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AT&T Will not let me cancel my contract WITH the ETF!

G

glide

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 15, 2007
155
1
Today is day 31 of owning my iphone 3GS. I called AT&T to cancel.

They told me my billing cycle runs from the 14th to the 14th and I cannot cancel until then. They can only "suspend" my line.

I'm not sure how this is possible. I started a new line of service and purchased my iphone on the 19th of June. Shouldn't my billing cycle start the day I signed the contract?

They are now charging me for an additional month of service that I do not intend to use. How is this possible/legal?

I want to pay for the 31 days I have used + the ETF. Has anyone else had a similar issue trying to cancel a new line of service? I'm wondering if I should pay the bill with my AMEX then dispute the charges, or file a complaint with the BBB and FCC...
 
You're not going to get anywhere with the BBB since you're breaking a contract

but did you see your first bill? Unless I'm mistaken (and I don't think I am) - your first bill gets pro-rated so that your billing cycle "stabilizes" into one of their cycles. Which means your first bill was probably higher and included 14 days give or take. So no - you're "new" cycle is the adjust billing cycle - not when you got your phone.
 
Its bull **** from ATT. Are you willing to take them to court, be the first. Its stealing if you ask me. Dont give up
 
samcraig said:
You're not going to get anywhere with the BBB since you're breaking a contract

but did you see your first bill? Unless I'm mistaken (and I don't think I am) - your first bill gets pro-rated so that your billing cycle "stabilizes" into one of their cycles. Which means your first bill was probably higher and included 14 days give or take. So no - you're "new" cycle is the adjust billing cycle - not when you got your phone.
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Its been 31 days. He should be able to cancel when he wants.
 
That is BS, tell them you are canceling and you want a pro-rated final bill sent to you.
 
samcraig said:
He is cancelling when he wants. That doesn't preclude him from honoring the rules set forth in the agreement he signed.
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what agreement. He wants to cancel after 30 days and pay the ETF. That prorated **** is a gimmick by ATT to get extra money from you.
 
Ask to speak to a manager or someone that has the authority to cancel your account. Should take a few minutes, then you can JB/UL and walk over to T-Mobile. My brother just did that with his iPhone. Just be firm and don't YELL!.... ;)
 
you think that isnt fair. check out my att story.

- I recieved a text from att saying that i cannot pay for my bill cause for some ODD reason some address i have no clue whos it is, appears on my account. So guess what, my bank card does not match that address thus making my payment invalid. Since i am a new customer, i can not change the address information using thier ATT website, nor can they change the address because my account is under 30 days of being opened. So now i have a past due bill that is accumulating interest and i cannot pay it thru att or anywhere. :) Think you have it bad?
 
serialtoon said:
you think that isnt fair. check out my att story.

- I recieved a text from att saying that i cannot pay for my bill cause for some ODD reason some address i have no clue whos it is, appears on my account. So guess what, my bank card does not match that address thus making my payment invalid. Since i am a new customer, i can not change the address information using thier ATT website, nor can they change the address because my account is under 30 days of being opened. So now i have a past due bill that is accumulating interest and i cannot pay it thru att or anywhere. :) Think you have it bad?
Click to expand...

tell them you're a journalist. they will ALWAYS pull **** out of their ass to make things work. One of the last things they want is a journalist getting ****ed over, especially ones who writes for a national magazine ;)
 
OP stop whining, obviously you're trying to screw the company over by canceling and selling your iPhone, is it not fitting they screw you over in return?

as ive said in other threads, ive seen the inventory reports for the iPhones, i worked at att for years, they pay about $400 over what you paid with the 2 year agreement price, so yea if you are going to cancel and cause them to lose money(like thousands of others selling on eBay) then hell yea they arent gonna make it easy.
 
cWeems said:
OP stop whining, obviously you're trying to screw the company over by canceling and selling your iPhone, is it not fitting they screw you over in return?

as ive said in other threads, ive seen the inventory reports for the iPhones, i worked at att for years, they pay about $400 over what you paid with the 2 year agreement price, so yea if you are going to cancel and cause them to lose money(like thousands of others selling on eBay) then hell yea they arent gonna make it easy.
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How is he trying to screw the company over? He is gonna have to pay the ETF, which is standard practice. He's willing to pay the penalty that is part of the contract, and they are the ones not honoring the contract.
 
amorican said:
How is he trying to screw the company over? He is gonna have to pay the ETF, which is standard practice. He's willing to pay the penalty that is part of the contract, and they are the ones not honoring the contract.
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Because cWeems is special since he has seen all the top secret inventory reports!!!!111:rolleyes:
 
cWeems said:
OP stop whining, obviously you're trying to screw the company over by canceling and selling your iPhone, is it not fitting they screw you over in return?

as ive said in other threads, ive seen the inventory reports for the iPhones, i worked at att for years, they pay about $400 over what you paid with the 2 year agreement price, so yea if you are going to cancel and cause them to lose money(like thousands of others selling on eBay) then hell yea they arent gonna make it easy.
Click to expand...

How am I trying to screw them? I want to pay the ETF and stop my service.

Do you think I really care how that impacts AT&T's bottom line? If they don't like it - they shouldn't have the ETF option to begin with.

ruinfx said:
sounds like you didnt factor the billing cycle into your little scheme
Click to expand...

How would I, as a new customer, possibly know that a billing cycle could start BEFORE the phone is even released? Bottom line is they are trying to charge me for services that I am not taking advantage of.

This happens in NO other industry. When I cancel my cable / landline / electricity / whatever else....service stops IMMEDIATELY and the last bill is pro-rated.
 
strike1555 said:
Because cWeems is special since he has seen all the top secret inventory reports!!!!111:rolleyes:
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hardly top secret, any rep can see them...

but yea OP you're trying to screw them over, im sure when they determined subsidized pricing and ETF it wasnt made for customers canceling on the 31st day. you're trying to make money off of the new phone and you're mad its not going your way, get a real job.
 
glide said:
This happens in NO other industry. When I cancel my cable / landline / electricity / whatever else....service stops IMMEDIATELY and the last bill is pro-rated.
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Actually it does happen in other industries if you are on a contract with them like with cable you can sign up for 6 months for a special rate and if you cancel you pay the entire period of the contract.

Just be thankful you aren't in Australia where the carriers don't have early termination fees, if you cancel there then you have to pay out the contract just like it should be. Trying to abuse the system by starting a new contract and canceling it straight away so you can just pay the ETF and avoid having to pay the full handset price just annoys the heck out of me being a loyal AT&T customer that has to wait until December to get the upgrade pricing!
 
the FCC and the local PUC

Contact the FCC, online and you local public utility commission. They will resolve the issue. It may take some time , but it will get done
 
pugnut said:
Contact the FCC, online and you local public utility commission. They will resolve the issue. It may take some time , but it will get done
Click to expand...

Resolve what issue? There's no issues. He is cancelling his contract and ATT has a billing cycle. They are billing the OP according to that and the account is being allowed to be terminated.

Suck up and deal with the fact that you have to pay a little more than you thought when trying to screw around with getting what YOU want they way YOU wanted WHEN you wanted.
 
glide said:
How am I trying to screw them? I want to pay the ETF and stop my service.

Do you think I really care how that impacts AT&T's bottom line? If they don't like it - they shouldn't have the ETF option to begin with.
Click to expand...

Should AT&T care about your bottom line? If you didn't like it you never should have signed a legally binding contract.

glide said:
How would I, as a new customer, possibly know that a billing cycle could start BEFORE the phone is even released? Bottom line is they are trying to charge me for services that I am not taking advantage of.

This happens in NO other industry. When I cancel my cable / landline / electricity / whatever else....service stops IMMEDIATELY and the last bill is pro-rated.
Click to expand...

Every industry has it where you sign a contract for X amount of time of service.

Cescfabregas4 said:
what agreement. He wants to cancel after 30 days and pay the ETF. That prorated **** is a gimmick by ATT to get extra money from you.
Click to expand...

Yeah, AT&T "invented" prorating. Do you even know what it is?
 
glide said:
How am I trying to screw them? I want to pay the ETF and stop my service.

Do you think I really care how that impacts AT&T's bottom line? If they don't like it - they shouldn't have the ETF option to begin with.
Click to expand...

You are trying to screw them or else you would have cancelled a day earlier and returned your phone and would have had no problems. The only reason your having this problem is because you are trying to sell the phone and make money off of them and you're not going to get any remorse from anybody on here for doing that. Suck it up and pay an extra months worth of service. It's people like you that make them change the rules and end up screwing honest contract-biding customers.

IMO, they should make the person return the phone no matter what if they cancel the contract. Either return the phone or pay off the difference of what AT&T has subsidized for your phone. It will stop these children from screwing companies over so they can make a couple hundred bucks. Why don't you stop putting in all this effort into trying to scam companies and put that effort into your education and maybe you'll have a better job and won't have to worry about money so much.

You're a disgrace. Get off these forums.
 
samcraig said:
Resolve what issue? There's no issues. He is cancelling his contract and ATT has a billing cycle. They are billing the OP according to that and the account is being allowed to be terminated.

Suck up and deal with the fact that you have to pay a little more than you thought when trying to screw around with getting what YOU want they way YOU wanted WHEN you wanted.
Click to expand...

There is an issue. He wants to cancel and they are trying to squeeze extra days of service out of him. I purchased my iphone on july 11th last year and they reset my cycle 6 days later on the 11th. I got screwed out of my DT minutes in those six days because I didnt use them as I was saving them for the middle of the month.

Its just like how they used to screw customers who cancelled their contracts early, 12 months early or 1 month early they had to pay full ETF. Now thank God that has changed.
 
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