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My question is, you were paying for pre paid service and your regular ATT bill at the same time??

Unlikely. In the past it's been easy enough to buy an AT&T GoPhone at retailers like Walmart or Target and swap SIMs around to use it on your postpaid plan, never adding any money to the prepaid plan and letting the included minutes and account expire.
 
I won't let ANYONE mess with my phone, well, except for my husband. Certainly not a child! If I were going to hand over my phone to a 3 year old, it would have some friggin insurance on it. My step-sister did about the same thing- handed her phone to her 3 y.o, the girl dropped it and broke the screen. It had to be replaced. You know what we called her? Take one guess. :rolleyes:

Probably the iPhone was being used as iPhone the Babysitter...which I see *all* the time. That's just asking for an accident to happen.
 
If the OP was with ATT before the iPhone 4 - then most likely he HAD unlimited data. Now he wont (unless he goes to Sprint instead of Verizon)

Double fail.
 
Yeah I see your point because it was AT&T's fault you damaged your phone!
:confused:

it's not the point, someone at AT&T needs to figure out that at some point in the contract it's cheaper to pay the ETF and buy new from another carrier.

the carriers will figure this out in a few months when the data comes into their databases and people start to analyze it.

every customer lost means the carrier has to spend money to find another one to earn the same revenue
 
If the OP was with ATT before the iPhone 4 - then most likely he HAD unlimited data. Now he wont (unless he goes to Sprint instead of Verizon)

Double fail.

unless you spend all day on netflix most people won't use more than 2GB. don't get unlimited texting and pay the $10 for another GB if you go over.
 
I 440 is better than 650 by my math. Verizon here I come.

It's a shame you decided to post just to complain. Had you visited a year ago and said "this is my story, what should I do?" you would have found out that Apple would have replaced your phone for $199 (if not free since the accident happened so soon after you bought it.) $199 is better than $440.

Forums are not places just for complaints. There is a lot of information and knowledge to be gained by sifting thru the messages and asking questions. There is never a dumb question.

Good luck to you! I assure you the grass is never greener on the other side of the fence. When your Verizon phone is damaged, go to Apple and see what they can do with it. It will be cheaper than punishing yourself.
 
expensive phone + 3 year old = Screw Insurance.

Yeah.

Actually, I don't do insurance either. It's not that I "don't believe" in it; it's just that I believe that I'll be ahead by not buying it. I think the probability of my breaking my phone approaches 100% over the next, say, 10 years. If I break it, I'll buy a replacement; in the meantime I'll have had use of the insurance money.

This is all assuming that a replacement is around $200. If I had to pay a full unsubsidized price for a replacement, I think the insurance is worth it. Furthermore, I could be wrong. Maybe I'll drop it three times.
 
Welcome to the age of entitlement! This is so typical now. Nobody wants to take responsibility for anything anymore and everybody always feels like they are owed something.

P.S. You can add another $199, plus tax to your total for the new phone at Verizon!
 
I'm glad you pay your bill on time, everyone should value their credit rating. However, to feel entitled and rewarded for doing something you are supposed to do, is just silly.

I understand. The thing with Microcells were pretty strict. Your home had to be in a place that showed absolutely no service on their internal coverage map. If they saw a spec of coverage, you would get denied. Sucks =\

You also have to understand, he denied insurance then demanded his phone be replaced via moving up his upgrade date.

Also, a simple google search would've told him tons of people got their phones replaced free for for $200 at the Apple store.


I hate this planet.
I was very careful with my words and obviously being careful still leads to people misreading them.
I said that it would not be unreasonable to hope. Not be unreasonable to hope. Do you get that? Do you get how that is hardly, if at all, a sense of entitlement? Entitled is something I am not nor would I ever be. I work for what I have and I pay for a service that I expect to get. When I did not, I moved carriers. I gave them approximately 14 months to assist me. When they would not, I showed them with my wallet. The grass, it's much greener on this side. I venture to guess that you believe hope and entitlement mean the same thing. I pay my bill on time because I value my credit and I never said that should get me anything. I simply said that someone with a decade of patronage combined with a problem-free account up until 2009 (when I began inquiring about the cell service) could hope for the best in a company. 14 months after I began requesting their assistance and following their guide by taking my phone(s) to Apple countless times (it was Apple's fault according to AT&T), I simply could not in good faith continue my business relationship with their company.

I understood that he denied insurance. I also said he could have tried to find out how to get his phone fixed. If you did not read that then that becomes your problem and probably a contributing factor to hating the planet and a product of your own hate.
 
it's not the point, someone at AT&T needs to figure out that at some point in the contract it's cheaper to pay the ETF and buy new from another carrier.

the carriers will figure this out in a few months when the data comes into their databases and people start to analyze it.

So you're saying ETF is too cheap?

Actually as long as the carriers all have similar fees, it's a zero-sum game. Yes it's cheaper for an AT&T client to cancel and move to Verizon, but the reverse is true also. So consumers get to choose based on which is the best fit for them (AT&T fastest network, Verizon best overall coverage, or Sprint cheapest option for lots of data use).
 
Given the fact that AT&T doesn't discount service to people who have already fulfilled their contract and already 'own' their phone.... you can hardly fault the OP for his frustration.

If I have service with T-mobile, I pay $20 a month less using my own phone than for service with a subsidized phone I purchased on contract.

Over the course of two years, the extra monthly charge adds up to $480...which is roughly the cost of a new phone.

One way to look at it is that AT&T is perpetually charging you 'rent' on a phone you own (which they refuse to unlock) which they then refuse to repair (even though they are taking extra money from you for it)
 
But apparently T-Mobile is a dying company and for $30 less, you get reduced reception (apparently worse than AT&T) and 2G speeds for data.

Nonetheless, I agree with you that AT&T's practice of not unlocking a phone once the two year contract has been fulfilled is a poor move. Almost seems illegal...
 
So you're saying ETF is too cheap?

Actually as long as the carriers all have similar fees, it's a zero-sum game. Yes it's cheaper for an AT&T client to cancel and move to Verizon, but the reverse is true also. So consumers get to choose based on which is the best fit for them (AT&T fastest network, Verizon best overall coverage, or Sprint cheapest option for lots of data use).

not too cheap but now with the iphone on 3/4 carriers in the US the business situation has changed. why stay at AT&T when you can sell your iphone, pay ETF and buy a new one and spend very little money in the end?
 
Lets get one thing straight. I made a business decision based on the facts that were given to me by ATT. When I asked Apple to replace it they said it was $200 to fix. I wasn't willing to fork over another $200 on a phone. I was thinking about making a switch 6 months ago before they announced the 4s. I figured if ATT wanted to keep me they would have reached out. No one offered me 250 to upgrade. I did what I thought was best for me. I'm not complaining but making ATT to be saints is ridiculous .
 
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