[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Problems With AT&T/Cingular (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/4/2007 5:34:33 PM EDT
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Well after being a satisfied customer for 25 months I now find myself quite unhappy with AT&T/Cingular. Here's a quick rundown of my history with them and my current saga. November 2005-August 2007: No issues whatsoever. My phone plan is based out of Upstate NY, which is where I am for 8-9 months of the year. From May to August in the summer of 2006 and 2007 I was home in Maine. Where I am in Maine puts me outside of AT&T's towers and into a "Roaming" area. Since I don't get charged for roaming, I figured no harm, no foul. August 2007: I get a letter from AT&T telling me that I have been using too many of my minutes on non-AT&T towers and that my account has been flagged. I am instructed to call them and do so. When I talk to them I inform them of my situation and tell them I will be on AT&T towers for the next 8 months and that I won't be roaming for that long. The rep I am talking to says that would be great and that nothing further will come of the situation. December 2007: I get another letter from AT&T telling me that my off-network usage is concerning them and that I need to call them. I call them and the rep says that I have been using off-network towers too much lately. They say that as a result my phone will be restricted so that it will not make calls unless I am on an AT&T tower. When I ask him the last time I was off-network was he says 8/24/2007. I proceed to ask why the hell I am being punished for something that was supposedly resolved 3.5 months later. He tells me that he does not know and will refer this to his supervisor and will call me back. Today: A different rep calls back and tells me that my "appeal" to have the restrictions taken away has been denied. When i ask again why I'm being punished 3.5 months after the fact, he says he has to ask his supervisor and puts me on hold. He comes back and parrots his supervisor (quite obvious by his stammering) and says some jibber-jabber about roaming, appeals, etc. I proceed to tell him that I will be on AT&T towers until May of 2008, and ask again why I am being punished. He puts me on hold to talk to the supervisor again  15 minutes later: He tells me that at this point I have 2 options: transfer my phone number to a new carrier or cancel my plan entirely. Seeing as things are going down the shitter at this point, I ask what is going to happen with my phone. I tell him that I own an iPhone (a $400 iPhone no less) and since there is an exclusivity agreement with AT&T, it will effectively become a $400 paperweight once I leave AT&T. I ask him what AT&T plans to do to remedy this, and he goes to find his supervisor. 15 minutes later: He returns and tells me that AT&T is going to be canceling my account in the near future. As for the phone, they will reimburse me the cost of the phone and will let me keep the phone too. My first reaction is  and ask him if he's sure. He says that he is 100% sure that they will do this and pay me via check in the mail. He then says he will need to confirm some things but will call me back and notify me before the account is axed.I don't mind leaving AT&T, but I'm worried that he is full of shit when it comes to reimbursing me for my phone and letting me keep it too. Why would AT&T effectively lose $400 by paying me back for the phone and letting me keep it, instead of at least having me turn in the phone and get the $$ back. Paying me and letting me keep the phone runs contrary to all measures of corporate thinking. Has anyone heard of this happening? What can I do in the near future to ensure that AT&T won't leave me with the phone and no $$$ after canceling my account? Also, how is Verizon as a carrier?
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| Why are they complaining your using off network towers? Is it free minutes your burning up on off network towers? If so it sounds like they are not holding up their end of the contract you had to sign. Sounds like you need to send them a bill for a $400 fee for canceling the contract before it was up!!! |
The explanation they gave is that using a lot of the minutes on off-network towers costs them a buttload of money. |
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ATT started a policy that if you are roaming and using non ATT towers for most of your airtime they will cut you account. However, their phones never indicate that you are roaming so its impossible to know. All I can say is that I would file suit if they did that shit to me. -Foxxz |
I actually don't mind leaving AT&T, as long as I don't get stuck holding the bill. If they get rid of me, waive the early termination fee, and reimburse me for my phone, I will not be complaining. |
Umm, you have obviously never read a cellular agreement so I suggest you stop giving advise... |
Good luck with that. If they can't even log a conversation 3 months ago what are the chances of them remembering to do what they said they will now? You should charge them a $300 early termination fee. -Foxxz |
I got Cingular in 2003. Coverage was a bit weak in my area, but steadily improved over the past couple years. When AT&T bought them, coverage started to drop, little fees kept showing up, etc. Currently my phone has no signal most of the time, and is practically useless. I am seriously considering dropping my cell service entirely and just using my home phone and my work-provided cell phone for emergencies.... So, I say take the money (and the phone) and run. Rumor is that next year Verizon is going to open their network, so you could use the iPhone with them. I would imagine other service providers will follow suit if it is successful. |
| Get the iPhone unlocked and move to T-Mobile. They're GSM network just like AT&T. Use this service. They are very reputable. I Unlock They unlocked a RAZR I had and also fixed my Nokia 6270 firmware issues since th 6270 is a european phone it was not warranted here in the US nor do there service center fixes it. At least that was the case 2yrs ago. |
I think T-Mobile has even worse coverage in Maine I will probably be going to US Cellular. |
Yeah the contract with AT&T is ironclad. Apple could not make a CDMA iPhone. |
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I quit Cingular a few months ago and went to T-mobile after 2 years of incredible difficulty with placing cellular calls in the MD suburbs of DC. My wife and I had identical phones and would be within a mile or two of each other and we could only get through to each other ~40% of the time. Typically, we would get "missed call" messages within minutes or seconds of the attempts, or sometime the "missed call" message would show up a couple of weeks later. Cingular would make a big deal about not dropping calls. I figure that they kept the denominator down in that ratio by not making them in the first place. |
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We got that same exact roaming letter from them last year, then 2 months later we got another letter saying the first was a mistake and to ignore it...... Pissed me off when I got it because the only time I roam is out at the ranch and I might check in with family every 3 or 4 days and use 60 minutes a trip., and they send me that bs. I haven't heard anything else from them about it. |
Sounds like that iPhone of yours is eBay bound 
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If I get reimbursed for it and get to keep it, the sale on EBAY is pure gravy  I really like my iPhone too 
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ive had cingular/att for 9 years without any problems really. I did have to talk to 6 people to get my voicemail reset last week, but that was it. i also worked for cingular for 2 years. all the off network stuff is in your agreement and technically they can cancel you and dont have to give you anything. ETA: AT&T did not buy cingular out. cingular was co-owned by SBC and Bellsouth. SBC PURCHASED AT&T but kept the AT&T name. SBC/AT&T then purchased Bellsouth for whole ownership interest in cingular, then all they did was change the name of cingular. there was no conversion of accounts or different towers or anything. It was all smoke and mirrors. |
Which is why I'm walking on eggshells and trying to navigate this to a satisfactory conclusion.
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When AT&T transitioned to Cingular two years ago, I received new phones and all was well. Six months into the new contract I tried to add a line and was told I had a past due balance and couldn't get another phone. I went up the chain and was told it was a mistake and received my new phone. Two years later I receive a call from a collection agency at my employer for my cellular account. I called Cingular and they said they had no record of any balance due. I called the collection agency and they no longer had an account for me. The very next day, they called my employer again. I called the collection agency and they gave me another number for Cingular. Apparently, this balance was from when I transitioned my account two years ago. I asked if they had billing and payment history for the old account and they said no, they only had a balance due notice. We danced back and forth until I said screw it, I'll pay it. The rep then says "Well, we can do a one-time waiver for the amount of the balance, but you won't be able to do anymore charge backs." I got pissed and told her that for the past five years they sent me a bill and I paid the bill and didn't know what a charge back was. She said "Well, you won't be able to dispute the international service charges on your phone or any other billing issues during the rest of the contract." I explained that I've been traveling internationally and intended to pay my bill. When she tried to credit the account, she couldn't do it because she had to notify the collection agency first. She finally pulled it off and I asked that they send a zero balance statement, which I still haven't received. They better hope I do not receive some other crap from them. |
Yup I kicked their ass to the curb a few years ago and told them I didn't want their shitty service even if they offered it to me for FREE. Verizon is tha faschnizzle 
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Sounds like they need to build more fucking cell towers if they are going to take that BS defense. That's ridiculous. |
| I just got an iphone and AT&T a month ago or so. Great signal all the time, even inside when I'm at work, which is like a cell phone black hole. I'd be seriously pissed if they tried that shit with me. You're AT&T experience sounds like my dealings with Alltel before I switched carriers. |
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I haven't yet seen anyone mention the greatest cellphone/mobile resource on the whole internet: www.howardforums.com/ It's the ARFCom of the cellphone/mobile world. There are forums specifically for each of the major carriers and usually someone who can direct you to exactly the person at the carrier who can fix your problem. I have learned, working on nationwide (and sometimes international) teams at a Fortune 500 company that cell/mobile providers, just like real estate, are bound by one thing: Location, Location, Location. The best provider is highly dependent upon where you are. Though, I haven't yet met anyone who had a kind word about Sprint's notoriously hellish customer service. Everything else, every carrier, every brand of phone, etc. varies by region and country. FluxPrism |
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Try to hook up with Alltel if available... Great company, great service, you can change plans w/o messing with your contract, they don't get hinky with their phone like Verizon (lock features, etc), great company. Their phones are never the latest and greatest though. AT&T/Cingular sucks. |
Then they should take some of their profits and put up more towers. I bet iPhone sales would be 25% higher if AT&T's service didn't suck so bad. |
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I bought a brand new cellphone off the internet, was supposed to worl on CellularOne and satisfaction guaranteed. Rather than send it back for refund I located a place via internet that unlocked and made the cellphone compatable with CellularOne and his cost was very reasonable. I do npt know if the same can be done with your expensive phone but a teen age kid who was sharp on cellphones and electronics did his and it was on the National News some time back when those first hit the market... 
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Unsure, although IIRC the iPhone has some goofy service. I'm not sure if a standard data plan would work. If AT&T has better reception than T-Mobile in your area and you prefer a GSM phone, think about the N95-3 with a pre-paid plan. I doubt they could dump you with a pre-paid, although who knows. |
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I can almost guarantee they will not reimburse you for the phone. This isn't AT&T's fault, it's yours for roaming too much, so they have no legal responsibility to pay you back for the phone. ETA: Just read that they ARE sending you a check for the iPhone. Score one for you, that's awesome! Now ebay it. |
No you don't. You need a data plan to surf the net on the iPhone. You don't need one to make phone calls with it. |
No it's not. EVERY cell carrier does the same thing. You're paying them to use their towers, with a roaming agreement. They have to pay out when you roam and are use another company's towers. Hence, the stipulation that X amount of minutes used while roaming are grounds for contract termination. |
They seem to sell for more $$ on EBAY if they are unlocked. I wonder if it's worth getting the right firmware and unlocking it... |
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EVERY carrier out there has holes in their networks and pay smaller companies or competitors for roaming agreements. Most if not all carriers have penalties for using roamers as primary carriers, as this is quite expensive. Carrier "1" may suck in market "a" but excell in market "b". Carriers have towers in different locations, this is why service is better in some areas on some carriers. Remember, these are line of sight transmitters. They are not Sat phones. If you put something between your phone and the nearest tower, (hill, house, etc) your service will suck. Try asking for a "loaner" phone or a account with a short term no penalty cancellation clause. The phone may work great in your driveway but have no signal in your house.... Good luck finding the best carrier in your location. |
. I really am going to miss my iPhone