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Suspending ATT account to get out of ETF

I

Inukami

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 11, 2008
443
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This is odd and unlikely but before i bought an iPhone my step dad called regarding the rules about ETF and the ATT rep said i could actually suspend my account for a certain amount of time and not pay the ETF. My step dad said it was a 1 year period. This sound like a whole lot of BS but maybe it's possible? :confused:
 
Inukami said:
This is odd and unlikely but before i bought an iPhone my step dad called regarding the rules about ETF and the ATT rep said i could actually suspend my account for a certain amount of time and not pay the ETF. My step dad said it was a 1 year period. This sound like a whole lot of BS but maybe it's possible? :confused:
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You do know that "suspending" the service does not mean you are out of the contract. It simply means that you are to continue the 2 year agreement when the suspension ends.
 
and it also means that when you suspend, if you have 16 months left when you suspend it, it also means you have 16 months left when you resume the contract.


suspending a contract usually needs a GOOD reason to be suspending it too. just calling them to suspend the contract usually wont work. they will usually suspend it if you are in the armed forces and being deployed.
 
Yeah i know that but is it true? I originally didn't plan on staying with the ATT billing contract after the first month because i don't have a job and it cost to much money. If this is true i can just suspend my ATT contract and after the suspension is over i can pay the bills depending on if i have a job and money or pay the ETF.

I was originally just going to pay the ETF and unlock it with the smart sim cards and use ATT prepaid.
 
Inukami said:
Yeah i know that but is it true? I originally didn't plan on staying with the ATT billing contract after the first month because i don't have a job and it cost to much money. If this is true i can just suspend my ATT contract and after the suspension is over i can pay the bills depending on if i have a job and money or pay the ETF.

I was originally just going to pay the ETF and unlock it with the smart sim cards and use ATT prepaid.
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I would just pay the ETF and get it over with. It sounds like you shouldn't get the phone in the first place and need to re-evaluate your financial situation.
 
Inukami said:
Yeah i know that but is it true? I originally didn't plan on staying with the ATT billing contract after the first month because i don't have a job and it cost to much money. If this is true i can just suspend my ATT contract and after the suspension is over i can pay the bills depending on if i have a job and money or pay the ETF.

I was originally just going to pay the ETF and unlock it with the smart sim cards and use ATT prepaid.
Click to expand...



then yes it is true about suspending an account. but again you usually would need a good reason to do so.
 
ubersalad said:
I would just pay the ETF and get it over with. It sounds like you shouldn't get the phone in the first place and need to re-evaluate your financial situation.
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lol well i'm not in a financial situation i just need a job. I have money in the bank but don't really want to spend it. I needed an ipod + phone and this was perfect, it was a present from my parents. The only agreement was that i was to pay the ETF =p
 
Inukami said:
lol well i'm not in a financial situation i just need a job. I have money in the bank but don't really want to spend it. I needed an ipod + phone and this was perfect, it was a present from my parents. The only agreement was that i was to pay the ETF =p
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Why not just get a first gen phone? Since you won't be able to use 3G services anywhere outside of AT&T, only thing you really gain is the GPS.
 
Well i'm going to stay with ATT, just prepaid but the reason i bought it was mainly for the looks. Besides the first gen costed just a little under the same amount as 3G 16GB + ETF.
 
Inukami said:
Well i'm going to stay with ATT, just prepaid but the reason i bought it was mainly for the looks. Besides the first gen costed just a little under the same amount as 3G 16GB + ETF.
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If a person who needs a job and buys anything just for looks then turns around and says they have the money to pay their bills but they'd rather not spend their money on that has some serious issues with prioritizing their finances.

And as others said, you can suspend your account but you're never going to get away without paying the ETF.
 
Okay wild guess: You're still a kid, you live with your parents, & they don't like the idea of paying $30 bucks a month for your iPhone.
 
sorry to ressurect a dead thread but man... can you guys just answer a simple question without going all mother-knows-best???

on verizon, you can suspend a contract without pay for up to 3 months, this extends the contract period for as long as you suspend it without pay. they charge $15 for this service and can only be done twice per year I think.

I do not know if this is possible on att though
 
jessica. said:
If a person who needs a job and buys anything just for looks then turns around and says they have the money to pay their bills but they'd rather not spend their money on that has some serious issues with prioritizing their finances.

And as others said, you can suspend your account but you're never going to get away without paying the ETF.
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agreed. this is just plain stupid. Go get an ipod touch + basic phone. Prepaid is more expensive than joining a family plan.
 
einmusiker said:
sorry to ressurect a dead thread but man... can you guys just answer a simple question without going all mother-knows-best???

on verizon, you can suspend a contract without pay for up to 3 months, this extends the contract period for as long as you suspend it without pay. they charge $15 for this service and can only be done twice per year I think.

I do not know if this is possible on att though
Click to expand...

Do you think these people would actually see your post. They posted in this thread 2 years ago. They probably don't even use Macrumors anymore.
 
Inukami said:
Yeah i know that but is it true? I originally didn't plan on staying with the ATT billing contract after the first month because i don't have a job and it cost to much money. If this is true i can just suspend my ATT contract and after the suspension is over i can pay the bills depending on if i have a job and money or pay the ETF.

I was originally just going to pay the ETF and unlock it with the smart sim cards and use ATT prepaid.
Click to expand...

I would assume they would require an actual reason to suspend the account. I don't think "I can't afford it right now" is not a reason to suspend the account until the account has a balance over a certain amount. With Sprint, you can only suspend the account for a certain amount of time. It doesn't take any time off your agreement, as your account is on hold for the time being until you have it removed.

Best option would be to cancel service with AT&T, with the ETF, or set up payment arrangements, and make small payments towards your debt with AT&T. Next time make a better decision, if you don't have a job, don't go out and buy stuff that you can't afford, like cell phone service. Sorry to be blunt about it, but it's true.
 
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