B.O.H.I.C.A.

We went to T-mobile to re-up our cellular contract and get new phones today.
The phone I had my eye on had a sign saying that after a $50 mail-in rebate I could have it for $49.99.
That's more than the free Nokia phone I got last year, but hey, I have a good job, so I thought I'd splurge.
The kind man at the store, however, soon broke to me the news that I could only have the phone for $49.99 if we signed a 2 year contract.
I'm not into 2 year contracts. It's just a matter of crappy phones not lasting that long, and me not wanting to pay for "phone insurance" just incase I break the cheap piece of plastic before 22 months is up and I'm eligible to replace it - providing I sign another 2 year contract.
So the kind man at the store told me that if I wanted a 1 year contact I'd have to pay $99.99 (After rebate) for the phone I'd selected.
After some deliberation, we decided that was going to be the best thing to do.
But then another kind (even if incompetent) man told me that the phone would actually be $149.99.
I said, nicely, "No. It's not. It says $99.99 right over there."
He said we weren't eligible to replace our phones.
I told him that yes, we are. We're on a 1 year contract and it ends at the end of the month, clearly placing us in the "after 11 months" percentile that is specified on the T-mobile website.
After several minutes of waffling (indeed, he was incompetent) he told us that we didn't qualify because our monthly plan is only $59.99.
In order to qualify to replace our phones, we would have to have a contract for $70 or more.
That is why the phone would cost $149.99. We didn't qualify to replace our phones and so would not get the rebate.
Neat.
I thanked him for his time and walked out of the store.
We will be changing over to Cingular after all.
Crozer offers a 24% discount on the monthly bill and a 49% discount on phones through Cingular.
T-mobile can bite me.
Even if their spokesperson is Catherine Zeta Jones.