Carrier AT&T get your upgrade fees waived.

[pittpanthersfan]

I was told that there's no way, the system won't allow it, etc.

Then the rep noticed my FAN account and quickly changed his tune... It was suddenly no problem to credit my account.

What a sleazy excuse for a fee.

 

[jlately]

Had mine waived today with no push back. I have had to deal with other problems with the upgrade over two chats so I just asked for them to be waived for the inconvenience.

 

[wzq1943]

stupid att

here's my long story

1. att accidentally charge three $36 upgrade fee on my account while i only have 2 lines in my account.

2. online chatted about 2 weeks ago, didn't work, so i tried again today

3. did not work at first, then transfer to the manager, didn't work as well, he said the system does not allow blah blah blah.

4.then i mentioned about the billing error, and he agreed to refund the error.

5. some how, he refunded me two $36

6. which means in the end, i pay $36 for 2 lines

here's the whole conversation:
Thank you for your patience! Your AT&T Representative will be with you shortly.
Welcome! You are now chatting with 'Jodie Thompson'
Jodie Thompson: Hi Chi, I see you had contacted an at&t rep two weeks ago about an activation fee, Let's take a look and see what we can do for you today.
chia: ok, thanks
chia: by the way, it is about upgrade fee, not activation fee, thanks
Jodie Thompson: Okay. I
Jodie Thompson: I'm looking into this now.
Jodie Thompson: I do see that you have a discount on your account, I reviewed it and unfortunately it does not allow us to waive activation fees.
chia: is upgrade fee not activation fee, as a long time att customer, i do know that upgrade fee can be waived as a courtesy
Jodie Thompson: I do apologize. The discount also does not allow us to wave upgrade fees.
Jodie Thompson: I am going to connect you with my supervisor to see what further options can be done.
chia: ok, thanks
Jodie Thompson: You are very welcome.
One moment while I transfer the chat to 'Kyle Skiff'.
Welcome! You are now chatting with 'Kyle Skiff'
Kyle Skiff: Hello Chia, thank you for chatting in with me this evening, please allow me a moment to look over the account regarding this upgrade fee
chia: hi
chia: ok, thanks
Kyle Skiff: I am seeing that you have already been declined for a waiver, I see no fee waiver on the discount, this is a standard fee pays to keep the phones at the low 2 year pricing and will not be waived.
Kyle Skiff: Is there something else i can be of assistance with though?
chia: but why there are so many people online got their upgrade fee waived
chia: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1451998/
chia: u can look at the forum
chia: that is totally unfair
Kyle Skiff: Well, they may have like a 10 year tenure plus with no non pay suspends and have paid the fee 4 or 5 times we sometimes allow a one time waiver, however this is not the case, and I have to stick by notes that say it was declined once.
Kyle Skiff: I'd be happy to look over your bill and see if you are on the best plan for your money?
chia: but that is extremely unfair just because they chatted with another customer service representative or have a better negotiation skills or chatted and tried for many times
Kyle Skiff: Well theres nothing I can do about past agents waiving fees, as I am following the rules I am set to follow because the notes state it was declined I must follow suit with that, the fee is charged to all customers and I cannot stop other agents from waiving the fee and it does not justify waiving it now i'm afraid.
chia: can it be a one-time courtesy
Kyle Skiff: Unfortunately no, because it has already been denied once chia, I must respect the notes on the account.
Kyle Skiff: Is there anything else I can assist you with?
chia: even though it can't be waive, howcome there's three $36 charged in my account
Kyle Skiff: Let me check and see.
Kyle Skiff: Okay for a billing error, I can get that linhes fees waived for the double charge, did you order a phone, and then return it?
chia: no
Kyle Skiff: Let me get those waived for you, so you will only have the one upgrade fee, waiving the two on line 2832
Kyle Skiff: I'll get you an updated balance.
chia: ok
Kyle Skiff: 174.31 is now your new account balance waiving 78.48 with the upgrade fees for line 2832
chia: ok, will it show online now ?
Kyle Skiff: Yes it should, you should only need to log off and log back on otherwisen it will take 24 hours tops but i can assure you I have done this.
chia: ok, thanks, you have a great day

 

[Ksc272]

just chatted with this agent who said they cannot do it. I said my friend was able to get her fees waived.

He said her company might waive it for her.

I said she doesn't work for any company.

He said her school might waive it for her.

I said I go to the same school and they don't do anything like that.

He said the fee is charged to everyone and is industry wide.

I said then then my friend must not be part of the industry?

long pause.

then I gave up.

gonna try again today.

 

[Partridge]

here's my long story
chia: but why there are so many people online got their upgrade fee waived
chia: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1451998/
chia: u can look at the forum
chia: that is totally unfair

The first rule of Fight Club is...

 

[imanidiot]

Just got done chatting online with AT&T.
First agent said she'd ask her "Team" about waiving my $36 upgrade fee.
Came back on and said sorry, but they couldn't do it.
I tried again 5 minutes later and was told by a different agent that as a one-time courtesy they would credit the fee back to my account.
I think it all depends on which agent you get. If one tells you no, try again.
And again, if necessary.

 

[cheapa55]

I've been too lazy to do this until now. I ordered on release day. Logged on and she credited me for both lines. She checked the system and said

"After reviewing your account we are able to waive the upgrade fee due to your discount on your account."

We have a FAN discount. I wonder if it should be automatically waived anyways since it's a FAN account.

Thanks OP for the chat link.

 

[forza69]

I had posted on here a few days after getting my 5s that I failed to get the fee waived. Posted again when I was successful with another CS rep. Apparently now I got the fee added again because instead of my usually $52 bill, it's $97. I haven't been able to check for myself since it's under my brothers AT&T account and I forgot the password and I haven't been able to get a hold of him to ask for it. Has anyone had this happen? Got the fee waived then had it added on again after a month?

 

[Ksc272]

Update: I tried again and was able to get 2/3 fees credited back to my account.

I said I did not know about the upgrade fee since they were not included in the advertisement price.

Keep saying you didn't know and hopefully the rep will be nice.

 

[Qoo]

Thanks much OP!

i did used your message to do the online chat and got the upgrade fee waived in less than 5 minutes....Woohoo....

 

[dmjay]

i got my upgrade fee wavied in less that 5 minutes too!

 

[Frankied22]

I was able to get mine waived today as well. I just told them I have been a customer for a long time and had spent a lot of money with them.

 

[Zmanbaseball2]

Does this work on Verizon? To many pages to look through..

 

[TyWahn]

Worked for me

I had to get 2 different reps, the first guy was NOT budging. He said he only did it for employees and students. I said thanks anyway and disconnected.
The next time I got a woman and she also said no. She assured me it was only a one time fee.(For buyers remorse and whatever) I asked very politely and could she do it for me this one time. I also mentioned we have been customers since '07 with the original iPhone. And paid upgrade fees for the 3Gs, 2 iphone 4s, and now 2 iPhone 5 (C and S).
Anyway, she said, here's what I will do, I will credit your account for one of the upgrades. It saved me $40.
Be polite and be persistent.
Awesome.

 

[2298754]

Upgraded to a 5S.

First rep was giving me some BS about how the fee has to do with giving me better service and options as a customer. I gave up and went on to another person.

Second rep: I said that I upgraded to an iPhone and wanted a credit and she said yes. Also got an extra $50 credit for my "troubles"

Why does it vary so much between reps?

 

[deuce1794]

I guess I got one of the nice ones. I just asked what the fee was for (playing dumb) and if I could get removed. She said this was a standard fee to which which I replied that I don't recall ever having paid this before (again playing dumb). She then told me that I was a amazing customer and that she would waive these fees on a one time basis only. It took all of 5 mins.

 

[Devlonc]

Kill'em with kindness

I got my 5s yesterday and just called today about the upgrade fee. CR on the phone asked me how I was doing and I told her "Awesome" with a big smile on my face. (Remember even though you're on the phone, the person on the other end can tell if your smiling, frowning or crying, by the tone in your voice) She said really? You're doing awesome? I said yes, it's the holidays...blah,blah,blah. She said most people just answer with "ok". Then I proceeded to ask her about the $36 upgrade fee and if she could help me out with it. I pretty much was as nice as and friendly as I could be with her and she waived it with out even bating an eyelash. I didn't even get the "this is a one time courtesy" speech from her.

You want something from them, not the other way around. If you call and act like they owe it to you to waive it, you're probably not going to get the results you are after. Try to remember how many calls these CR's get a day and how many customers are pissed off about something and take it out on the Reps on the phone. Be the one person that day that is happy and smiling and kill'em with kindness. Try it and you'll be surprised

 

[webworks415]

Does this work on Verizon? To many pages to look through..

I asked to get my VZW upgrade fee waived as a courtesy when I upgraded to a 5s in Sept. The rep said she absolutely could not do it, and that even employees have to pay it. I told her that I remembered seeing something on twitter about no fees if you buy a phone that weekend. She asked me to find it, and I looked (turned out it was new activation fees, not upgrades). So I hung up with her and she said to call her back when I had the link to the ad, and then she would help me. I never called after realizing my error and they didn't charge the fee anyway.

I guess it's all on a case by case basis. Doesn't hurt to keep calling and trying with different reps, depends how convincing you are

 

[robnick2]

This just worked for me. I received a $36 credit.

 

[camelian]

Just tried and got rejected. They said that they offer to subsidize the equipment in exchange for the two year agreement and the $36.00 device upgrade fee. I asked if they could waive or credit the fee if I upgraded to a more expensive phone plan and they said no. I gave up after that...

 

[cs0373]

I just had success last night after a reject a couple of days ago. The first guy definitely would not go for it, the 2nd guy last night was super friendly and joking around and stuff with me. It all depends on who you get I guess.

 

[AFDoc]

Just tried and got rejected. They said that they offer to subsidize the equipment in exchange for the two year agreement and the $36.00 device upgrade fee. I asked if they could waive or credit the fee if I upgraded to a more expensive phone plan and they said no. I gave up after that...

Yeah an online hack gave me this same excuse. I told them I agree to another 2 year contract, YOU subsidize my phone. Now you tell me you want extra money too? If I buy my phone outright I don't get a discount so why should I be charged for the privilege of using ATT? I told them they should be payingme $36 to stay with them. My bill with ATT is $200 a month, they can wave any "upgrade fee" they feel they need to charge. So to the guy above that says don't act like they owe it to me.... screw that, they owe it to me.

 

[mnovell]

Just tried this and it worked! Thanks for making this thread. Here's my chat log (names changed to protect the innocent):

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

Welcome! You are now chatting with '...'

...: Hello there mnovell. I understand that you recently upgrade your mobile device. Allow me to check into this to see if I can honor your request boss, and what a pleasure to have you here early this morning

mnovell: thank you

...: mnovell good news boss. I was able to get that approved for you, your bill now went down to xxx.xx. You can see this reflected on your online account once you sign out and sign back in.

mnovell: awesome. really appreciate it. Have a great day!

... : Like wise. Glad we could get this resolved before the holidays

... : Oh you are more then welcome, is there anything else that I can further assist you with today?

mnovell: that's it. thanks again!

...: Take care and enjoy.

 

[lawlbringer]

Last time I tried I asked 2 different reps over the phone that were very friendly but told me they couldn't do anything.

I never understood why they even charge upgrade/activation fees. You pay a lot monthly for their service and your subsidized contract monthly bill...and even more if you pay late, go over your data limit, etc.

 

[guspasho]

I didn't get my upgrade until later so the fee only just recently appeared on my bill. I talked to someone online twice. The first rep wouldn't budge, but the second rep relented and offered a $25 credit. I didn't see how I'd get a better offer if I refused so I took it.

It's really nice that if at first you don't succeed, you can just try, try again. Here's my conversation log if anyone wants to read it.

Me: Good morning. 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.

CSR: Hi Guspasho! Glad to have you today! I'd be more than happy to help you with regard to your upgrade fee.

Me: Thank you!

CSR: You're welcome. Let me pull up your account now to check if your discount allows you to have the fee waived.

Me: Thank you.

CSR: Upon checking your discount, it shows that your company does not cover for any upgrade fee.

CSR: Let me explain it further. The upgrade fee is to allow us to assist our customers with recommending new equipment, answer questions around special offers and discounts, providing assistance with the upgrade process if needed, and ongoing support. 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.

The fee is used to cover the additional time and work involved in upgrading a customer to a new device.

Me: I ordered my phone through Apple. I didn't need any assistance from AT&T for any of those things.

Me: I also ordered my phone through Apple and didn't need any assistance from AT&T two years ago, and I paid the upgrade fee happily.

CSR: I understand. But again, it's your company which tells us if we can waive the charge.

Me: You can't waive it otherwise? I feel as though I am being penalized for being a loyal customer. It was practically no effort on your part to allow me to upgrade my phone. I took care of it entirely with Apple.

CSR: We can't waive it. What I could offer you is a one time courtesy credit for being a loyal AT&T customer.

CSR: I can't waive the full amount of $36, but I offer to adjust $25 immediately.

Me: That would be very helpful. Thank you.

CSR: You're welcome. =)