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AT&T - Upgrade override
- Thread starter Valis33
- Start date
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I really think it has to do with who you talk to.
Call #1 offered $500 credit with signup for U-Verse
Call #2 offered $100 visa prepaid card if I signed up for U-Verse.
Call #3 said right up front that he was going to connect to a manager & see if he could override the upgrade eligibility.
My line was simply,"I've upgraded my phone every year for the last 4 years, I wanted to see if there was anything you could do for me". The only thing that struck me was that the last guy was instantly trying to connect & find out if there was anything he could do.
The other two didn't seem to be geared in that direction at all.
Good luck!
That is silly. I can't believe that they used the words illegal. Perhaps against company policy, but no one is going to jail over it or getting fined. hahaha. I'd try calling again and getting someone who isn't an idiot.
Threatening to walk out might work. I tried that before i got my iphone, when i was with t-mobile and was looking to get a mytouch. My friend wasn't under contract with tmobile but was instead paying month-to-month, the phone was $150 for him. I was like, sweet! I should get the same deal because I'm under contract with them and had been for 5 years at that point, so when I called to see if I qualified for an upgrade, they told me no, and that I was going to have to pay $300, double what my friend paid. So I said alright, then I just want to pay my termination fee and leave. I've been a loyal customer for 5 years and I'm still on contract, and I have to pay double what my friend is, and he can leave you guys at anytime? I want out. They said "let's see what we can do", they put me on hold for 5 minutes and came back offering me the phone for $150. I hate to be that guy that feels entitled but sometimes I feel like the business model cell phone companies set up make no sense. What's keeping me with your company if I'm being charged double what someone who's not with your company is getting charged?
All of this is moot however because I terminated my contract 9 months later to get the iphone
All of this is moot however because I terminated my contract 9 months later to get the iphone
Threatening to walk out might work. I tried that before i got my iphone, when i was with t-mobile and was looking to get a mytouch. My friend wasn't under contract with tmobile but was instead paying month-to-month, the phone was $150 for him. I was like, sweet! I should get the same deal because I'm under contract with them and had been for 5 years at that point, so when I called to see if I qualified for an upgrade, they told me no, and that I was going to have to pay $300, double what my friend paid. So I said alright, then I just want to pay my termination fee and leave. I've been a loyal customer for 5 years and I'm still on contract, and I have to pay double what my friend is, and he can leave you guys at anytime? I want out. They said "let's see what we can do", they put me on hold for 5 minutes and came back offering me the phone for $150. I hate to be that guy that feels entitled but sometimes I feel like the business model cell phone companies set up make no sense. What's keeping me with your company if I'm being charged double what someone who's not with your company is getting charged?
All of this is moot however because I terminated my contract 9 months later to get the iphone
Be that guy? You mean the one that wants to not be penalized for being a loyal customer? Its crazy how companies do that. I guess they don't understand its cheaper to retain a customer than to churn in a new one.
Has anyone gone to a retail store to try? I talked to someone on the phone a couple of time and got the same "we can't bump you up for Apple devices." I was thinking about going into my local store near my house and seeing if they could do anything for me. I've paid $200 a month for 9 years and have never had a late payment, and I have upgraded every year.
That, or if my eBay auction goes from $310 to over $450 by the time it sells tomorrow night, I won't have to worry as much.
That, or if my eBay auction goes from $310 to over $450 by the time it sells tomorrow night, I won't have to worry as much.
local store
Now that I got them to say I can have an upgrade, besides an iphone. I'm going to attempt to see if when face to face I can convince them to let me. My wife and I have been grand fathered into the "unlimited" data so we would like to stay with Atnt
Now that I got them to say I can have an upgrade, besides an iphone. I'm going to attempt to see if when face to face I can convince them to let me. My wife and I have been grand fathered into the "unlimited" data so we would like to stay with Atnt
Good luck with that unless your phone is unlocked,which it isn't.I sold my 4S on the 14th for $360 and I was ecstatic.There will be a flood of 4S on the market when the 5 is activated.
ATT won't do much to waive an upgrade date no matter how much you beg. Still, I have been successful in getting early upgrades 2 times, here's how i've done it:
1st time: Huge cell-network outage in my area that lasted over a day. I was using a dumbphone at the time (3-4 years ago) and only 3G enabled phones were able to get service. Went in to the store, talked to the manager said I was gonna dump ATT right then unless I can get a phone that worked. She let me upgrade to anything except an iPhone. I ended up getting a blackberry which ultimately got returned.
2nd time: Last year, launch week for the 4S, was using a 4 at the time just out of warranty and the home button was going out (couldn't even use it). I was 2 weeks from my upgrade date. Went in like a normal customer got the same hassle. Ended up writing DelaVega's office complaining about the CSRs who were actually quite rude threatening to switch. They took care of me. I made sure to go back to the same lady who was rude to me the day before and it turned out they had a few 64GB 4S's ready to sell.
Yes I know this all sounds silly but I just preordered my 5 on early upgrade, I have 3 lines on my plan and i've been with AT&T for almost 12 years if you include them selling off my region to Cellular One and then buying it back 2 years later. They make plenty of money off me.
1st time: Huge cell-network outage in my area that lasted over a day. I was using a dumbphone at the time (3-4 years ago) and only 3G enabled phones were able to get service. Went in to the store, talked to the manager said I was gonna dump ATT right then unless I can get a phone that worked. She let me upgrade to anything except an iPhone. I ended up getting a blackberry which ultimately got returned.
2nd time: Last year, launch week for the 4S, was using a 4 at the time just out of warranty and the home button was going out (couldn't even use it). I was 2 weeks from my upgrade date. Went in like a normal customer got the same hassle. Ended up writing DelaVega's office complaining about the CSRs who were actually quite rude threatening to switch. They took care of me. I made sure to go back to the same lady who was rude to me the day before and it turned out they had a few 64GB 4S's ready to sell.
Yes I know this all sounds silly but I just preordered my 5 on early upgrade, I have 3 lines on my plan and i've been with AT&T for almost 12 years if you include them selling off my region to Cellular One and then buying it back 2 years later. They make plenty of money off me.
Mine is being advertised as jailbroken and unlocked... but not factory unlocked. That might make a difference in the price. If it doesn't hit $450, which I don't expect it to, I'll just have to wait till the iPhone 5S.
Lucky, I've been able to get them to push my upgrade eligibility for ANY other phone except the iPhone. But I guess I'll just pay full price this year. I'm getting $350 from best buy for my wifes iphone 4, I love the buyback program.
I have a manager note on my account that exempts me from the $250 upgrade fee for two lines that originally had a May 2013 eligibility date. The woman I spoke to wanted me to preorder with AT&T at that moment but I said I'd rather try my luck with a store instead of waiting 2-3 weeks.
Does anyone know if Apple can see AT&Ts note on my account (maybe from personal experience)? I'm gonna try my luck with an AT&T store first but it'd be convenient if Apple Stores or other stores could see the note since AT&T can't actually change my eligibility date and instead have to resort to a manager's note on my account.
Does anyone know if Apple can see AT&Ts note on my account (maybe from personal experience)? I'm gonna try my luck with an AT&T store first but it'd be convenient if Apple Stores or other stores could see the note since AT&T can't actually change my eligibility date and instead have to resort to a manager's note on my account.
I just called and was successful in upgrading at the full discount, even though my previous attempt was unsuccessful. At launch, my upgrade eligibility was May '13.
Here's what I did:
1. Called 611 from cell, and connected to upgrades;
2. Call dropped after 2 minutes on hold (errr!!!!!);
3. Called back and was connected to upgrade customer service;
4. When asked what she could do for me, I nicely explained that I was interested in upgrading to the iphone 5, and I that I wanted to know what my options were;
5. I was told that I was eligible for full upgrade discount;
6. I asked her to clarify, since att.com said that I needed to pay $250 early upgrade fee;
7. She said that I could upgrade w/ out the fee over the phone, but that I would have to pay $250 if I tried to upgrade online or instore;
8. I paid total of $316 for 32g, with estimated 14-21 day delivery.
Here's what I did:
1. Called 611 from cell, and connected to upgrades;
2. Call dropped after 2 minutes on hold (errr!!!!!);
3. Called back and was connected to upgrade customer service;
4. When asked what she could do for me, I nicely explained that I was interested in upgrading to the iphone 5, and I that I wanted to know what my options were;
5. I was told that I was eligible for full upgrade discount;
6. I asked her to clarify, since att.com said that I needed to pay $250 early upgrade fee;
7. She said that I could upgrade w/ out the fee over the phone, but that I would have to pay $250 if I tried to upgrade online or instore;
8. I paid total of $316 for 32g, with estimated 14-21 day delivery.
You will need to visit an AT&T corporate owned store. All 3rd parties (apple, best buy etc.) can see is your regular upgrade status, if anything needs to be overridden it must be done by an att store manager.
Thanks. I was actually being told that I could only order it online with the phone CS team who could override the status. I called them again to try to work out a way to buy the phone at a store instead so they're going to call some nearby stores to see if the store managers can override it at the store, but the CS rep made it clear that it wasn't a sure bet. This situation is really bizarre to me but I'm glad to be in this position rather than waiting until May 2013.
I just tried this and it didn't work for me. The CS rep told me that my upgrade date was May 2013, and that I would have to pay $450 for a 16GB iPhone 5.