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Hello iPhone, bye bye iPhone
- Thread starter klex
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I hope this breaks the 'locked' ties to at&t....
http://consumerist.com/consumer/new...l-phone-bill-of-the-110th-congress-297333.php
Let's keep our fingers crossed.
http://consumerist.com/consumer/new...l-phone-bill-of-the-110th-congress-297333.php
Let's keep our fingers crossed.
I've had nothing but great experiences with AT&T CS. First a few months ago, I tried out and returned a BlackBerry Curve. No problems whatsoever. I've had to call a few times since buying my iPhone for different issues here and there, and each time it was smooth sailing.
Wow, that would be a amazing. I bet you the cell phone companies have already started their lobbying machinery to prevent this from happening.
Why?
Early Termination Fees: FCC regulations would require companies to prorate ETFs, with the penalty for escaping a 2-year contract cut in half at the end of the first year.
So? They'll just raise the ETF. Instead of $175, it could be $300.
Service Maps: Cellphone companies would be required to provide detailed maps showing call quality down to the street level. The maps would be augmented by data on dropped calls and coverage gaps collected and publicized by the FCC.
So? AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint do this already, with the exception of dropped calls, which is a fairly arbitrary.
Fee Disclosure: Overage charges would be displayed separately from taxes, and companies would be prohibited from levying any fees, apart from the basic service charge, not expressly authorized by federal, state, or local regulation.
So? Last I checked, there weren't any charges on my bill that weren't authorized by federal, state, or local regulation. And that doesn't stop my state from trying to tack on additional taxes to make up revenue. (By the way, if you're in Michigan, the state is trying to do just that.)
Contract Disclosure: Depriving us of a source of many posts, companies would be prohibited from extending contracts without "point-of-sale notification," and customers would have 30 days to cancel any contract, new or extended. Any contract changes would need to be sent to consumers in writing, and could not take affect for 30 days.
What kind of sketchball Mom & Pop carriers are out there?
I can't think of any carrier that still renews your contract without telling you, and I haven't seen a contract that doesn't explicitly say that they have to notify you in advance if they make changes to their contracts. This is how people have been getting out of VZW and Cingular contracts without an ETF for years.
And who doesn't have a 30-day return period anymore? (Aside from the 10% iPhone restock fee, which wouldn't be covered under this bill anyway.)
Unlocked Phones: The bill would give the FCC a homework assignment: a single-spaced report to Congress on the harmful and anti-competitive practice of locking handsets.
Great. Welcome to paying MSRP for all phones.
Military Exemptions: Companies would be required to release military members awaiting deployment from their contracts.
Okay, this is a good one, and it's a shame any carrier would jack around someone going on active duty.
Otherwise, this bill looks like a big nothingburger designed to get some PR from people who don't know better.
Wirelessly posted (Apple Communication Device: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/1C28 Safari/419.3)
To the OP: So who is your favorite carrier?
IMO they are all lacking in the CS dept. It's a matter of who lacks less.
I find it very naive to say a giant corporation is messed up based on one experience at the store.
To the OP: So who is your favorite carrier?
IMO they are all lacking in the CS dept. It's a matter of who lacks less.
I find it very naive to say a giant corporation is messed up based on one experience at the store.
I like T-mobile. I've had them for a while and they are pretty CS friendly. Add to that MyFavs which is indispensable for me whose family is on Verizon and GF is on Sprint (she wants to over to T-Mobile once we cohab). All in all pretty swanky.
I work at at&t, sorry but that was a no-brainer... you were just dealing with stupid employees. I'm really sorry that you had to go though with that... Too bad your prolly not in the Philly area... That wouldn't have happened at my store.
I'm convinced that people have terrible stories about EVERY provider, bar none.
I was a sprint customer and have a lovely little horror story about dealing with them that I'll spare the details on and my move to AT&T has been fantastic. I've called support on a couple questions with friendly prompt service, the store was great, the activation a piece of cake and cool too. I couldn't be happier and I probably just jinxed it but all has been fantastic thus far!
I was a sprint customer and have a lovely little horror story about dealing with them that I'll spare the details on and my move to AT&T has been fantastic. I've called support on a couple questions with friendly prompt service, the store was great, the activation a piece of cake and cool too. I couldn't be happier and I probably just jinxed it but all has been fantastic thus far!
I'm convinced that people have terrible stories about EVERY provider, bar none.
I was a sprint customer and have a lovely little horror story about dealing with them that I'll spare the details on and my move to AT&T has been fantastic. I've called support on a couple questions with friendly prompt service, the store was great, the activation a piece of cake and cool too. I couldn't be happier and I probably just jinxed it but all has been fantastic thus far!
It's not about AT&T per se, people don't want the contract with anyone. If you had to sign a 2 year contract with a mythical company with a spotless CS record for 100% of their customers, people would still try to get out of it.
So I have a question: It seems that T-Mobile is the other provider that can be used in the states for GSM... is their service/plans/prices that much better than AT&T? It sounds like some features/functionality of the iPhone are lost when using T-Mobile. Would be interested in knowing why people want to not use AT&T so much (besides the 2 yr contract, etc)..
I have T-Mobile, and my phone is the Sidekick iD, and the plan is the MyFaves 400 for $39.99 a month plus the $20 a month Sidekick unlimited MMS/Data plan.
I had Cingular/AT&T for a combined 5 years prior to my current two years with T-Mobile. The customer service from AT&T/Cingular is AWFUL. Their stores are full of bad customer service representatives, and their phone lines are always "full". There are exceptions, obviously, but even Consumer Reports rates T-Mobile as #1 in customer service.
It's all depending on the person, but T-Mo obviously has extensive customer service and the plans are phenomenal. Too bad the service and phones aren't that great. But I'll trade bad phones/service for a low monthly bill and sweet customer service.
I had Cingular/AT&T for a combined 5 years prior to my current two years with T-Mobile. The customer service from AT&T/Cingular is AWFUL. Their stores are full of bad customer service representatives, and their phone lines are always "full". There are exceptions, obviously, but even Consumer Reports rates T-Mobile as #1 in customer service.
It's all depending on the person, but T-Mo obviously has extensive customer service and the plans are phenomenal. Too bad the service and phones aren't that great. But I'll trade bad phones/service for a low monthly bill and sweet customer service.
Oh! "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" an AT&T Customer...
I remember my visit to the store of the doggy brand (Canadian Cellphone Company) I was so pissed off because my ***** plan does not include even Call display or Mailbox... whereas in MOST of the REST OF THE WORLD it's FREE!
Lucky I didnt sign a ( x )year contract. I smashed the documents I signed just for the rage I felt when I told my friend call me and leave a message... eeer... You have no voicemail dude! WHAAAAAAAAT THE FFFFlower? And not even Call display! I was so pissed off!
So... there you go. A story without a happy ending. Thanks to the Canadian Cellphone companies. yeah yeah blame CRTC or whatever... write to your PM whatever... I don't care anymore.
See you iPhone in 2012
I remember my visit to the store of the doggy brand (Canadian Cellphone Company) I was so pissed off because my ***** plan does not include even Call display or Mailbox... whereas in MOST of the REST OF THE WORLD it's FREE!
Lucky I didnt sign a ( x )year contract. I smashed the documents I signed just for the rage I felt when I told my friend call me and leave a message... eeer... You have no voicemail dude! WHAAAAAAAAT THE FFFFlower? And not even Call display! I was so pissed off!
So... there you go. A story without a happy ending. Thanks to the Canadian Cellphone companies. yeah yeah blame CRTC or whatever... write to your PM whatever... I don't care anymore.
See you iPhone in 2012
I think the AT&T store reps simply lie to you so that they make the sale and get the commission. I had this when I signed up for Cingular, pre-iPhone, because I wanted a "world phone" which Verizon didn't offer. I asked the rep. a dozen times to confirm that there was no waiting time for international roaming. He told me a dozen times that there would not be and that he had made a note to this effect on my account, but that I had to call customer service once I'd opened the account to activate this feature because he couldn't do it in the store.
Alarm bells should've been ringing in my head, but they weren't. Of course, when I called customer service they told me that I had to wait 6 months before they could turn on international roaming. The store rep. was an effing liar, and I went back to the store to tell him so. He wasn't around and no one there, apparently, could help me. They put me back on the line with customer service, who gave me the same spiel, no international roaming for 6 months.
I kicked up merry hell and was going to return all the stuff I'd just bought (two phones plus headsets and chargers) and cancel the account. That got me through to a manager who, after hearing my tale, was wonderfully helpful and got my roaming switched on straight away.
I've been with Cingular / AT&T for years now, and have never had any more customer service issues; mostly because I haven't needed them. If I do need to call someone, I'm not going to tolerate one of their front line 'tards for more than 5 seconds before demanding to talk to a manager. I'm never doing business in one of their stores again, either. Online only, that way you know that what they say on the website is how it is (and you can print it off to prove it). Never, never, never trust a sales rep.
It's not just AT&T that screws its customers; it's every single one!
My girlfriend and I went to upgrade our phone and we ask the sales rep. about upgrading and she says that at the end of our contract we're eligible for a phone of a certain amount, say $300. We say "Well, our contract is about to end so let's do it and we'll pay the difference."
"Uh, your contract doesn't expire for 2 more years," she replies.
It turns out that since my girlfriend had bought another phone AND paid full price for it they decided that our contract had to be extended without ever telling us.
My girlfriend and I went to upgrade our phone and we ask the sales rep. about upgrading and she says that at the end of our contract we're eligible for a phone of a certain amount, say $300. We say "Well, our contract is about to end so let's do it and we'll pay the difference."
"Uh, your contract doesn't expire for 2 more years," she replies.
It turns out that since my girlfriend had bought another phone AND paid full price for it they decided that our contract had to be extended without ever telling us.
I have dealt with AT&T exactly once (except for payments) since getting the iPhone and that was when I signed up for the new contract. Just needed to create a new family plan, and transfer two numbers over, then I logged ontu itunes converted my phone to the iPhone. Have not called, talked to emailed or any other communication beyond the mandatory billing/payment that is necessary with any service.
I think every carrier has there problems and some people will love (like ? perhaps) one and hate (loath) another, and someone else will be the opposite. I don't think it should be this way but it is the way it is.
I think every carrier has there problems and some people will love (like ? perhaps) one and hate (loath) another, and someone else will be the opposite. I don't think it should be this way but it is the way it is.
Wow that is terrible. Reminds me of a call I got where someone's wife had went to a store the find a replacement for her phone. She got a new phone that was on sale as the store agents tell her. She all happy that she has a new phone. Three months later her husband calls us to complain that their contract has been extended another two years. The phone she brought that was on sale was a subsidized phone which included a two year contract. So some way she didn't realize that she was signing a contract with us and thought she was just getting a phone with no strings attached. There was nothing I could do for her due to length she had the phone. That is just one of the reasons I don't really like store reps. They will do anything to get a sale and leave it to us to clean up their mess that they create.