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How can I get AT&T 40 dollar upgrade fee waived

i got mine waived!

Thank you for your patience! Your AT&T Representative will be with you shortly.
Welcome! You are now chatting with 'Gino Jameson'
Kim: Wow...awesome name.. GINO! HIIIIII 😀
Gino Jameson: Hi Kim!! Glad to have you here today! 🙂
Gino Jameson: Thank you! You have a lovely name too.
Gino Jameson: How can I help you with your discount?
Kim: haven't heard the word "lovely" in a long time!
Kim: but anyways.... my question is...
Gino Jameson: You know why? Because I had an Ex GF named Kim.
Gino Jameson: LOL/
Kim: AHAHAHHAHA
Gino Jameson: anyway...
Kim: LORD
Kim: not so lovely anymore...
Gino Jameson: </3
Kim: i looked into preordering the iPhone 6 PLUS
Kim: the PHONE that will break your head when you throw it
Gino Jameson: lol
Kim: and when i signed up for the FAN account.i think it said that it will waive my upgrade fee...is that true?
Gino Jameson: Let me check your account real quick. 🙂
Kim: work your magic GINOOOO
Kim: 😛
Gino Jameson: Of course! 🙂 Happy to inform you that you have an upgrade fee waiver from Ease Carolina University 🙂 You're safe from the $40 upgrade fee. (y)
Kim: YAYYYYY
Kim: SOOOOO...
Kim: will it automatically get waived...or do i have to call back when I get my phone next month?
Gino Jameson: East****
Kim: BROKE-arse college student here
Kim: 😀
Gino Jameson: It should be automatically be removed on the bill. BUT if just incase you will see it on the bill, we will be more than happy to remove it. 🙂
Gino Jameson: I understand! 🙂
Kim: okie dokie!
Kim: can you put a note on my account so when i DO call back I don't have to re-explain myself?
Gino Jameson: Of course. Actually I'm done putting notes. 🙂
Kim: 8) GINOOOO...i think i got the hawts for ya! LOL
Kim: -hugs-
Gino Jameson: Perfect!
Gino Jameson: Oh Kim, Kim kim ..
Gino Jameson: haha 🙂
Gino Jameson: Kidding.
Kim: thanks a bunches!!! -kiss on the cheeks- toddles GINO baby
Kim: 🙂
 
Just figured I'd bump an old thread.

I just had the fee waived, no questions asked. Online chat. Gave them the "we're loyal customers" talk - because it's true. We've been with them since AT&T was Cingular Wireless. The upgrade fee is pretty stupid. We already pay the bill on time, pay for the service, and are locked into a contract. There's no need for a fee on top of that.
 
Just ask them to waive it given that's its Christmas. You'll be surprised at what kind of fees they can waive given that it's Christmas. I once had a late payment fee waived with that excuse and the lady in chat even gave me a small credit. Go figure.
 
I ordered my iPhone 6+ on October 11. They finally shipped it Thursday for delivery Tuesday. At the beginning of November the $40 upgrade fee showed up on my account. I called and complained 3 times. The third agent I spoke to finally credited me the $40 and also gave me an additional $30 credit. The squeaky wheel usually gets the grease.

----------

I also received a $15 bill credit after I complained that after making me wait 66 days they shipped my phone UPS ground from Texas to Ohio which is taking 5-6 days. That credit was issued on 12/18.
 
Seems like it's becoming real hard to get it waived now with att.
It took me many tries and many unwilling reps wouldn't even budge.
Finally one nice one got it removed for me.
I bet they will keep making it real hard. They all wanted me to switch plans and go to att next.
 
jcmeyer5 said:
You upgraded. There is a fee. Get over it.
Click to expand...

Its a bs fee.
And its only for some customers with certain plans but not for others.
I ordered a phone online, I activated it myself by plugging it to itunes and I have to pay AT&T a $40 activation fee?
Its things like that with greedy carriers such as AT&T and verizon that keep coming up with nonsense fees and keep raising them every year that starts to get ridiculous and out of control.
You want to pay for made up charges like that then go for it.
I don't and would rather switch to a carrier that doesn't nickel and dime me.
If they did not waive the fee I'd go to Tmobile.
 
Applejuiced said:
Its a bs fee.
And its only for some customers with certain plans but not for others.
I ordered a phone online, I activated it myself by plugging it to itunes and I have to pay AT&T a $40 activation fee?
Its things like that with greedy carriers such as AT&T and verizon that keep coming up with nonsense fees and keep raising them every year that starts to get ridiculous and out of control.
You want to pay for made up charges like that then go for it.
I don't and would rather switch to a carrier that doesn't nickel and dime me.
If they did not waive the fee I'd go to Tmobile.
Click to expand...

It is an UPGRADE fee, not an ACTIVATION fee. It is part of upgrading your phone on a subsidized contract and it isn't a secret. You don't like it? Don't get a subsidized phone. Personally, I hope they stop waiving the fees.
 
jcmeyer5 said:
It is an UPGRADE fee, not an ACTIVATION fee. It is part of upgrading your phone on a subsidized contract and it isn't a secret. You don't like it? Don't get a subsidized phone. Personally, I hope they stop waiving the fees.
Click to expand...
The point is the fee is meaningless. Why is there an upgrade fee? It's simply a way for the carriers to make more money. It's like the "handling" fee tacked on to shipping from many of those TV commercials. A more honest approach would be to raise the subsidized phone price by $40, as that's what it actually costs customers.

Why do you hope they stop waiving it? You want the carriers to take even more money from customers?
 
jcmeyer5 said:
It is an UPGRADE fee, not an ACTIVATION fee. It is part of upgrading your phone on a subsidized contract and it isn't a secret. You don't like it? Don't get a subsidized phone. Personally, I hope they stop waiving the fees.
Click to expand...

Hey since you enjoy that fee and you dont want them to waive it I'll have you pay it for all of us here 😀
I never paid an upgrade or activation fee in over 18 years.
I will never will either. If they don't remove it I will just have to remove them.
 
geoff5093 said:
The point is the fee is meaningless. Why is there an upgrade fee? It's simply a way for the carriers to make more money. It's like the "handling" fee tacked on to shipping from many of those TV commercials. A more honest approach would be to raise the subsidized phone price by $40, as that's what it actually costs customers.

Why do you hope they stop waiving it? You want the carriers to take even more money from customers?
Click to expand...

IMHO, they kept the $40 upgrade fee intact for subsidized phones in an effort to drive customers away from the subsidization model. The subsidized phone model is quite antiquated these days and carriers are trying to get away from it by making it as unappealing as possible while still offering it. Like NEXT or not, I like that the device cost is separated from the service and I know exactly how much I pay for service. I also know that I can buy a phone at full price today, or spread it into 20, 24, or 30 monthly payments at no interest. I also like knowing that if I need my phone unlocked in the rare instance I'd go abroad, I can just pay off the remaining payments and then not have to deal with those future payments at all.

I like the current model that I feel is a lot simpler than before. Now, let's see when AT&T will add rollover data.

What I'd like to see in the future when there's more LTE capacity and speed is to have LTE service replace my UVerse internet and TV service. I'd love to have one subscription that I can access virtually anywhere and watch TV on basically any device with a simple login 😀
 
xkimtu said:
Thank you for your patience! Your AT&T Representative will be with you shortly.
Welcome! You are now chatting with 'Gino Jameson'
Kim: Wow...awesome name.. GINO! HIIIIII 😀
Gino Jameson: Hi Kim!! Glad to have you here today! 🙂
Gino Jameson: Thank you! You have a lovely name too.
Gino Jameson: How can I help you with your discount?
Kim: haven't heard the word "lovely" in a long time!
Kim: but anyways.... my question is...
Gino Jameson: You know why? Because I had an Ex GF named Kim.
Gino Jameson: LOL/
Kim: AHAHAHHAHA
Gino Jameson: anyway...
Kim: LORD
Kim: not so lovely anymore...
Gino Jameson: </3
Kim: i looked into preordering the iPhone 6 PLUS
Kim: the PHONE that will break your head when you throw it
Gino Jameson: lol
Kim: and when i signed up for the FAN account.i think it said that it will waive my upgrade fee...is that true?
Gino Jameson: Let me check your account real quick. 🙂
Kim: work your magic GINOOOO
Kim: 😛
Gino Jameson: Of course! 🙂 Happy to inform you that you have an upgrade fee waiver from Ease Carolina University 🙂 You're safe from the $40 upgrade fee. (y)
Kim: YAYYYYY
Kim: SOOOOO...
Kim: will it automatically get waived...or do i have to call back when I get my phone next month?
Gino Jameson: East****
Kim: BROKE-arse college student here
Kim: 😀
Gino Jameson: It should be automatically be removed on the bill. BUT if just incase you will see it on the bill, we will be more than happy to remove it. 🙂
Gino Jameson: I understand! 🙂
Kim: okie dokie!
Kim: can you put a note on my account so when i DO call back I don't have to re-explain myself?
Gino Jameson: Of course. Actually I'm done putting notes. 🙂
Kim: 8) GINOOOO...i think i got the hawts for ya! LOL
Kim: -hugs-
Gino Jameson: Perfect!
Gino Jameson: Oh Kim, Kim kim ..
Gino Jameson: haha 🙂
Gino Jameson: Kidding.
Kim: thanks a bunches!!! -kiss on the cheeks- toddles GINO baby
Kim: 🙂
Click to expand...

Is this real life?
 

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geoff5093 said:
The point is the fee is meaningless. Why is there an upgrade fee? It's simply a way for the carriers to make more money. It's like the "handling" fee tacked on to shipping from many of those TV commercials. A more honest approach would be to raise the subsidized phone price by $40, as that's what it actually costs customers.

Why do you hope they stop waiving it? You want the carriers to take even more money from customers?
Click to expand...

If they (AT&T) want to stop charging the fees or you negotiate it away before renewing, great. Happy you saved the $40. However, if you accept a contract knowing it is there and fully intending them to go pound sand later, then I think you are wrong. If it were my contract, and we had agreed to terms and signed it, I would enforce it. If you didn't pay the fee, I would bring down the full weight of whatever penalties the contract prescribed.

This isn't about whether it is justified or not. It isn't dishonest (I would rename it, but that isn't the point). It is about what you agreed to do. They agreed to subsidize your phone on a contract. You agreed to pay the fee. Like it or not, it is what it is.

----------
Applejuiced said:
Hey since you enjoy that fee and you dont want them to waive it I'll have you pay it for all of us here 😀
I never paid an upgrade or activation fee in over 18 years.
I will never will either. If they don't remove it I will just have to remove them.
Click to expand...

And I fully support your ability to choose your carrier. Hopefully you can negotiate that fee away *before* you renew. If you are unsuccessful at getting it waived upfront but still sign the contract (or whatever digital version there is), I hope you honor the contract. I guess I am old school that way... give your word, honor your promise, etc.

I never said I liked the fee, but I do understand it. Buying a house or a car both have similar fees (which is really what you end up doing with the contract... buying the phone through 2 years of inflated service payments). That said, if they stopped charging it tomorrow, I would celebrate with you! 🙂
 
Off course I would honor the contract and my signature. I wouldn't risk my credit over a $300 fee.
Many carriers are willing to pay your etf to switch to them and offer many enticing deals. so if after 18 years of being a valued customer with never a late payment or issue they want to see me go by not waiving a nonsense fee then I'd go somewhere else.
Competition and having choices is great.
 
KenAFSPC said:
If you switch to T-Mobile, as the previous poster plans to to do, T-Mobile will reimburse you for the full amount of the ETF (but not NEXT fees).

To qualify, you must have the iPhone 6 for at least 14 days on AT&T. You must also turn-in some kind of smart phone to T-Mobile, but it doesn't have to be an iPhone. An old Blackberry would suffice.
Click to expand...
Is this still the case? To me, it looks like their site clearly says to turn in the phone that was subsidized/the phone that they're paying off. Not any random old phone. Can I actually get an S6 and have T-Mobile pay the ETF and just turn in my old Pantech Flex?
 
phpmaven said:
Not going to happen. They used to be willing to do it, but they will just tell you that they are unable to do it. But who knows, maybe you'll get lucky.
Click to expand...

Not true. Upgraded 4 lines within the last 2 months and it was super easy.
 
ZipZap said:
I will call after delivery. FAN accounts are supposed to have that fee waived
Click to expand...

Not all FANs get the activation charge waived, but many still do. They used to just take my word for it at Customer Care. Now they put me on hold and go look at the terms of the FAN agreement. When they come back on the line, they agree to waive the fees.
 
KenAFSPC said:
That depends on the FAN account. Upgrade fees are waived on some corporate accounts but not others.
Click to expand...

I have a FAN account and they stopped waiving fees for me a while ago (I got half waived about two years ago).

Like someone else said, the NEXT plan is the only way, unless you get lucky with someone who is willing/able to break the rules. Or you're good at negotiating (which I'm not).
 
Last edited:
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