Any way to put a vacation hold on my AT&T accoutn to avoid charges during a long trip

I'm headed to Japan for 3 weeks in a little bit and while I will be taking my iPhone for video and musical entertainment (plus Wifi web access where I can), the phone service won't work in Japan. Even if it did, I'm not sure I'd want to pay the international roaming charges.

I called AT&T to see about suspending my account for those 3 weeks so I don't get billed for service I won't be getting, but they said they had no way of suspending an account like that. They could disable phone access to the cell/edge network, but I'd still get billed for the monthly service. I'm already on the lowest price plan.

Anyone know if the rep I spoke to is telling the truth (or maybe just doesn't know about some way to do this)?

I guess I could cancel the account entirely, but I assume I'd get a new number when resigning up, so that's not very attractive of an option.

Maybe I could call and say my phone was missing and they'd suspend the account charges then. Then 3 weeks later I'd "find" the phone after thinking it was lost.

Any other ideas?

vanmacguy said:

So you want to be able to suspend a service for which you pay a monthly fee while you're on vacation because you won't be using it, is that right?

Wouldn't that be great?

I'm not living in my house while I'm in Japan, so can I not pay my mortgage please? Of and my home phone won't be used or my cable or my Internet, so can you please not charge me the monthly fees for those either? I only drive my car to work and home, so can I just pay for insurance for 90 minutes a day instead of all day?

Good luck, if you get it to work, please let me know how.

To answer your question, umm, no.

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Nice attitude. Let's see where you're wrong:

I *CAN* cancel my cable and internet for the time I'll be away. I'm not under any contract and I'm not using the services and see no reason to pay for something that isn't used.

Auto insurance companies *DO* base insurance rates on how much you drive (at least where I live they do). People who drive short distances to work con get significantly lower premiums. So I *DO* pay less than someone who has a 100 mile daily commute (some people around here do).

As for the mortgage, of course I don't expect to not have to pay for it while I'm away. The home exists and is being used at the very least as a storage spot for my furniture and car. Now if I had an furnished apartment on a month-to-month and could move all my personal belongings elsewhere, I'd be entitled to move out and not pay for rent. I wouldn't be using the apartment in any way, after all.

Just like I won't be using AT&T's network in any way during my trip. I don't even need voice mail. So, tell me, why should AT&T get paid for providing me *NO* service during that time?

marykay9507 said:

I would say because you ARE under a contract with AT&T-- you said you are NOT under a contract with your cable and internet, which I would assume is why you can cancel them for a short period of time. I totally understand your point and wish it was feasible...but the way AT&T sees it is that they are getting money from you for two years-- would you want to extend your contract for the month you had it suspended so they can get their month of money?

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I would have no problem with that. I'm not trying to get out of the 2 year agreement in 3 week increments. 🙂

So I'd be more than willing to suspend my account for 3 weeks and get 3 weeks tacked onto my 2 year commitment.