AT&T is No Longer Waiving Upgrade Fees

Middiebear · Feb 4, 2013, 09:18 PM

Head's up, there has been a policy change and all AT&T customer service representatives are being instructed to no longer waive the upgrade fee/activation fee.

It's a policy change that is out of AT&T's CSR's hands and no amount of escalating or complaining will get the fee waived.

However, if you have a FAN discount and it is part of your FAN discount to have the fee waived, a special exception can be made.

Otherwise don't waste your time trying to get the fee adjusted.

iErick · Feb 4, 2013, 09:24 PM

I just learned this the other day. I have never paid an activation fee or upgrade fee on any of my 5 lines. I have always called and just asked for it to be waived and they did.

When I called the other day to have an activation fee waived, they informed me of the new policy. She also informed me of the FAN discount being the only way they can waive it. Luckily my FAN discount allowed for waived activation/upgrade fees. (University of Michigan).

Diseal3 · Feb 4, 2013, 10:19 PM

Guess they are following Verizon with this notion.

Jordan921 · Feb 4, 2013, 10:32 PM

That's pretty wack!

Applejuiced · Feb 4, 2013, 10:37 PM

That sucks.
Good thing I gotall 4 done before that went down.

F123D · Feb 5, 2013, 12:58 AM

That's fine. Next time I upgrade, I'll ask for credit on my account in the amount of an activation fee.

pnoyblazed · Feb 5, 2013, 09:08 AM

glad I got both mine waived months ago

itjw · 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by F123D

That's fine. Next time I upgrade, I'll ask for credit on my account in the amount of an activation fee.

And unless your FAN account waives it, they will deny you.

Sorry, but if you want to upgrade they can charge you whatever they want unless they've agreed not to. I'm surprised with all of the "whine until they give in" threads throughout the internet on this topic they haven't cracked down sooner.

I feel bad for the reps. They don't set policy but probably got so used to just giving it away to everyone that complained that now their life is going to be really fun. Especially dealing with people who think they can escalate their way into not paying anything...

maxosx · Feb 5, 2013, 07:29 PM

Wrong.

The policy has not changed, they've simply begun to enforce it.

Now it's up to those who are experienced negotiators to prevail.

It is within ones realm to avoid it. I did.

itjw · Feb 5, 2013, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxosx

Wrong.

The policy has not changed, they've simply begun to enforce it.

Now it's up to those who are experienced negotiators to prevail.

It is within ones realm to avoid it. I did.

Yup, with a fan number...

Otherwise, prove it

Nathan21585 · Feb 5, 2013, 09:44 PM

The policy did just go into effect that they can no longer credit it back after the fact. They can however waive it during the upgrade.

AutoUnion39 · Feb 5, 2013, 10:35 PM

I have no issue with this. I've gotten so many bill credits for basically no reason at all, i'm not going to complain.

AFDoc · Feb 6, 2013, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by F123D

That's fine. Next time I upgrade, I'll ask for credit on my account in the amount of an activation fee.

bingo! I'll never pay an activation fee...... Why do I need to pay them for the privilage of using their service? They should pay ME for using their service. They won't waive the fee I'll move on and take my several hundred dollar bill/month with me. I bet they would rather lose $30 for an activation fee than my $250+ a month bill.

IF they want to keep me they will make it happen, if not, see ya later. I will go to another carrier and pay what ever upgrade fee they have than stay with AT&T and paying a fee I shouldn't pay as a long time user.

mattopotamus · Feb 6, 2013, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AFDoc

bingo! I'll never pay an activation fee...... Why do I need to pay them for the privilage of using their service? They should pay ME for using their service. They won't waive the fee I'll move on and take my several hundred dollar bill/month with me. I bet they would rather lose $30 for an activation fee than my $250+ a month bill.

IF they want to keep me they will make it happen, if not, see ya later. I will go to another carrier and pay what ever upgrade fee they have than stay with AT&T and paying a fee I shouldn't pay as a long time user.

That is a little extreme...when I upgrade at my subsidized price of $449....what's another $30. It's not like they go "surprise" upgrade fee!

F123D · Feb 6, 2013, 12:04 PM

When you've finished your carrier contract, you have options. A quick call to cancellation dept before upgrading and they'll more often than not see what they can do to keep you as a happy customer.

This is why AT&T can get away with $20 for unlimited texting, because customers just bend over and take it.

617aircav · Feb 6, 2013, 12:11 PM

They will still waive it for legitimate reasons and not just because you dont want to pay it.

keitarou · Feb 6, 2013, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 617aircav

They will still waive it for legitimate reasons and not just because you dont want to pay it.

Not wanting to pay it is legitimate since it's a bogus fee.

caliwolv · Feb 6, 2013, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by F123D

When you've finished your carrier contract, you have options. A quick call to cancellation dept before upgrading and they'll more often than not see what they can do to keep you as a happy customer.

This is why AT&T can get away with $20 for unlimited texting, because customers just bend over and take it.

Loving my $5 for 200 messages + iMessage.

lulla01 · Feb 6, 2013, 04:35 PM

Just calculate the amount of revenue this fee generates for the company out of this air, daily it probably adds millions of dollars in revenue.

bryanc28 · Feb 6, 2013, 04:56 PM

I love it. You guys think you are gonna get away with not having to pay future activation fees. Well, good luck. I had a b**ch of a time convincing them to drop an activation fee for a phone I returned. They thoroughly checked that it was indeed a returned phone. This was after an hour of being on the phone with AT&t. They are not going to waive your future activation fees period.

keitarou · Feb 7, 2013, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bryanc28

I love it. You guys think you are gonna get away with not having to pay future activation fees. Well, good luck. I had a b**ch of a time convincing them to drop an activation fee for a phone I returned. They thoroughly checked that it was indeed a returned phone. This was after an hour of being on the phone with AT&t. They are not going to waive your future activation fees period.

More reason's to jump carriers. That way they will finally see customer turnover is high and get rid of these dumb fees.

tgif1386 · Feb 7, 2013, 11:38 AM

Change to T-Mobile prepaid.

randy98mtu · Feb 7, 2013, 11:41 AM

This sucks. I want to know what kind of credit they are going to start giving me for lines that are no longer under contract.

I will go the route of calling retention before I do my upgrade. Hopefully get a credit. Like someone else, I have 7 lines on my account and a bill that is well north of $300 and I've been a customer since 1999. Some of the lines I absorbed into my account were active earlier than 1999.

Thanks for the heads up here.

co.ag.2005 · Feb 7, 2013, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgif1386

Change to T-Mobile prepaid.

and have crappy service where I live.. no thanks. I tried it, it was awful

upnorth85 · Feb 8, 2013, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgif1386

Change to T-Mobile prepaid.

You are joking, right?

Feb 4, 2013, 09:18 PM	#1
Middiebear macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2010	AT&T is No Longer Waiving Upgrade Fees Head's up, there has been a policy change and all AT&T customer service representatives are being instructed to no longer waive the upgrade fee/activation fee. It's a policy change that is out of AT&T's CSR's hands and no amount of escalating or complaining will get the fee waived. However, if you have a FAN discount and it is part of your FAN discount to have the fee waived, a special exception can be made. Otherwise don't waste your time trying to get the fee adjusted.
	0

Feb 5, 2013, 12:58 AM	#6
F123D macrumors 68030 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: SoCal	That's fine. Next time I upgrade, I'll ask for credit on my account in the amount of an activation fee. __________________ Jailbroken iPhone 3G -> Jailbroken iPhone 4 -> iPhone 5 -> Galaxy Note II
	0

Feb 5, 2013, 09:44 PM	#11
Nathan21585 macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Central Florida	The policy did just go into effect that they can no longer credit it back after the fact. They can however waive it during the upgrade. __________________ 2012 MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.5 13" 8GB Ram 500 GB Hard Drive iPhone 5 16gb Black Apple TV 3
	1

Feb 5, 2013, 10:35 PM	#12
AutoUnion39 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Boston, MA	I have no issue with this. I've gotten so many bill credits for basically no reason at all, i'm not going to complain. __________________ rMBP 15 2.3 i7/16gb/256 SSD\| MacBook Air (Late 2011) 1.7 i5/4gb/128 SSD\| riPad 32gb WiFi\| TV (3rd gen)\| Airport Extreme\| iP5\|S4\|GN2\|XperiaZ
	0

Feb 6, 2013, 12:04 PM	#15
F123D macrumors 68030 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: SoCal	When you've finished your carrier contract, you have options. A quick call to cancellation dept before upgrading and they'll more often than not see what they can do to keep you as a happy customer. This is why AT&T can get away with $20 for unlimited texting, because customers just bend over and take it. __________________ Jailbroken iPhone 3G -> Jailbroken iPhone 4 -> iPhone 5 -> Galaxy Note II
	2

Feb 4, 2013, 09:24 PM	#2
iErick macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2010	I just learned this the other day. I have never paid an activation fee or upgrade fee on any of my 5 lines. I have always called and just asked for it to be waived and they did. When I called the other day to have an activation fee waived, they informed me of the new policy. She also informed me of the FAN discount being the only way they can waive it. Luckily my FAN discount allowed for waived activation/upgrade fees. (University of Michigan).
	0

Feb 4, 2013, 10:19 PM	#3
Diseal3 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2008	Guess they are following Verizon with this notion.
	2

Feb 4, 2013, 10:32 PM	#4
Jordan921 macrumors 68020 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bay Area	That's pretty wack!
	1

Feb 4, 2013, 10:37 PM	#5
Applejuiced macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: At the iPhone hacks section.	That sucks. Good thing I gotall 4 done before that went down.
	0

Feb 5, 2013, 09:08 AM	#7
pnoyblazed macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Manhattan	glad I got both mine waived months ago
	0

Feb 5, 2013, 07:29 PM	#9
maxosx macrumors 68000 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Southern California	Wrong. The policy has not changed, they've simply begun to enforce it. Now it's up to those who are experienced negotiators to prevail. It is within ones realm to avoid it. I did.
	2

Feb 6, 2013, 12:11 PM	#16
617aircav macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2012	They will still waive it for legitimate reasons and not just because you dont want to pay it.
	0

Feb 6, 2013, 04:35 PM	#19
lulla01 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: U.S	Just calculate the amount of revenue this fee generates for the company out of this air, daily it probably adds millions of dollars in revenue.
	2

Feb 6, 2013, 04:56 PM	#20
bryanc28 macrumors regular Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Arlington, Va	I love it. You guys think you are gonna get away with not having to pay future activation fees. Well, good luck. I had a b**ch of a time convincing them to drop an activation fee for a phone I returned. They thoroughly checked that it was indeed a returned phone. This was after an hour of being on the phone with AT&t. They are not going to waive your future activation fees period. __________________ iPhone 4 16G iPhone 5 16GB Nexus 7 16GB
	0

Feb 7, 2013, 11:38 AM	#22
tgif1386 macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2012	Change to T-Mobile prepaid.
	0

Feb 7, 2013, 11:41 AM	#23
randy98mtu macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2009	This sucks. I want to know what kind of credit they are going to start giving me for lines that are no longer under contract. I will go the route of calling retention before I do my upgrade. Hopefully get a credit. Like someone else, I have 7 lines on my account and a bill that is well north of $300 and I've been a customer since 1999. Some of the lines I absorbed into my account were active earlier than 1999. Thanks for the heads up here.
	1

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