AT&T More Than Doubles Administrative Fee for Wireless Customers

[BC2009]

What did you think a Customer Service Representative was going to be able to do about an increase in a fee that she personally has no control over?

The most she could offer was go over what AT&T the company has prepared the reps to say (she’s doing her required job) and then offer the courtesy credit (if she’s allowed)... which sounds like that’s exactly what she did.

I thought the customer service rep was going to be able to do exactly what I wanted -- give me a courtesy credit.

But it took a lot of work getting there. I was on the phone with the first rep for 20 minutes, put on hold, transferred to a supervisor and had to deal with her for another 15 minutes. Much of my time was wasted listening to them lie and say this was a government fee. Whether they are reading a scripted lie or making one up on their own, they are still responsible for lying.

Your comment to her should have been thanking her for doing her job well and then if you’re personally still unhappy over an increase in a fee (again the rep personally has no control over) would be to cancel your service and take your business elsewhere.

I did thank the supervisor for fixing this with a courtesy credit after it was all said and done. You make it sound like AT&T did me a favor and I was the grumpy man ruining the day of some customer service rep. Unless people call and complain, AT&T is going to think their customers will just roll over and take this crap.

When they start seeing thousands of people calling and complaining and seeing people switch to T-mobile that is the only thing that will give them a wake-up call.

You don't get to tell a customer that they will be charged X per month and then turn around and charge X + $5.00 per month because you went and spent all your money on buying Time Warner. You pay for Time Warner with the profits you have or will make from the acquisition. It is not the burden of existing customers with existing contracts to shoulder that purchase.

Since I don't have the phone number of AT&T's CEO, the customer service representative is my only outlet for my grievances as a customer.

 

[Yungryli]

AT&T has raised the amount of the "administrative fee" that it charges many of its 64.5 million wireless customers, a move that will earn the company an additional $800 million in annual revenue.

The fee hike was first noticed by BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk (via CNBC), who pointed out that AT&T has increased its monthly fees by approximately $1.23 in 2018 with two price hikes in April and June. Customers are now paying $1.99 in administrative fees, up from 76 cents last year.

Approximately 85 percent of AT&T's customers have seen the fee hike, as it applies to all postpaid accounts. Prepaid customers are not required to pay the administrative fee.

Prior to the doubling of the fee, it hadn't changed much since AT&T introduced it in 2013, going from 61 cents to 76 cents over a period of several years.

Piecyk speculates that AT&T has increased the fee to offset the debt incurred by its recent $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner. "Presumably the Administrative Fee is another way to help AT&T fund its network build and Time Warner acquisition going forward," he wrote.

In a statement to CNBC, however, AT&T said that the fee is standard across the wireless industry: "This is a standard administrative fee across the wireless industry, which helps cover costs we incur for items like cell site maintenance and interconnection between carriers."

Earlier in June, AT&T also raised the price of its grandfathered unlimited data plans by $5 per month. That plan, which was originally priced at $30, is now $45.

Article Link: AT&T More Than Doubles Administrative Fee for Wireless Customers

[doublepost=1530196229][/doublepost]You were the grumpy old man ruining someone's day. Im gonna be honest no one cares about you complaining, so if your not happy with the increase go to another service provider, its that simple.
[doublepost=1530196323][/doublepost]

I got hit with this crap -- called AT&T and complained and the rep said she would do a monthly $10 discount to my bill.

The rep repeatedly tried to talk about "government taxes and fees" to make it sound like this administrative fee was one of those fees. I had to keep correcting that lie. I told her "we agreed on a monthly price and this is AT&T's way of getting out of that agreement and increasing my price"

The increase, by the way, is PER LINE -- so if you have a family with 3, 4, or 5 lines or more, you are going to notice this on your bill.

My comment to the AT&T rep was that I had left Cox Cable after 15 years of being a customer to go with CenturyLink because CenturyLink promised a fixed rate for life. CenturyLink offered Gigabit Fiber in my neighborhood for $85 per month and unlimited data while Cox wanted $150 per month for 300Mbps and unlimited data. I told her that I would do the same with AT&T after being a customer for 20 years unless she did something about this administrative fee.

No one cares, if you can't afford it, just go to another service provider....

 

[Deep Dish]

How do you become a pre-paid customer? What does it entail?

I believe their pre-pay "unlimited" plan is $40/month. I switched to Cricket a few years ago (now owned by AT&T), and it's $35/month if you set up autopay. I have no idea what my data allowances actually are as I'm usually on wifi, but my cell service is identical to my wife's who is still on her family's AT&T plan.

 

[i hate phones]

Does the iPhone upgrade program play nice with T-mobile yet? It may be time to switch!

I did it last year without an issue. I reserved online during pre-order and went to an apple store to complete upgrade on release day. I can't remember if other carriers allowed you to do the upgrade through mail or not, T-mobile you had to go in store, but that didn't bother me. My concern was with being able to pre order and that part worked great.

 

[Ortiz83]

So I’m confused. I pay $170 for 2 unlimited plans and cellular connection for an iPad Pro. This is with ATT. Some are you are saying I can get something cheaper with pre paid. Is that with the same unlimited plans and cell line for the iPad Pro? Also, is it the same bandwidth? I don’t want anything slower or the cap of throttling being less than 22gb as with ATT. I’m basically asking, will performance and everything be the same with ATT subsidiary? I always though cricket was cheap and had bad cell quality and data. Please know that all 3 devices have their own 22gb cap for throttling and we use about 31gb a month on each device. So I need the same thing if cricket or pre paid can get me that. My devices are 2 iPhone Xs and the iPad Pro. Are these supported on a cheaper company?

Money is not a problem fortunately. I’m thinking about moving to Verizon since it is better than AT&T here in Austin Texas. But if I can get the same service, performance, and everything else like the big companies, then it just makes sense to pay cheaper for it. But I want the best performance and what not.

 

[kyleh22]

....I hate AT&T. I have stayed with through the years because I was grandfathered in to their unlimited plan. $5 here, $5 there...enough is enough. Hello T-Mobile!

 

[kemal]

I still haven't gotten over Alltel charging me $6 / month for "improvements to the digital network" when I was using an analog cell phone.

 

[truthertech]

Most U.S. citizens have voted to dismantle the health, safety and consumer functions for decades, under both Republican and Democratic leadership. Those protections had been installed because from the turn of the 20th century on businesses took advantage of people whenever they could and at least initially there were no laws to stop them. Even the recession of 2008 there was out and out fraud, which is a criminal offense, by banks AND regulators and the total number of people charged was zero.

It may not be how you personally chose who went to city, state and federal offices but as a group we are getting what we voted for.

In a free market, capitalist society, the answer to these "hidden" price hikes isn't to dream of a group of lawmakers sitting around and devising a law to decide what prices A T and T can charge; it's to do what some posters have said they are going to do- call and complain to them or switch carriers.

 

[nokkynuk]

I noticed this. My bill went up almost 8 dollars.

So bizarre.

 

[Dominicanyor]

Not just that, you're also paying for those bonuses they claimed was a result of tax law changes. They just passed it on to their customers while using the real money for share buybacks. The only way they can claim otherwise is if they are actually first to market with a full 5G network, but we all know that's highly unlikely to happen.

unbelievable!

 

[MoreRumors?]

Ok, I get it. The "Administrative Fee" is the slush fund to fund acquisition of another company without having to thank its customers. That's a real slick move AT&T.

 

[barnyard]

For those complaining, here's your chance to leave AT&T without penalty!

As part of your user agreement, if they change any part of your contract, you have the ability to get out of your contract within 30 days of the change (it may be more depending on carrier).

When cellular carriers make what's called a "material change" to a contract, you've got 30 days to bail, scot-free. A material change can be anything from additional service or maintenance fees, adjustments in the rates you're charged, or changes in discounts applied to your account. If you've spotted a material change, you should be able to contact customer service and end your contract.

I did this back in 2007 when leaving Sprint for AT&T and the original iPhone.

Here is the language right in the Verizon user agreement as an example.



https://www.verizonwireless.com/legal/notices/customer-agreement/

I used the material change clause to get out of my contract when AT&T did the $5 grandfathered fee raise. I've loved T-Mobile since!

 

[kaneda]

Why I will never again buy service from the Death Star... or Verizon for that matter. They are greedy and evil.

I have no choice.

 

[966120]

I care - called AT&T and was provided with a $10 monthly credit.

[doublepost=1530196229][/doublepost]You were the grumpy old man ruining someone's day. Im gonna be honest no one cares about you complaining, so if your not happy with the increase go to another service provider, its that simple.
[doublepost=1530196323][/doublepost]

No one cares, if you can't afford it, just go to another service provider....

 

[Col4bin]

You can thank the lobbyists and special interest groups on Capitol Hill for allowing these mega companies like AT&T the ability to pork its customers. As long as those campaign contribution dollars keep funneling in, right?

 

[Brandonjr36]

You can take your phone. Once you're no longer a customer you can request they unlock it and they'll process the request within 2 weeks.
[doublepost=1530188789][/doublepost]

I'm an iMac Pro user. Not complaining at all. In total it adds up to less than an extra $9 a year. Let's be honest, 99.9% of users wouldn't even notice it if it weren't for this thread and the fact the carrier must notify the subscriber.

Damn gotta go 2 weeks without my phone and numbers?

 

[ignatius345]

God forbid part of the the bloated prices we pay just for service every month go to "help defray certain expenses AT&T incurs, such as interconnection and cell site rents and maintenance"!!! Isn't that part of the cost of doing business? Oh, but fees aren't taxable income, right? Bastards.

Time to make a call.

Defray certain expenses like... the meetings they needed to hold to invent new fees!

 

[rjohnstone]

For those complaining, here's your chance to leave AT&T without penalty!

As part of your user agreement, if they change any part of your contract, you have the ability to get out of your contract within 30 days of the change (it may be more depending on carrier).

When cellular carriers make what's called a "material change" to a contract, you've got 30 days to bail, scot-free. A material change can be anything from additional service or maintenance fees, adjustments in the rates you're charged, or changes in discounts applied to your account. If you've spotted a material change, you should be able to contact customer service and end your contract.

I did this back in 2007 when leaving Sprint for AT&T and the original iPhone.

Here is the language right in the Verizon user agreement as an example.



https://www.verizonwireless.com/legal/notices/customer-agreement/

AT&T plans do not work this way anymore. You can leave whenever you want without penalty. There is no service contract to break.

Those who acquired a phone under a payment plan (Next plan) are still required to pay for the phone as it is a separate lease/purchase contract.
The point is, read what you sign.
Service plans and device purchase plans are separate agreements.

 

[ChazSch]

I am going to let it ride...because every time I call in to customer service, someone changes my plan and I end up with a huge phone bill. they NEVER get things right and switch you without your knowledge. Always "Johnnie" or some name with a HEAVY accent

 

[iChrist]

This can't be true. Ajit Pai said eliminating Net Neutrality would allow providers to be more competitive and lower prices.

 

[ayale99]

Nice work. I just called in and got a permanent increase of 5gb per month and a one time $25 bill credit. Better than nothing I guess. The first customer service person had to forward me to the Loyalty Department. Took about 20min.

I got hit with this crap -- called AT&T and complained and the rep said she would do a monthly $10 discount to my bill.

The rep repeatedly tried to talk about "government taxes and fees" to make it sound like this administrative fee was one of those fees. I had to keep correcting that lie. I told her "we agreed on a monthly price and this is AT&T's way of getting out of that agreement and increasing my price"

The increase, by the way, is PER LINE -- so if you have a family with 3, 4, or 5 lines or more, you are going to notice this on your bill.

My comment to the AT&T rep was that I had left Cox Cable after 15 years of being a customer to go with CenturyLink because CenturyLink promised a fixed rate for life. CenturyLink offered Gigabit Fiber in my neighborhood for $85 per month and unlimited data while Cox wanted $150 per month for 300Mbps and unlimited data. I told her that I would do the same with AT&T after being a customer for 20 years unless she did something about this administrative fee.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Damn gotta go 2 weeks without my phone and numbers?

You'd need to port your phone to a different carrier before then. Generally it doesn't take 2 weeks but it can take up to that long for them to approve the unlock. You'd be best off buying a cheap refurb phone for $25 in the meantime so you can at least make calls.

 

[pubb]

How can they call it an administrative fee if it goes to things other than administration?

 

[AdonisSMU]

AT&T is the worst company in the world. They had money to buy these cable providers and satellite providers but no money to improve its cell towers so now need to charge more.

 

[tedson]

The solution to this is to dump AT&T and join a prepaid MNVO. I pay $14.15 per month, admittedly a limited plan but unlimited plans are available for significantly less than any of the Big Four carriers.

So stop complaining and walk away from AT&T, that is your real power.