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ATT strikes again...

O

oftheheavens

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 9, 2008
1,988
498
cherry point
So i just got back from a 3 year tour in japan, and still have my original iphone from 4 years ago. I did not want to get an iphone 4 right now due to the release of a new iphone coming up june/july.

so i go into the att store and ask like 5 times "so i can activate a line on my already owned iphone, and I will not be on a contract and will be able to upgrade in a few months and THEN get a contract...right?"

I got "yes of course" all 5 times.


well i was poking around my att account online and went to upgrade line, just because, and saw that it said 2012.....really???

so i called att and they said that when i activated my original iphone via itunes that it automatically signed me up for a 2 year contract and that made my upgrade 1.5 years out...

so in summary i activate MY iphone 2g (or whatever it is called) and can't upgrade for 2 years....Oh yeah and was bound into a contract that i knew nothing about..

the att store here said that they will figure out a way to make it right, but we will see...:mad:
 
oftheheavens said:
So i just got back from a 3 year tour in japan, and still have my original iphone from 4 years ago. I did not want to get an iphone 4 right now due to the release of a new iphone coming up june/july.

so i go into the att store and ask like 5 times "so i can activate a line on my already owned iphone, and I will not be on a contract and will be able to upgrade in a few months and THEN get a contract...right?"

I got "yes of course" all 5 times.


well i was poking around my att account online and went to upgrade line, just because, and saw that it said 2012.....really???

so i called att and they said that when i activated my original iphone via itunes that it automatically signed me up for a 2 year contract and that made my upgrade 1.5 years out...

so in summary i activate MY iphone 2g (or whatever it is called) and can't upgrade for 2 years....Oh yeah and was bound into a contract that i knew nothing about..

the att store here said that they will figure out a way to make it right, but we will see...:mad:
Click to expand...
If you're within 30 days, I'd suggest cancelling your service, going to an ATT store in person, and having them set you up. Don't do it through iTunes.
 
It doesn't make sense but they do it all the time.
And 2G iPhone activation thru iTunes that let's you pick your plan etc automatically signs you up to a 2 year agreement.
Figures AT&T reps would know more than what we do here but some of them are clueless.
 
be nice polite it will get you better results then getting mad but be insistent and calm. if the salesperson can't help ask for the manager. if that doesn't work try another store or call customer service. with AT&T you will have 10 people tell you that your sol then bam 11 one fixes it. hope you get results soon though.
 
Dont worry about it.. Go back to the reps at the store and have them note your account.. And they will just have to do a manual upgrade.. Thats what i did a couple of years ago..
 
Remember that it's the consumers responsibility to read & understand the terms of service.

It's highly fashionable amongst many here to play the angry victim and bash AT&T. However the facts are undeniable.

While I know that AT&T was once more forgiving, they're now faced with many people moving to Verizon. Thus there is little if any latitude allowed.

There is a huge difference between a verbal exchange and the contract all carriers use. They only vary slightly. You may very well find you are locked in.

If you wish to be released, there is a provision. Smartphone early termination begins at $350.00. They will take payments with interest if you cannot pay in full at time of cancellation.

Good luck.
 
I took my 2G iPhone to an AT&T store and asked the same questions, received the same answers. They set the phone up at the store, when I tried to use it the first time a recording informed me that if I activated the phone I would be agreeing to a two year contract. At this point I stopped and walk back to the store and asked questions, the rep then proceeded to tell me that is just the way it works because of the system Apple uses to activate an iPhone. I then said if that is the way it must be I want to cancel my contract immediately, when faced with loosing a customer they suddenly decided to tell me there is a way to activate the iPhone and not be lock into a new contract. Personally I think the low life sales rep was hopping I ignored the contract warning so they get the commission for setting up a new two year agreement.

What they will do is back date your contract so your bill shows the phone is no longer under contract. Another catch is they will still require you to have one year of service before allowing you to receive the low upgrade price a new customer will receive with a two year contract. For example my statement says no longer under contract but I am not eligible for upgrade prices until September 2011, even if I sign a two year agreement. So if I want to upgrade my phone I will need to pay $300 for an iPhone 16GB phone vs. a new customer who will only pay $200 for a new iPhone and two year contract. When ever you activate an older iPhone one must read all the fine print and listen to any recordings before agreeing to activation.
 
Applejuiced said:
That doesnt make a difference.
Apple releases a new one every year. I dont think they will sit back and wait while other companies are pumping out new models every 2-3 months.
Its a sure bet that Apple will release a new iphone model every year, maybe even sooner.
Click to expand...

Exactly, this dude knows what he is talking aboot
 
ozred said:
Remember that it's the consumers responsibility to read & understand the terms of service.
Click to expand...

And its the business' responsibility to provide accurate & truthful information via its employees.

It's highly fashionable amongst many here to play the angry victim and bash AT&T. However the facts are undeniable.
Click to expand...

The facts being that AT&T employees gave the OP erroneous information and they are at fault here.

While I know that AT&T was once more forgiving, they're now faced with many people moving to Verizon. Thus there is little if any latitude allowed.
Click to expand...

Apparently you haven't read this thread.

There is a huge difference between a verbal exchange and the contract all carriers use. They only vary slightly. You may very well find you are locked in.

If you wish to be released, there is a provision. Smartphone early termination begins at $350.00. They will take payments with interest if you cannot pay in full at time of cancellation.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

You *must* work for a cell phone company. :rolleyes:
 
labman said:
be nice polite it will get you better results then getting mad but be insistent and calm. if the salesperson can't help ask for the manager. if that doesn't work try another store or call customer service. with AT&T you will have 10 people tell you that your sol then bam 11 one fixes it. hope you get results soon though.
Click to expand...

Cannot emphasize this enough. Be polite and courteous with everyone you deal with, but most importantly don't give up! No matter what people tell you there is always a way around "the rules".

The AT&T employees got you into this mess and they will get you out of it. It may just take persistence.
 
ozred said:
Remember that it's the consumers responsibility to read & understand the terms of service.
Click to expand...

You are correct -- it is. Consumers get all of the liability-- same as with the fine print in your house loan. It is perfectly OK for companies to lie to consumers. Caveat emptor. If they tell you the interest rate is 1% and it says so in big type on page 1, it is your fault if it says on page 135 that the interest rate jumps to prime+7% after 6 months. You should not have signed.

It's highly fashionable amongst many here to play the angry victim and bash AT&T. However the facts are undeniable.
Click to expand...
Correct again. Glad we are in agreement. The company always wins. Imagine-- silly people expecting a level playing field. If you lie, it is "fraud". If they lie, it is "the marketplace". Pretty simple, really. Not sure why people don't get it.
 
When all else fails, email sjobs@apple.com about the poor customer service you got. After doing so, I received the red carpet treatment at that store along with a replacement iPhone.
 
Applejuiced said:
That doesnt make a difference.
Apple releases a new one every year. I dont think they will sit back and wait while other companies are pumping out new models every 2-3 months.
Its a sure bet that Apple will release a new iphone model every year, maybe even sooner.
Click to expand...
Perhaps. I simply think this year *could* be different. It seems unlikely to me that Verizon would release a phone as "newest" in February when Apple was planning to release a newer phone on AT&T a few short months later. Perhaps I'm wrong. But time will tell. cheers
 
oftheheavens said:
so i go into the att store and ask like 5 times "so i can activate a line on my already owned iphone, and I will not be on a contract and will be able to upgrade in a few months and THEN get a contract...right?"
Click to expand...

I've been asking the same thing, and I've been hearing the same thing but I'm worried that I'll be in your situation.
 
oftheheavens said:
well i was poking around my att account online and went to upgrade line, just because, and saw that it said 2012.....really???
Click to expand...

Same thing happened to me. Added a line without contract, but the line wasn't eligible for an upgrade for two years. 18 months into the two years I tried to get a phone with a discount and was refused an upgrade. I ended up canceling the line and adding it again to get the upgrade.
When I called customer service a few days later to restore the caller id name I was told that the guy in the store was wrong and should have given me an upgrade.
 
Applejuiced said:
Let me see.
Maybe because they release a new one every summer for the past 4 years?
543.jpg
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^ this
 
The same thing happened to me when I added my most recent line. Added to line with an iPhoone I owned already and when it was time to upgrade, I wasn't showing eligible online.

All it took was a quick phone call to AT&T explaining that that I did not get a subsidy when I activated the new line & I had used my own phone. They manually fixed my upgrade & I had no problems picking up a new iPhone in store the next day.
 
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