Carrier AT&T get your upgrade fees waived.

Thanks Captainobvvious! Yah saved me $42!!!

Big thanks to "Captainobvvious" for starting this thread! I just saved my Mom $42 bucks by getting that lame a$$ "upgrade fee" waived! Merry New Year Captain & Cheers!

Here's the transcript on my chat with an ATT Rep online that took all of 10 min's...named changed to protect the (not so) innocent.

Thank you for your patience! Your AT&T Representative will be with you shortly.

Welcome! You are now chatting with 'ATT Rep'

Me: Good evening. I recently signed a 2 year contract extension and upgraded to a new phone. I was hoping I could have my upgrade fee waived or credited to my account since I have been an ATT customer for many, many years.

ATT Rep: ‪Hi (Me) nice to have you in this chat with me. Thanks as well for being part of AT&T for these past years. Let me look in to the account and see what I can do for ‬
‪your request‬.

ATT Rep: ‪Thanks for waiting. I see the charge now‬ &‪ reviewed the account as well‬. ‪Let me work on waiving the fee now.‬

Me: Thank you.

ATT Rep: ‪You're welcome‬, o‪ne moment please‬

Me: I was just getting ready to pay my bill and was surprised to see that charge as I've experienced billing errors in the past.

ATT Rep: ‪I see‬, l‪et me waive it first before you process the payment‬

Me: Great, thank you again. Good start to the new year!

ATT Rep: ‪I agree ‬

ATT Rep: ‪Are you still logged in to *your account?‬

Me: Yes

ATT Rep: ‪The fee ‬has been‪ waived, to see the amount change please log out then log back in‬, t‪hen you can process the payment after‬

Me: Ok let me try.

ATT Rep: ‪sure‬

Me: Ok, I see it now. Thank You (ATT Rep), I appreciate it!

ATT Rep: ‪It's my pleasure‬, ‪will there be anything else for now?‬

Me: Nope, that's it. Have a good night & Happy New Year!

ATT Rep: ‪Same to you. Thanks for allowing me to assist you today, I hope you are satisfied with my service, as well as with AT&T.‬ ‪Happy New Year as well ‬

...good luck & remember the 4 P's, "Positive & Patient Perseverance, Pays-off!"

Cheers & Merry New Year!

Is this fee waiver a one time thing? I did it last year and everything went fine but the lady told me it was a one time waive so next year when I want to upgrade she can't waive it anymore. Has anyone gotten their fees waived more than once?

nolegirl01 said:

Is this fee waiver a one time thing? I did it last year and everything went fine but the lady told me it was a one time waive so next year when I want to upgrade she can't waive it anymore. Has anyone gotten their fees waived more than once?

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Give them a call. They do look through the account, so worst case is they say no.

I tried for the second time to secure the credit/waiver but the agent said that my discount from my employer does not allow for such a waiver. I proceeded to find out that my "FAN 20% discount" only applies to the base plan ($60) rather than the whole bill ($180). Unfortunate information to find out, however at least the agent was very nice and helpful. I give up though..probably won't be possible in my case

Got my activation fee waived!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that they are still waiving activation fees. BONUS: I was also able to increase my 8% discount to a 10% discount.

Here's a copy of my chat session:

John Mallard: Good thing I got you on chat today Paul! I can definitely assist you with that upgrade fee. Let's go ahead and check for the best possible options.

Paul: Thank you so much, John!

John Mallard: You're very much welcome!

John Mallard: A friendly reminder though, the upgrade fee is a standard fee that every customer is charged whenever they are having an upgrade.

John Mallard: Are you still with me Paul?

Paul: Yes, I am sorry. My computer froze.

John Mallard: Oh it's alright.

John Mallard: I'm on the process of doing the adjustment now.

Paul: I really appreciate it, John!

John Mallard: Oh thank you.

John Mallard: Can you log-out and log-in again so that you can see the changes on your account?

Paul: Yes, let me see. One second.

John Mallard: Sure go ahead.

Paul: Got it! $38.63 CR.

John Mallard: GREAT!

John Mallard: So what else can I help you with Paul?

Paul: Thank you so much for all of your help, John!!

Paul: I do have one question. My daughters are both in college and told me about the FAN discount, they are both on my plan. I currently have a discount from my business. Is there a way they can get the discount on their lines?

John Mallard: Let me go ahead and check that for you as well.

John Mallard: Alright it seems that we can only have one discount on the account though.

John Mallard: I'm very sorry.

Paul: I see. My daughter told me that she can receive 10-15% discount from her college. I currently receive 8%. Would it be possible to switch the discounts?

Paul: I can provide her email to validate the college discount.

John Mallard: Ofcourse!

Paul: Her email is __________________.

John Mallard: Kindly click this link for me then put her e-mail address there. After that she will receive an e-mail and that will do the trick.

Paul: I don't understand what the IRU means?

John Mallard: Oh it's your account, It means Individual-Regular and not a Company Account.

Paul: Oh I see. Okay, I will click on that.

John Mallard: Thank you.

John Mallard: She just needs to wait for the validation process to be completed and that discount will take effect.

Paul: Done! She just showed me how to do it. Fantastic 10%!!

John Mallard: That's wonderful!

Paul: Thank you so much for taking your time to help me with this process, John! You're an amazing AT&T representative.

John Mallard: It was a great pleasure chatting with you today and I hope I was able to give you extra-ordinary service. You do have a great day!

Chat session has ended.

Just got mine waived as well. I'm on a FAN program, so maybe that helps. I also adopted the "kill them with kindness" approach, but I always do that anyway with CSRs.

I just got mine waived from when I bought the iPad Mini Retina last week (I have a FAN discount fwiw). Kill 'em with kindness works (I did this before with my iPhone 5 about a year ago and they would not waive my fee, something about a new policy... I tried several times (being nice every time) to no avail... I wonder if they are loosening up with this "new policy").

AT&T Chat Session said:

Welcome! You are now chatting with 'Vanessa Jones'
Vanessa Jones: Hi co.ag.2005, let me help you in your bill, this is for what bill cucle?
Vanessa Jones: *cycle?
co.ag.2005: Good Morning Vanessa. This is for the current bill... the one that is $xx.xx, due on March 2
Vanessa Jones: ok
Vanessa Jones: Let us check your bill together, are you online?
co.ag.2005: I noticed that when I picked up my new iPad Mini Retina (which I love by the way), I was charged a $36 activation fee. I was hoping that you could get this fee waived for me since I've been a customer for such a long time! (from since the Cingular days!)
co.ag.2005: yes, I am online and have my bill in front of me
Vanessa Jones: ok let me check that as well
co.ag.2005: perfect, thank you!
Vanessa Jones: np
Vanessa Jones: As per checking , your account has an activation fee waiver, let me process waiving that fee for you.
Vanessa Jones: Please stay on the chat as i process
co.ag.2005: perfect, thank you very much!
Vanessa Jones: Your welcome
Vanessa Jones: Please continue to stay on the chat to confirm the process
co.ag.2005: ok, will do
Vanessa Jones: Thanks
Vanessa Jones: Have successfully processed the credit of 36. New balance is xx.xx.
Vanessa Jones: Changes can be seen in your account everytime you log in, you might want to check it now. Please open a new browser in checking and make sure to stay on this chat for us to confirm the changes
co.ag.2005: Ok, Let me open a new browser window. Thanks!
Vanessa Jones: ok. Please inform me once you see the change
Vanessa Jones: Your welcome
co.ag.2005: I can see the new charge of $xx.xx now. Thanks again for your assistance. I appreciate it!
Vanessa Jones: Your welcome

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Today's Response

I apologize, we are unable to waive the billed upgrade fee since it is a valid charge. However, I can give you $25.00 credit as one-time courtesy, and to help you lower your current bill.

Don't forget to do this come Friday

NatalieH said:

I apologize, we are unable to waive the billed upgrade fee since it is a valid charge. However, I can give you $25.00 credit as one-time courtesy, and to help you lower your current bill.

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I got part of that response too, I was told they cannot waive the fee as it is not a perk of our FAN discount and then was told there was no way to waive the fee because it is a valid charge (no credit or anything of that nature was offered).

I've spoken with two different people and both refused to waive the fee or even considered it as I was told each time I inquired that everyone must pay the upgrade fee, I was even told once on the phone that the fee is never waived for any reason (which is obviously untrue but whatever).

It's no big deal I'll just pay the fee, but it was worth a try. Glad to see it worked out well for some people though!

Sounds like they're tightening the purse strings.

Got my $40 fee waived.

Was flatly denied, in store. I haven't tried the online thing but I'm afraid of messing with the grandfathered unlimited data plan.

bmstrong said:

Was flatly denied, in store. I haven't tried the online thing but I'm afraid of messing with the grandfathered unlimited data plan.

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Just did chat and they did it for me.

solo118 said:

Don't forget to do this come Friday

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Is there an upgrade fee if you do AT&T Next?

orange42 said:

Is there an upgrade fee if you do AT&T Next?

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None with NEXT...

bmstrong said:

Was flatly denied, in store. I haven't tried the online thing but I'm afraid of messing with the grandfathered unlimited data plan.

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Asking to remove a fee does not change your plan. I have grandfathered unlimited data, grandfathered 1K text messages, and grandfathered 300 minutes phone plan. I chatted online and got the fee waived. I'm not changing my plan for anything because there is nothing cheaper.

Add my $87.25 to the list. The rep was awesome. Credited me for the incoming charges for both lines.

SCMedic said:

Add my $87.25 to the list. The rep was awesome. Credited me for the incoming charges for both lines.

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Yup! Other than being a tad slow, my rep did it without hesitation. Used lots of emojis too lol.

No luck here. I was told to try again after my next bill posts. Just talked to a second rep and they noticed I had just spoken to another.

Edit: However, she waived it! Perfect.

12vElectronics said:

Yup! Other than being a tad slow, my rep did it without hesitation. Used lots of emojis too lol.

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Mine too. The chat was slow, but Jessica was so damn friendly and willing to help. I was really impressed.

Just got my two upgrade fees waived -80 total (technically they put instructions on my account for them to be waived once they show up on their end) ordered through apple store app.

I had my upgrade fee refunded, well removed from the next bill. Thanks! I didn't even think of doing that.

Funny, I hear all the complaints about AT&T customer service, but I have always had very good luck with them. Especially with the online support. I have been around since they bought Cingular.

Thanks!

SCMedic said:

Mine too. The chat was slow, but Jessica was so damn friendly and willing to help. I was really impressed.

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Had one of my friends stop by work and we got his taken care off as well. AT&T is understanding that removing stupid fees like that keep customers happy for a long time!

I was able to get the $40 fee removed also.

I used the line from the first page and it worked!

"Good evening. I recently signed a 2 year contract extension and upgraded to a new iPhone. I was hoping I could have my upgrade fee waived or credited to my account."