Reliance has finally revealed all the Terms and Conditions that go along with its new JioPhone on its website. While the handset will effectively cost consumers Rs 0, there are quite a few criteria which have to be met.
First of all, a person will have to spend at least Rs 1500 on recharges in a year, otherwise their Reliance JioPhone will be taken back by the brand. Not only that, they’ll also have to pay an Early Return Charge to the company. This ranges from Rs 1500 plus GST and taxes for less than a year, Rs 1000 between 1 and 2 years, and Rs 500 between 2 and 3 years.
Reliance notes that the original Rs 1500 deposit amount will be returned once the Early Return Charge has been dispensed with. If keeping within Jio’s rules, an owner would have to commit to Rs 4500 worth of recharges over the course of 3 years. None of this was mentioned at the time of the phone’s launch.
The same Early Return Charge will be levied if the JioPhone is handed back ahead of time by the user themselves. This is to be expected, but the telecom company could have informed purchasers of what to expect in case they were less than happy about their new device or wanted to give it up.
Also See: Jio offering Rs 10000 cashback, 70% buyback on iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus
Interestingly, while the JioPhone only supports Jio SIMs right now, there’s a clause in the Terms and Conditions which states that other compatible networks might get supported from time to time at the sole discretion of the company. You can check out the devices’s Terms and Conditions here.