I am new to ATT and got my activation fee waived. My bill went from 145 down to 97 bucks. Great, but I had to lie to the rep to get it removed.
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AT&T wont let me get rid of my 18 dollar upgrade fee
- Thread starter michael31986
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I just got off the phone with ATT customer service and had my upgrade fee waived. I don't have a FAN discount, and I've been a customer for a few years. I didn't give a reason to have it removed, I seriously just said "Hi, Can you waive my activation fee?" The guy said, "What activation fee, you have been a customer for a few years." I said, "Well, whatever that $18 fee is" and he said, "Oh you mean the upgrade fee." And I said "Yes, can you waive that then." He sounded confused, put me on hold, then came back and told me they'd waived it as a "one-time courtesy."
If you are having problems, I'd suggest just calling back til you get soemone that will do it for you.
If you are having problems, I'd suggest just calling back til you get soemone that will do it for you.
I didn't threaten anything and frankly, I think if you do then they are definitely not going to waive it. Unfortunately customers have very little leverage so ATT could care less if you canceled. Basically you are asking them to do you a favor that they don't have to do, so being nice is the way to go. If they had given me a problem or asked for a reason, I was going to tell them that I was thinking of adding a line and that waiving the fee might induce me to add the line with them instead of going to another company.
Don't get me wrong, I think it is ridiculous that we have to pay this when we are buying a new device from them, increasing the monthly bill, and agreeing to two more years of a contract, but unfortunately the fee is all part of the contract that you agreed to. Good luck....
Don't get me wrong, I think it is ridiculous that we have to pay this when we are buying a new device from them, increasing the monthly bill, and agreeing to two more years of a contract, but unfortunately the fee is all part of the contract that you agreed to. Good luck....
^ see i dont get it, u guys can do it and no one bitches. i ask on the forum why i can't get mine waived and everyone jumps on me and saying im whining. I have enough money for the phone and bill. i just didn't want to pay the 18, VERIZON has never charged me 18 bucks or anything for extending or upgrading my contract.
money is money, sorry i view 18 bucks as money i could use somewhere else.
money is money, sorry i view 18 bucks as money i could use somewhere else.
I agree with you, it is silly to have to pay them for all this stuff. I also thought it would be weird to call and ask for something that I had already agreed to, but, as an attorney, I have learned that EVERYTHING is negotiable and that it NEVER hurts to ask. ATT customer service sucks, but you just have to be persistent, and in this case, be polite. I would just keep asking for supervisors. Customer Service Reps unfortunately usually don't know what they are talking about/don't care to look things up. If one person won't do it, ask to be transferred. But be nice, bc they won't do it if you are obnoxious. I don't know how their computer systems work, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were able to make notes about the customers that other reps could see, like "this guy keeps calling and yelling about this fee" or something (not to say that you are yelling, just an example) and if that has already happened, you might be SOL.
^ stop interpretting what im saying the wrong way! trust me i would go to verizon if not for the iphone. Go read the activation fee thread and you will see im not the only one who has complained as the people above have also.
Nice to see you have no ethics.
oh cool it mr.holier-than-thou, he's just an average consumer who wants to save a couple of bucks. at&t is a corporation just like any other corporation who just look for ways to charge you for something. if you can save money in any way, GO FOR IT!
Why? Why is it so important to get out of this fee?
I would hate to see what some of the people on this board would do to get out of a speeding ticket.
A company in the business of making money? No. It can't be. :End Sarcasm.
Adding a new phone is not just push-a-button simple. The food line stretches from the CSR that hands you the phone all the way back through the programers that develop the system, the techs that maintain the system, the waerhouse crews, etc... The funds go into all of this.
Next time you think about asking for a raise think about where the funds will come from. Next time you wonder why the company you work for isn't hiring more people think about where the funds for that job would come from.
This has nothing to do with ethics my friend. The unethical thing is charging customers just because you can, as these companies do. Case in point. When comcast raised my Internet rate, they charged me a one time change of rate fee of $5. I called and complained but they didn't budge. They raised my rates and charged me $5 for raising my rates. ATT doesn't have to charge the $18 or $36, they just do.Nice to see you have no ethics.
I just didn't see the justification to the fee. The lie that I told them was that I was told my activation fee would be waved because it took 2hrs for the ATT store to activate my iPhone.
It has everything to do with ethics. I agree that I don't see why AT&T is charging the $18 or $36. But if you don't like them, you don't have to purchase the iPhone. Nobody is forcing you or anyone else to get the iPhone. Lying your way out of the fee is unethical, period.
I don't understand why so many people here defend at&t like they own it. Many of us, who have discounts on our plans DON'T HAVE TO PAY UPGRADE FEES. When I got my bill I saw the discount was there but they charged me an upgrade fee, so I called and they removed it. Not because I didn't want to pay but because I don't need to pay it. That is why they had no problem removing it. I'm not saying at&t is terrible, I do believe it is a little pricey and the iphone upgrade nightmare was ridiculous (I had to go to the apple store 3 times before my discount came off), but this is one case where many of us are entitled to a discount. However, since the iphone is only on at&t I am sticking with them.
it looks like you got half off your activation fee so they did apply your discount. sorry but they probably wont go lower
I'm not defending AT&T's fees. I have no problem with calling and asking them to be removed. Lying to get them removed is another story.
eplchamps0304 said:
Its funny how so many people say that corporations are evil and they are only out to get money, then prove themselves just as bad.
The fact that AT&T is the only provider who supports the iphone in america, no one has much of a choice. people are already dropping their old phone service that they might like better to switch to at&t, and at&t knows that and charges extra fees just because they can and know most people wont do anything about it. It's corporate America my friend. and its the consumer job to put up a fight to for money and not let it fly away so easily, and they have that right.
Yeah...except that's not the way it really works. At the end of the day, the iPhone is a phone, pure and simple. Are there not multiple carriers that sell thousands of phones? Are people complainging about the iPod prices because it's the only MP3 player they can buy?
To the OP - I'd understand your frustration a little more if you hadn't agreed to pay the upgrade fee. Two weeks before the 3G launch I called AT&T and told them I wasn't going to pay the upgrade fee. They removed it from my account. If you had done this, or argued the fee when you bought the phone, or perhaps investigated the matter before purchasing, you'd have some solid ground, but buying something then somehow thinking you're entitled to what other people received by their own efforts it a bit much.
