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AT&T - Upgrade Rip Off

C

CCC4321

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 26, 2009
11
0
I have been a AT&T customer for a long time 12+ And was looking forward to upgrading my 4S to the 5, but wait AT&T wants an extra $250 this year!
F AT&T this is the straw that broke the camels back. Its cheaper to pay the early termination fee and go to Sprint or Verizon.

Its not necessarily about the money, its about customer loyalty.

Anybody else pissed off about this? or has everyone just paid the extra $250?

Which one's better Sprint or Verizon?
 
Of course they would want that this year, since you did sign a two year contract when you get the iPhone 4S...
 
CCC4321 said:
I have been a AT&T customer for a long time 12+ And was looking forward to upgrading my 4S to the 5, but wait AT&T wants an extra $250 this year!
F AT&T this is the straw that broke the camels back. Its cheaper to pay the early termination fee and go to Sprint or Verizon.

Its not necessarily about the money, its about customer loyalty.

Anybody else pissed off about this? or has everyone just paid the extra $250?

Which one's better Sprint or Verizon?
Click to expand...

Verizon. You can contact customer relations and see if they want to keep you as a customer. I got an early upgrade but I decided to go for the S3 and not the new iPhone.
 
Rip off? No. You could've have checked your upgrade eligibility date at any time. If you aren't eligible yet, then you'd pay $250 more.
 
You signed a two year contract when they gave you the last phone at the subsidized price. They're perfectly in their right to make you pay the extra amount.

Oh, and FYI, Verizon and Spring will make you do the same thing next year.
 
CCC4321 said:
I have been a AT&T customer for a long time 12+ And was looking forward to upgrading my 4S to the 5, but wait AT&T wants an extra $250 this year!
F AT&T this is the straw that broke the camels back. Its cheaper to pay the early termination fee and go to Sprint or Verizon.

Its not necessarily about the money, its about customer loyalty.

Anybody else pissed off about this? or has everyone just paid the extra $250?

Which one's better Sprint or Verizon?
Click to expand...
I got lucky, my mom let me use her upgrade. :D
Also, Verizon. Easily.
 
call back

call them back and escalate it. There are reports now that people who were not in eligibility are getting SERVICE CREDITS to cover the premium upgrade amount. 2 yr contract extension required of course.
 
AT&T has been providing you a benefit for the past few years to keep you loyal. Now they have taken it away. It's not a rip-off that you are no longer getting special treatment, but it does suck to have something taken away that you are so used to getting.
 
Please don't blame AT&T for you not checking to make sure you were eligible for an upgrade. I've been with AT&T for a long time as well, and I can't upgrade until the end of October, so that's when I'll be upgrading. Still happy with AT&T and I would never switch to Verizon. My sister in law who lives 2 houses down from us has Verizon and can't make a call in her house without leaning out the window. 4+ bars with AT&T in the same location. Plus, I've had nothing but good customer service from them for the last few years.
 
CCC4321 said:
I have been a AT&T customer for a long time 12+ And was looking forward to upgrading my 4S to the 5, but wait AT&T wants an extra $250 this year!
F AT&T this is the straw that broke the camels back. Its cheaper to pay the early termination fee and go to Sprint or Verizon.

Its not necessarily about the money, its about customer loyalty.

Anybody else pissed off about this? or has everyone just paid the extra $250?

Which one's better Sprint or Verizon?
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter how long you've been their customers. You play by the same rules as everybody else.

That $250 only comes into play if you are trying to upgrade before you are contractually allowed to. If you were a Sprint or Verizon customer you'd have to pay a fee too to upgrade early.

This anger is completely ridiculous. It's amazing how many people get mad at their carriers for not allowing them to be the exception to the rule.

Moving on from AT&T is nothing more than a temporary psychological victory for you. Spare us your nonsense.
 
And this is why I did not purchase the iPhone 4S. You chose to sign a 2 year contract... so you'll have to wait to be eligible.
 
Geckotek said:
AT&T has been providing you a benefit for the past few years to keep you loyal. Now they have taken it away. It's not a rip-off that you are no longer getting special treatment, but it does suck to have something taken away that you are so used to getting.
Click to expand...

For once I agree with Geckotek.
 
Sell old one on Ebay (quickly) to recoup the cost. AT&T is giving you $200 off for being loyal from list price of $649.

This is one of reasonable Rip Offs of AT&T. It along with other carriers are eating the cost assuming you will stay with them for 2 yrs without asking for another subsidized phone.

There is a $36 upgrade fee, add to AT&T Rip Off list.
 
This is the 389th thread in the past few days with the same crying and carrying on because ATT actually is holding people to their two year contract. Why cann't people just read the others.

And, even more important, why can people not understand that ATT is a business. They offered to pay a few hundred dollars of the cost of your new phone if you agreed to stick with them for 2 years.

Geez.
 
got a 4s last year and 5 this year for 199 and 299 respectively (upgraded the gbs )
 
DeaconGraves said:
You signed a two year contract when they gave you the last phone at the subsidized price. They're perfectly in their right to make you pay the extra amount.

Oh, and FYI, Verizon and Spring will make you do the same thing next year.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Personally, I think at&t never should have started letting people get a subsidized price after only a year. It breeds a sense of entitlement that isn't unique to the OP.
 
I'm going to start selling t-shirts that have "SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT" in big letters on the front. :rolleyes:
 
CCC4321 said:
I have been a AT&T customer for a long time 12+ And was looking forward to upgrading my 4S to the 5, but wait AT&T wants an extra $250 this year!
F AT&T this is the straw that broke the camels back. Its cheaper to pay the early termination fee and go to Sprint or Verizon.

Its not necessarily about the money, its about customer loyalty.

Anybody else pissed off about this? or has everyone just paid the extra $250?

Which one's better Sprint or Verizon?
Click to expand...

You really expect them to shell out another 500 dollars to apple in subsidies when your contracts not even up. Don't be mad at&T. Blame apple with their astronomical subsidies. AT&T can't afford to subsidize you every year.
 
First, the 12 month iPhone upgrades went away with the 4S, it's 20 months now like everyone else. Either stick out the contract or do an "early upgrade" which is $250 plus the subsidized price.

Second, whose fault was it you didn't check your eligibility before hand?

Third, please be kind and show me where is says you get perks after being with them for 1, 2, or 10 years.

Fourth, expect similar services with either Sprint or Verizon.
 
the problem is that on top of the phone price, it is $286 (250+36 upgrade fee) to early upgrade on AT&T, but the early termination fee for those who bought 4S at launch is $215. it seems a bit silly that AT&T would rather lose customers than have an early upgrade fee of $175 or so.
 
CCC4321 said:
I have been a AT&T customer for a long time 12+ And was looking forward to upgrading my 4S to the 5, but wait AT&T wants an extra $250 this year!
F AT&T this is the straw that broke the camels back. Its cheaper to pay the early termination fee and go to Sprint or Verizon.

Its not necessarily about the money, its about customer loyalty.

Anybody else pissed off about this? or has everyone just paid the extra $250?

Which one's better Sprint or Verizon?
Click to expand...

YEAH! **** YOU AT&T! **** them and their ****ing audacity of making you carry out more than 12 months of a 24 month contract! **** them for not actually allowing a loyal customer who has been with them for 12 months to upgrade early without paying more than what they paid before! You know what, file a complaint with the FCC. Speak out against this mistreatment.

I hope everything works out for you, I can't believe this is happening to you. Worst day ever!
 
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