobile phones as many as three times a year under its newly revamped JUMP! On Demand program, while also now allowing customers to pick up the new devices with absolutely no money down.
The updated JUMP! On Demand rules were announced by T-Mobile CEO and President John Legere on June 25 as a way to help customers have more freedom and fewer hassles in switching phones. The company’s original JUMP! Program began in July 2013 and allowed customers to switch devices twice a year after a six-month waiting period.
“While the carriers are breaking every promise they’ve ever made with their knock-off upgrade programs, we’re racing full speed ahead, making one of our most popular moves even better,” Legere said in a statement. “JUMP! On Demand is the best way to get a new smartphone whenever you want. Zero out the door. Zero at upgrade. Zero fees. Zero wait. Zero BS.”
Under the new JUMP! Program, which begins June 28, customers will be able to trade in their mobile phones up to three times a year in a participating T-Mobile store where its condition will be evaluated, according to the company. The customer will then be able to obtain their new phone and walk out without paying anything that day for taxes, fees or any other costs, said Legere.
The payments the customers will make following that pick-up visit will then include the costs of the new smartphone, service fees and taxes. A previous $10 monthly fee for participating in the original JUMP! Program has been scrapped under the revamped plan, saving customers that amount each month.
The new rules for the JUMP! On Demand plan mean that T-Mobile customers could potentially get six new and different smartphones in two years, compared to the one smartphone that is allowed by the terms of a Verizon Wireless two-year contract, according to Legere.
A customer’s monthly payment under JUMP! On Demand is expected to be about the same as it would be with regular financing, according to the company.
More than 10 million customers signed up for the original JUMP plan in its first two years, according to the company. Those customers have upgraded their smartphones about 30 percent faster than other customers, usually about every 14 months compared to the industry-average of nearly 20 months, according to T-Mobile.
Apple’s latest iPhone 6 models are even available under the JUMP! On Demand program for a limited time. An iPhone 6 with 16GB can be purchased for $15 a month with JUMP! On Demand when a customer trades in a current working smartphone.
Under the program, customers will make payments on their devices for 18 months and then can turn it in at the end with nothing more owed, or they can upgrade to a new phone and plan. They also have the option to make a final payment and keep their existing device. If a customer keeps the phone and makes the final payment, the total of the payments will equal the retail price of the phone, according to T-Mobile.