Lately we've decided to put phone reviews aside — but only a little — to bring you analysis of other things, such as the services offered to us by our beloved mobile operators.

This is how I decided to try the Claro operator service called “Claro Up” which has been offered in our country for some time to compete directly with “Movistar One” from the Spanish operator Movistar, a service that I also wanted to try.

My trial began on October 30, 2020, since on November 5 I turned 10 years old in this world of reviews, operators, and technology, and I wanted to celebrate it with the acquisition of a foldable smartphone, specifically the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2.

As we all know, the equipment when it arrived in Chile was quite expensive, reaching almost 2 million pesos, something that personally made it impossible for me to be able to afford it, but I wanted that smartphone no matter what, and that's when I remembered the Movistar One and Claro Up services.

After asking many questions and reading a lot on the internet, I found out how these programs worked and I must admit that I was interested in trying Movistar One first, so I went to their branch located at Apoquindo 3500, Las Condes.

Experience with Movistar One

On October 30, 2020, I arrived at said branch, they welcomed me with the corresponding receipts due to the pandemic, I waited my turn and then I was attended by a kind executive, although unfortunately I don't remember her name.

I explain that I want to switch to Movistar with the Movistar One program and that I would like to take the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. The executive asks me for my RUT and makes an evaluation.

The result? The executive tells me that unfortunately my "score" is insufficient to complete the application. I ask the executive what it is based on to obtain said score, and she tells me that she doesn't know, but that the system shows that the score is not enough for me to join the company, much less to get equipment with the Movistar program One.

I explain to the executive that I have several credit cards, one of them with a quota that exceeds a million, I have VTR fixed services contracted, I have four mobile lines in Entel, I have no debts and that I have a stable job. However, she tells me that the score is not enough and that she can't do anything. In fact, the executive tells me: “Try to come next Thursday, since sometimes the system gives less scores at the end of the month because people have to pay their debts first”…

All of the above was posted that same day on my personal Twitter account:

After being practically rejected by Movistar, I went home sad and without the team I wanted. However, they surprised me with something that I will comment on later.

Experience with Claro Up

I didn't give up, so on November 3 I started browsing the Claro Up website, and there was the Z Fold 2 that I wanted so much, so I pressed the "I want it" button, entered my requested information and they agreed to call me.

A few minutes later, an executive calls me to complete the process. He asks me again for my personal information and tells me the price I have to pay to acquire the equipment, and in general he gives me a summary of the entire process that I will explain below.

Short story, the executive tells me that everything is ready and asks me if the next day I can go to the Claro branch of the Mall Costanera Center to sign the contract and look for the Z Fold 2. My happiness was at its best, for to which I replied that I could.

On November 4, I take a car to the Costanera Center Mall and suddenly my cell phone rings, I answer, and it was the Movistar executive who attended me the other day. She tells me: "Don Jonathan, I am calling you to tell you that we are waiting for you at the Movistar branch to start the contract with Movistar One so that you can take the Z Fold 2 with you."

I was totally impressed with that call (and I was also wondering how they got my mobile number), and I ask the executive what happened to my score that didn't reach me, and she replies that now the system shows that yes it reached me I tell him that right at that moment I am on my way to Claro to sign a contract with Claro Up and that I was already committed to them, but in the same way I told him that in case something went wrong, I would go to Movistar.

The surprised executive tells me that she was very sorry for what happened and that she would be waiting if she finally decided to go to Movistar. After that she did not know more about them.

Well, I got to Claro excited, I went through the entire process to sign the contract, plus the porting process, I paid the 12 installments with my credit card and I finally had my precious Galaxy Z in my hands Fold 2. And to my surprise, there was a Samsung promoter in the store and she tells me that my Z Fold 2 came as a gift with a Galaxy Watch 3 and a one-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365. I couldn't be happier that day .

Claro Up service costs

Now comes the most interesting part of this review: How much did I pay for all this?

The Claro Up program consists of paying a down payment, plus 12 interest-free rental installments. And when one year of the contract is over, you have the right to return the equipment and take another one, again paying an initial payment and another 12 installments.

In my case, I paid a down payment of $49,990, which I paid with my debit card. And then I had to pay $900,000, which was divided into 12 interest-free installments of $75,000, which I paid with my credit card.

That was all I paid that day to get the Z Fold 2. So, if we add the initial payment, plus the 12 installments, it comes to a total of $949,990, which for me became something much more affordable to be able to have the Z Fold 2, which was $1,999,990 at the time.

The program is supposed to last 18 months in total, but Claro only charges you for the first 12 months, and that's when you have to return the equipment and make a new contract. However, you have the option to keep the team, as long as you pay the rest of the remaining fees, which are 6.

So, if I wanted the device to be mine under the Claro Up program, I would have had to pay a total of $1,350,000 (the 18 installments without interest), saving $649,999, compared to if I had bought it without the Claro Up program (the equipment on the market was worth $1,999,990).

As you will see, in the case of the Z Fold 2, it was convenient to purchase it with Claro Up. I had forgotten that you must also add the cost of the Claro mobile service plan, which in my case was $13,990.

What happens when I'm 12 months old?

The review isn't over yet, dear reader, since I still need to comment on my experience when I'm one year old.

On September 8, 2021, I received an unexpected SMS from Claro informing me that, as of October 8, I could renew my equipment at any branch.

Then, on October 12, I received another SMS from Claro informing me that I could now change my equipment at any open branch.

I wanted to trade in my Z Fold 2 for the new iPhone 13 Pro Max at the time, but the device hadn't arrived yet, so I decided to wait until the end of October to see if the device was available and ready to trade it in.

Despite the fact that the iPhone 13 was already available to normal customers, the iPhone 13 Pro Max was not available in any branch, there was no stock, and I was already worrying because it was going to go to month 13 and Claro would have to charge me another $75,000 more, which is obviously not the ideal of the Claro Up program.

The month of November passed and the equipment was still out of stock, and just on November 23, I received the Claro service bill and I see that they charged me fee number 13 of $75,000.

Here I stop for a bit, since there should be some option to notify Claro that I had every intention of renewing my equipment and thus they do not charge me the other fees, since it is not my responsibility that the operator does not have or does not ensure sufficient stock of high-end equipment for Claro Up customers.

In the end, I had to pay installment number 13 of $75,000. However, that same day I decided to go out and visit all the Claro branches in Santiago until I found the iPhone 13 Pro Max that I wanted in stock.

Finally, the people from Claro's support area on Twitter helped me find available stock so I wouldn't have to go all over Santiago, until we found stock of a single unit at the Huérfanos branch. Obviously I ran there.

I arrive at the branch, I explain to them that I had to return the equipment through the Claro Up program. They ask me for my Z Fold 2 (only the equipment), they check it completely until they make sure that the equipment works correctly and that it is the unit that they gave me, because they even checked the IMEI.

Once this process has been carried out, the executive proceeds to carry out the contract again for the 256GB iPhone 13 Pro Max (there was no less capacity), so I will explain what I had to pay.

I had to pay an initial payment of $79,990 (this depends on the plan you contract, I have the MAX L of $13,990, the more expensive the plan, the less the cost of the initial payment).

And the 12 installments are now $47,000, for a total of $564,000. However, on this occasion, Claro combined the initial payment and the 12 installments in a single charge (without asking me), so I ended up paying $643,900 divided into 12 interest-free installments of $53,658.

Considering that the 256GB iPhone 13 Pro Max is on MacOnline for $1,349,990, with the Claro Up program I'm saving $706,090 for having the iPhone Pro Max of the year for 12 months.

Now, if I decide not to return the iPhone and pay the remaining 6 installments, that would give me a total of $925,990, saving me $424,000 compared to buying it directly from MacOnline.

What happens if my equipment is stolen or damaged?

At least in the case of Claro Up, the contract includes insurance against theft, damage and electrical failure and/ or mechanical by BCI Seguros Generales S.A.

In my personal case, I did not have the opportunity to use the insurance. However, you can read how this insurance works in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section of the Claro Up site by clicking here.

Conclusion

Although I was not able to fully test the Movistar One service, it is urgent that they fix or improve that assigning "scores" to people and whether or not one can hire depends on that services with the operator.

Despite the fact that later they called me again to invite me to be a client, I still felt a bit discriminated against at that moment when they told me that they could not provide me with services because my score was not enough. I don't even want to imagine how many customers they have lost because of that system.

Now, as for Claro Up, I must say that at first everything was perfect and they were the ones that finally accepted me without any kind of discrimination, and the truth is that the service worked super well during the first year.

Unfortunately things didn't go so well when I had to change teams. The lack of stock of the model I wanted played a trick on me and I ended up practically giving away $75,000 for something that is not my fault, and that they do not warn you about in the Claro Up program either.

Despite the fact that the operator had other devices available at that time, none compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 2 it had at the time, only the iPhone 13 Pro Max found it fairer, and for that reason it wanted to change it for that team.

For this reason, I insist that Claro should apply a system where the client can notify that on the day it was their turn to change equipment, the client had the full intention of changing it, but the operator did not have enough stock of the requested equipment , so the charge of one more fee is forgiven until the client can have the equipment they want.

And if you do not want to apply the above, then make sure you have a stock reserved for your Claro Up clients.

The other thing that I did not like is that, in the case of the iPhone, there was no option to choose the color of the team, unlike Movistar One that offered the iPhone 13 in all its existing colors and variants.

I got the 256 GB iPhone 13 Pro Max in graphite color, when I wanted the 128 GB Sierra Blue, but I had no choice but to choose the first option.

Have you tried the Movistar One or Claro Up services? Tell us in the comments to also know your experience.