It's terrible when people who break contracts aren't given perks or easy outs. Just horrible.
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AT&T Will not let me cancel my contract WITH the ETF!
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It's terrible when people who break contracts aren't given perks or easy outs. Just horrible.
Why the sympathy for the OP? I don't feel bad for him one bit. He thought he could make some quick cash by scamming AT&T. Now he's up a creek and will be lucky if he breaks even. Sucks to suck, doesn't it?
I was waiting for this thread to start.
No, when you purchased the iPhone on June 19th, you agreed to a contract with AT&T, you agreed to pay a pro-rated amount for service and pre-pay for a full month of service on your first billing. This is in your CSS. You received a pro-rated bill from 6/19-7/13 and then a full pre-paid bill for 7/14-8/13.
The final bill is never pro-rated with AT&T. So enjoy your service and use your iPhone until 8/13 since you already agreed to pay until that date.
Just as a related note you can't sue since you also agreed to the following:
DISPUTE RESOLUTION BY BINDING ARBITRATION
Please read this carefully. It affects your rights.
Summary: Most customer concerns can be resolved quickly and to the customer's satisfaction by calling our customer service department at 800-331-0500. In the unlikely event that AT&T's customer service department is unable to resolve a complaint you may have to your satisfaction (or if AT&T has not been able to resolve a dispute it has with you after attempting to do so informally), we each agree to resolve those disputes through binding arbitration or small claims court instead of in courts of general jurisdiction. Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, allows for more limited discovery than in court, and is subject to very limited review by courts. Arbitrators can award the same damages and relief that a court can award. Any arbitration under this Agreement will take place on an individual basis; class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted. AT&T will pay all costs of arbitration, no matter who wins, so long as your claim is not frivolous. Moreover, in arbitration you are entitled to recover attorneys' fees from AT&T to at least the same extent as you would be in court. In addition, under certain circumstances (as explained below), AT&T will pay you and your attorney a special premium if the arbitrator awards you an amount that is greater than what AT&T has offered you to settle the dispute.
DavePlease read this carefully. It affects your rights.
Summary: Most customer concerns can be resolved quickly and to the customer's satisfaction by calling our customer service department at 800-331-0500. In the unlikely event that AT&T's customer service department is unable to resolve a complaint you may have to your satisfaction (or if AT&T has not been able to resolve a dispute it has with you after attempting to do so informally), we each agree to resolve those disputes through binding arbitration or small claims court instead of in courts of general jurisdiction. Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, allows for more limited discovery than in court, and is subject to very limited review by courts. Arbitrators can award the same damages and relief that a court can award. Any arbitration under this Agreement will take place on an individual basis; class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted. AT&T will pay all costs of arbitration, no matter who wins, so long as your claim is not frivolous. Moreover, in arbitration you are entitled to recover attorneys' fees from AT&T to at least the same extent as you would be in court. In addition, under certain circumstances (as explained below), AT&T will pay you and your attorney a special premium if the arbitrator awards you an amount that is greater than what AT&T has offered you to settle the dispute.
So, if I've got this straight... You can't cancel TODAY, but you can cancel on the billing cycle and as of today the account is suspended.
I'm pretty certain that suspended lines do not accumulate charges, did you bother to ask them if you'd be charged from today to the billing cycle with a suspended line/account?
Sounds like the line is suspended as of today and you'll receive a bill on the billing cycle for the 31 days you used it, at which time you may cancel.
I'm pretty certain that suspended lines do not accumulate charges, did you bother to ask them if you'd be charged from today to the billing cycle with a suspended line/account?
Sounds like the line is suspended as of today and you'll receive a bill on the billing cycle for the 31 days you used it, at which time you may cancel.
Well they provided you with a CSS, CSS stands for "Customer Service Summary" (Displayed / Printed / Emailed to you).
In the case of all of the services you mentioned it depends on the supplier's ability to terminate service on-demand. This hapens with MANY other industires. Your example of electricity is a perfect example. Unless the tech is standing at your meter to record the final reading and pull the meter you can't IMMEDIATELY stop service. You can schedule a termination of service.
You should have called AT&T on day 1 of service if you did not intend to complete your contract and they would have been happy to explain why you can't just cancel the contract. Remember, you agreed to the terms to get the shiny new iPhone on June 19.
Dave
While I do not agree with the OPs approach, I have to agree that if he wants to terminate his contract, he should be able to do that. AT&T has clearly built into their contracts an early termination mechanism (as opposed to a buy out of the balance of full term of the contract), spelled out the assessment, defined a 30-day window during which terms could be cancelled, and clearly has the ability to prorate a bill at the front end, then they have to allow someone out of their contract without adherence to a full bill-cycle claim.
I too would take issue with it on principle alone, and if I got no satisfaction from a manager and no reference to a term in my contract about full cycles beyond the first prorated, I most certainly would be contacting the state PUC and FCC. I would also make sure I paid with a credit card and then dispute the payment. Trust me, it would cost them more than the balance of my bill for them to internally respond to and resolve it all at the end.
Again, I'm not agreeing with the spirit of the OPs action, but I cannot dispute the action itself if he is abiding by the contract rules in the absence of language in that contract to address every contingency for both parties.
Again - ATT is letting him cancel. And as per the CSS, his original bill was prorated to match a billing cycle. If you can cut/paste a part of the agreement which states that someone can cancel in 30 days and receive credit and/or some stipulation in which ATT is acting foul here - please do so.
ATT is abiding by their ETF. They are allowing you to cancel within 30 days. They have upheld their agreement as far as I'm concerned. If they billed you for an additional month AFTER the 30 days and into a next billing cycle, there would be a reasonable complaint.
Ignorance on behalf of the OP by not reading the CSS when he bought the phone is not an excuse any more than getting a speeding ticket for not noticing that you passed a sign awhile back which had a lower speed limit posted.
CANCELLATION PERIOD / TERMINATION
You may terminate this Agreement within thirty (30) days after activating service without paying an Early Termination Fee. You will pay for service fees and charges incurred through the termination date, but AT&T will refund your activation fee, if any, if you terminate within three (3) days of activating the service. You may have to return any handsets and accessories purchased with this Agreement, and AT&T may charge you a restocking fee. If you terminate after the 30th day but before expiration of the Agreement's Service Commitment, you will pay AT&T an Early Termination Fee for each wireless telephone number associated with the service. Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time after your Service Commitment ends with thirty (30) days notice to the other party. We may terminate this Agreement at any time without notice if we cease to provide service in your area. We may interrupt or terminate your service without notice for any conduct that we believe violates this Agreement or any terms and conditions of your rate plan, or if you behave in an abusive, derogatory, or similarly unreasonable manner with any of our representatives, or if we discover that you are underage, or if you fail to make all required payments when due, or if we have reasonable cause to believe that your Device is being used for an unlawful purpose or in a way that may adversely affect our service, or if you provided inaccurate credit information or we believe your credit has deteriorated and you refuse to pay any requested advance payment or deposit.
You may terminate this Agreement within thirty (30) days after activating service without paying an Early Termination Fee. You will pay for service fees and charges incurred through the termination date, but AT&T will refund your activation fee, if any, if you terminate within three (3) days of activating the service. You may have to return any handsets and accessories purchased with this Agreement, and AT&T may charge you a restocking fee. If you terminate after the 30th day but before expiration of the Agreement's Service Commitment, you will pay AT&T an Early Termination Fee for each wireless telephone number associated with the service. Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time after your Service Commitment ends with thirty (30) days notice to the other party. We may terminate this Agreement at any time without notice if we cease to provide service in your area. We may interrupt or terminate your service without notice for any conduct that we believe violates this Agreement or any terms and conditions of your rate plan, or if you behave in an abusive, derogatory, or similarly unreasonable manner with any of our representatives, or if we discover that you are underage, or if you fail to make all required payments when due, or if we have reasonable cause to believe that your Device is being used for an unlawful purpose or in a way that may adversely affect our service, or if you provided inaccurate credit information or we believe your credit has deteriorated and you refuse to pay any requested advance payment or deposit.
There is no more "contract" I'm paying them an ETF specifically to nullify it.
At that point I pay on a day to day basis. I'm not required to pay for the next 2 years, I'm not required to pay for the next 2 weeks. When the contract is broken - it is over and service charges should stop immediately.
Right, I was just about to say this
I wish I could cancel and have my electronics just stop but that isn't the way it is for most things I have
OP, you may want to check out this thread.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/750091/
People have been doing what you want to do. Just call back and speak to somebody else.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/750091/
People have been doing what you want to do. Just call back and speak to somebody else.
How.The contract says if I cancel after 30 days I have to pay an early termination fee. After 30 days they wont take the phone back. How can they force me to keep a service I dont want any longer.
Thanks genius - I don't see anywhere in there about billing cycles and/or what fees can be credited back. Do you?
You know, normally when there are OPs getting attacked on here, it's semi-justified. This time, I'm simply amazed by people getting upset for NO reason.
The contract states: "Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time after your Service Commitment ends with thirty (30) days notice to the other party."
So, that nullifies ANY possible argument that by somehow canceling his contract he is wronging AT&T. Seriously. AT&T is a big boy. It has lawyers and lots of other people paid to make sure a) it's never wronged and to a certain extent b) if anyone is getting wronged, make sure it's the customer.
As a side note, I never thought I'd see AT&T getting defended so defiantly here. Why don't you all MMS each other while you wait for replies in this thread. Oh wait...you can't, because you have AT&T.
I personally think it is ridiculous that you would have to wait until the end of a bill cycle, and I think the CSR was incorrect. If you choose to terminate service (the contracts says 30-day notice but that's more for them canceling you than vice versa), they shouldn't charge you beyond what you've used.
I have heard story after story of people canceling in the middle of the bill cycle, so I'm not sure what's up with that. Also, the person claiming to be an ex-employee hasn't really rebutted that you're allowed to do that, just that he thinks it's wrong. Yeah, well, that early termination fee is there for a reason, and it protects AT&T. So they're gonna be just fine.
Now, if they WON'T let you cancel, just mark your phone as lost or stolen, which (I think) bumps you down to $5/month. I might very well be wrong. Either way, I'm on your side here. Do what you want. If you're willing to pay the ETF, then go for it. AT&T shouldn't be able to charge you a monthly service charge when you're not using the phone (aka after you want to cancel).
The contract states: "Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time after your Service Commitment ends with thirty (30) days notice to the other party."
So, that nullifies ANY possible argument that by somehow canceling his contract he is wronging AT&T. Seriously. AT&T is a big boy. It has lawyers and lots of other people paid to make sure a) it's never wronged and to a certain extent b) if anyone is getting wronged, make sure it's the customer.
As a side note, I never thought I'd see AT&T getting defended so defiantly here. Why don't you all MMS each other while you wait for replies in this thread. Oh wait...you can't, because you have AT&T.
I personally think it is ridiculous that you would have to wait until the end of a bill cycle, and I think the CSR was incorrect. If you choose to terminate service (the contracts says 30-day notice but that's more for them canceling you than vice versa), they shouldn't charge you beyond what you've used.
I have heard story after story of people canceling in the middle of the bill cycle, so I'm not sure what's up with that. Also, the person claiming to be an ex-employee hasn't really rebutted that you're allowed to do that, just that he thinks it's wrong. Yeah, well, that early termination fee is there for a reason, and it protects AT&T. So they're gonna be just fine.
Now, if they WON'T let you cancel, just mark your phone as lost or stolen, which (I think) bumps you down to $5/month. I might very well be wrong. Either way, I'm on your side here. Do what you want. If you're willing to pay the ETF, then go for it. AT&T shouldn't be able to charge you a monthly service charge when you're not using the phone (aka after you want to cancel).
Yeah, I like how the original comment there got deleted (probably by the poster). You know why? Because it's not abuse. If you want to wait until December, go for it. Other people are perfectly willing to (legally and morally) pay more, and get it now. You make economic choices in life. This is one of them.
And, "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" --> The ETF winds up becoming the full handset price. People who cancel just pay it up front and not under the guise of "monthly service charges." That $30/month for data isn't all for data. It's also for that precious piece of Apple hardware.
Ok, here's the deal guys, the OP said he was willing to pay for his 31 days of services and the ETF, that is all that he should have to pay for (given how the contract is written), he should not have to pay for a complete second month of service. It's simple, you should only have to pay for what you use.
Ding ding. We have a winner!
See OP, this is karma coming back at you. Your trying to work the system, however, the system is now working you.
You have 30 days to cancel the contract and not have to pay an EFT and only pay for the minutes you used on your contract. However, since you are now PAST the 30 days, you have to pay an EFT, your first months bill and ANY pro-rated service as well. That is how it works.
Who said it had to? Even with prorated service added it still would not. You point is not valid.
ok heres the deal. if he had actually read the material provided to him when he signed the contract he wouldnt be so surprised now about his billing cycle.