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iPhone AT&T billing question

H

hah116

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 17, 2007
25
0
I just received my first bill for the iPhone and I am very confused as to why it is so high.

I activated my iPhone on 10/19/07 with the cheapest plan ($60.00 per month).
My bill is $140.00.

The only way I can figure that it is this high is that this bill is charging me for half of october (at a pro-rate of $31) and all of november plus the $36 activation fee plus taxes and fees.

Is this correct? When you got your first bill did it charge you for the month of service that hasn't even started yet?
I don't understand why it would do this because what happens if I were to go over my text message limit... would they attach those additional text charges to the december bill?

I'm really confused!
 
My bill was a bit higher than expected as well mine was $117.00 i had a few days of prorated usage plus the 36.00 activation fee plus the 59.99 and AT&T does charge tax and other fees which added up to about 8 or 9 dollars. So it depends on when you activated your iphone and when your closing date was AT&T charges a month in advance on service.
 
I started my plan on 10/18 (new line) and according to my bill, I was charged $1.33 for that one day and was charged the $60 for 10/19-11/18 plus activation fee.

hah116 said:
I just received my first bill for the iPhone and I am very confused as to why it is so high.

I activated my iPhone on 10/19/07 with the cheapest plan ($60.00 per month).
My bill is $140.00.

The only way I can figure that it is this high is that this bill is charging me for half of october (at a pro-rate of $31) and all of november plus the $36 activation fee plus taxes and fees.

Is this correct? When you got your first bill did it charge you for the month of service that hasn't even started yet?
I don't understand why it would do this because what happens if I were to go over my text message limit... would they attach those additional text charges to the december bill?

I'm really confused!
Click to expand...
 
yeah, i just got mine of 132.00!! i was like oh wow! but it makes sense for it's one month, plus about 11 days and an activation. I guess i need to start making more money. haha
 
My first bill was $177 with a rediculous $22 in misc taxes/fees. My second bill was a much more reasonable $83.
 
I was furious when I found out that ATT essentially charged me for 2 months of service. I simply asked "How can you bill me for something I haven't even used yet?" I'm still waiting on a good answer.
 
i bought mine on june 29 and was charged $20 for the data plan during the remaining to days in my billing cycle. was definitely not a happy camper.
 
Thank you for all of the replies!
At least now I know I'm not the only one who this has happened to and I suppose it is normal for the first month.

I can't wait until the bill goes down to what it is SUPPOSED to be.
 
yeah i just got mine too and it is $194. They charge me for 2 months activation fee and $15 in overcharge for texting lol
 
Teh Don Ditty said:
I was furious when I found out that ATT essentially charged me for 2 months of service. I simply asked "How can you bill me for something I haven't even used yet?" I'm still waiting on a good answer.
Click to expand...

The only thing I have to say about that is that ATT charges a month in advance for voice plans and features. The prorated charges cover the time period up until the closing day and then you also pay for the next month. Remember that you are not paying for usage unless you go over your minutes. You are paying for a set number of minutes.
 
method525 said:
The only thing I have to say about that is that ATT charges a month in advance for voice plans and features. The prorated charges cover the time period up until the closing day and then you also pay for the next month. Remember that you are not paying for usage unless you go over your minutes. You are paying for a set number of minutes.
Click to expand...

um, at&t charges the previous month's charges. it wouldn't make sense to charge in advance; at&t would have to also charge the previous month's overages.
 
Well I should clarify. We have two ways of charging customers. The first is arrears. That is where your plan covers covers the actual billing period your are in. Only customers that were with att wireless before they were brought out by cingular have this. The other is advance which is how cingular, now att, charges their customers. So all the people who brought the iphone are charged in advance for voice plans and any sort of features they get when they first start up with us. If you look at your bill at the voice plans dates you will see that it covers the next month's billing period instead of the one you just complete. If you add a feature during a billing you will see also see proration plus the next month in advance. I wonder if I should do a topic for att discussion, since I am a CSR for att.
 
call in and say that the AT&T store you got the iPhone from said they would refund you the activation fee. I have never had to pay one, they always take it off with no questions asked
 
Calvinatir said:
call in and say that the AT&T store you got the iPhone from said they would refund you the activation fee. I have never had to pay one, they always take it off with no questions asked
Click to expand...

Be careful with that. Technically we are not suppose to waive that fee and upgrade fees. Depending on the person you are talking to they may or may not waive that fee.
 
oh wow, i'm kinda scared to see what my first bill will be like lol. i just activated my phone last week (11/5). i have the cheapest plan...what do you all think my first bill will be??
 
siurpeeman said:
um, at&t charges the previous month's charges. it wouldn't make sense to charge in advance; at&t would have to also charge the previous month's overages.
Click to expand...

it really fine for them to do this because in the end you are going to pay the same amount either way. The only time it matters is when you end your contract with them or reduce it before an end of a billing cycle because then they have to prorate you money back. The most important one being when you end the contract they have to give you a refund.
 
That sounds about right, but don't worry it will definately shrink. My bill is $67.12 every month after the first bill.
 
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