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Just got 2 iPhone 5 activation fees waived.

Dylan Gould: Mr. xxx, thank you for chatting with AT&T today. I can help you with your activation fee and I will be happy to do so.
Me: Good morning. We recently upgraded 2 phones on our AT&T account and apparently we are being or will be charged $72 in activation fees. I was hoping to have that waived since we've been with AT&T for almost 5 years now, upgrading almost every year. $72 is a lot of money.
Dylan Gould: Please allow me a moment to see what we can do about this for you.
Me: Thank you
Dylan Gould: I am able to waive those fees for you as a one time courtesy. Please allow me a minute or two to take care of this.
Me: Great, thank you
Dylan Gould: I have removed those upgrade fees for you so you will not be charged for them on your upcoming bill.
Me: I appreciate it. Thanks again.
 
Got $36 x2 waived. Tried for the $250 early upgrade fee to be waived and got shot down, no harm is asking though. :D

Edit: Called into customer service and got the $250 waived!!!

Can I ask what you said to get the 250 waived?

Edit: fee waived. Told me to call customer service in 2 weeks to confirm fee is gone
 
Last edited:
Upgrade fees and data

I was able to get my upgrade fees waived as well as 1 month of data waived. I preordered through Best Buy and not once did they mention there was a $36 dollar upgrade fee plus they didnt tell me that they were changing my wifes data plan from 2gb to 3gb.

I used the AT&T chat this morning and explained my issue and the rep said they would waive the upgrade fees as well as 1 month of data.

He said that he placed a note on my account and that on Oct 2 (when my next billing cycle starts) they would waive the fees on my account. I was able to get a print out and email our converstation.

Now to take my wifes iPhone 5 white 32gb to Apple... Light leak under the power button.
 
Came across this thread just now and was glad to see that this can be done over the live chat- no idea why I never think to use the online chats for companies. I hate talking on the phone to handle this sort of thing, so I was likely going to just forget about it, but gave the live chat a try anyway.

I started out similar to OP, saying I had recently extended my contract with a new 2-year agreement when upgrading to the latest iPhone and was hoping I could get the upgrade fee waived. The rep looked at my account and said that she saw I had great account history and long tenure with AT&T (I've only had an account since the iPhone 3G launch, but I guess that's forever in this business) and that she would remove it for me.
Waited around for a few minutes and she came back and said within 72 hours my account will show a credit for $40.32.

So thanks for sharing! This was completely hassle-free outside of taking the effort to actually do it.
 
Got mine waived, I was planning on calling anyway like I do every year. Had 2 upgrades, they incorrectly charged me 3 upgrade fees, maybe because I did an upgrade swap. Rep had no problem just waiving, very easy. ~$120 saved.
 
So I tried this as I upgraded to the 5 and I thought I saw something about a $36 fee on the Apple store employee's iPod Touch as I was confirming prompts. The chat representative said they can remove the charge when it shows up on my bill.

So far I don't see the charge anywhere, my current charges show my normal bill price...shouldn't it be showing up in AT&T by now? I bought my iPhone no-commitment, so is there an activation fee in that case?
 
What a crock:

Joanne Sanchez : The upgrade fee is to allow us to assist customers with recommending new equipment, offering special offers and discounts, providing assistance with the upgrade process if needed, and supporting the returns process within 30 days. These specialized processes help us to ensure you are satisfied with your new equipment, and are ready to use it the day you receive it. The upgrade fee allows us to defray some of these additional service costs.

They still waived it anyway, but this is a new low for ATT.
 
Worked for both lines - had to play dumb a little after the whole "this allows us to sell the phone at a discounted price" spiel. ("I don't understand...I thought the phone was discounted because I signed a 2-year contract," etc.) Got it in the end, though. Thanks OP!
 
Can I ask what you said to get the 250 waived?

Edit: fee waived. Told me to call customer service in 2 weeks to confirm fee is gone

Can you tell me what you said when you called them? I tried a handful of times on the chat online but no dice.
 
I would also like to know how they are giving in to waiving the $250 early upgrade fee...they only gave me the activation fee. Those are are two separate fees.
 
I would also like to know how they are giving in to waiving the $250 early upgrade fee...they only gave me the activation fee. Those are are two separate fees.

It's completely random. It depends on who you talk to. I'm still waiting for them to get back to me, as the rep told me she forwarded my case to the supervisor to see if they would do it for me. I actually don't expect to hear from them now. It's been over 24 hours.
 
The online chat was not available to me a few minutes ago for some reason.

I just called 611 from my phone and selected "billing" and then went from there. I spoke to a nice gentleman who credited $40.36 to my account just. like. that.

Thanks OP for the reminder to request the credit from AT&T. I meant to and then totally forgot.
 
Worked perfectly for me. Thanks!

General Info:
Duration (actual chatting time): 00:10:51
Operator: <AT&T rep>


Chat Transcript:
info: Please wait for a site operator to respond.
info: You are now chatting with '<AT&T rep>'

<AT&T rep>: Thank you for contacting AT&T, Mr. <me>. I will be more than happy to assist you today. I can help you with your bill and respond to any other questions that you may have.

<me>: Good afternoon. I recently signed a 2 year contract extension and upgraded two new iPhones. I was hoping I could have my upgrade fees waived or credited to my account.

<AT&T rep>: I will absolutely help you with that. I am reviewing your account now. Thank you so much for your patience while I do this. While I am doing this, is there anything else I can assist you with today?

<me>: No, thank you.

<AT&T rep>: Thank you for holding Mr. <me>. I will be able to waive the upgrade fees this time due to your payment history. However I do want to advise you that this is a one time exception and standard fees will not be waived in the future.

<me>: I can understand that. Thank you very much for making the exception.

<me>: I was hoping to have that waived since we've been with AT&T for almost 5 years now, upgrading almost every year. $72 is a lot of money. I appreciate your help.

<AT&T rep>: I do not see that you have been charges the fee in a bill yet, so I will make a note to your account and you will need to call for the credit when it shows up on the bill.

<me>: I will make a note to do that.

<AT&T rep>: Great! When you want to check your balance, you can do that by dialing the star sign (*), then the letters B-A-L, then the # sign and send. That is *225# and send. Within seconds your balance will be sent to you as a text message on your phone's screen at no cost to you.

<AT&T rep>: Just to recap, today I have helped you by reviewing your account and allowing for the upgrade fees to be waived. Your time is very valuable to me. To save you time from having to contact us again in the near future, I want to ensure I have handled all of your requests to completion. Is there anything further I can assist you with today?

<me>: No. You've been very helpful. Thank you.

<AT&T rep>: It has been my pleasure to assist you today. Please click the close button to end your session. When the chat closes, a customer satisfaction survey will appear. I greatly appreciate your feedback on my performance on this survey. We value you as a customer with AT&T and we appreciate your business.
 
Colbas Hoeing: Hello Mr. Kelly.
Colbas Hoeing: Why do you need the upgrade fee waived? Was the order messed up?
you: The fee is unnecessary, I see no grounds for a charge.
Colbas Hoeing: We won't be able to waive the fee because you don't see grounds for it.
you: What will you be able to waive the fee for?
Colbas Hoeing: If the order for some reason were messed up or something like that.
you: In that case can you tell me what the charge is for?
Colbas Hoeing: It is an activation fee.
you: Seems strange to me that I'm being charged for choosing to continue my service with you.
you: But I activate my phone, you guys dont have to do anything.
you: It's just a charge for the sake of being a charge, it requires no work from ATT.
Colbas Hoeing: It is for the process of the paperwork to get your phone activated.
Colbas Hoeing: We activate it, not you.
you: I have seen no paperwork.
Colbas Hoeing: That's because it isn't paperwork for you.
you: What kind of paperwork has to be done?
Colbas Hoeing: Paperwork to allow the device to be activated. If all devices were pre-activated it would be much easier to steal them.
you: How many pages are filed? How much writing is involved?
you: I'd love to see the paperwork.
Colbas Hoeing: I hear your concern about the Upgrade Fee. The upgrade fee is for costs associated with selecting and activating your new equipment. Additionally, we support your equipment decision with an exchange option, if needed within the first 30 days?
Colbas Hoeing: .*
you: How about this, since I paid for the paperwork, will you please mail it to me so I can keep it for my records.
Colbas Hoeing: No, I cannot do that.
you: But I paid for it.
Colbas Hoeing: I hear your concern about the Upgrade Fee. The upgrade fee is for costs associated with selecting and activating your new equipment. Additionally, we support your equipment decision with an exchange option, if needed within the first 30 days.
you: How about this, since I paid for the paperwork, will you please mail it to me so I can keep it for my records.
Colbas Hoeing: No, I cannot do that.
you: But I paid for it.
Colbas Hoeing: I'm sorry.
you: Can you explain to me why I cannot have what I paid for?
Colbas Hoeing: Every AT&T customer pays the activation fee.
you: I understand that, I would just like a copy of the paperwork I paid to have processed.
Colbas Hoeing: I am sorry, I cannot do that.
you: Why is that?
Colbas Hoeing: If you would like, you can read the terms and conditiosn (your contract) online.
Colbas Hoeing: conditions*
you: I would not like to do that, I would like you to answer my question.
Colbas Hoeing: In your contract that you agreed to and signed you agreed to paying that fee, and by signing that it makes the fee valid.
you: I'm not questioning the validity of the fee, I'm asking to have the paperwork the fee was needed for mailed to me so I can have a copy for my records.

Maybe you shouldn't have been so damn combative, acting like you deserve the credit. Then again, maybe you put on this show so you could impress people on a message board.
 
No luck on a chat with AT&T. Upgraded to two iPhone 5's over the weekend. Maybe I'll try again with another rep. :(

Out of the blue I got a phone call just now from an AT&T manager who had read the negative review I supplied after my original chat a few days ago. The purpose of his call was to apologize and let me know that he was immediately waiving the upgrade fee for both of my iPhone 5 upgrades.

That is how you keep a customer. I am stoked.
 
I've been trying to get in on the online Chat for days now. Its never available for me.

So i finally just called, and first tried to get my early upgrade $250 waived....AGAIN lol. They just refuse to do so. I've talked to about 4 reps about this so far.

But i did get a little credit for my frustration, and then i asked to have my activation fee waived and she did it.

So add me to the list!
 
My pops called, don't know what he said but he got two upgrade fees waived. Thanks MacRumors :D
 
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