Carrier WTF is ATT trying to pull?

[Clete2]

If your contract+fees is more than ~$41/mo youre overpaying and the financing is built in there.

The carriers arent giving you a free present.

No? Contract-free is $25/month per line. On-contract is $40/month. That's a $15 difference.

I know they aren't giving a free present, but what they are doing is making it cheaper to be on-contract. That makes economic sense for them, because if they can get me to be on a contract, they can keep me (almost) guaranteed for 2 years. Hence the total cost of ownership is (slightly) lower.

 

[Rob9874]

On my current 'old' nationwide family plan I have 5 lines with 3 being eligible for upgrades this year and 2 the following year; i staggered them on purpose. Once i upgrade, I can sell the old iPhones 5's and 5s' to pay off the balance on the 6s; in essence giving free upgrade. For people like me, people who know how to stack the system in our favor, who have been living since the 3G with essentially free yearly upgrades, NEXT is a terrible value. Sure the service is cheaper... at first... but you end up paying more as soon as you start upgrading your lines.

When you factor in the resale price of the iPhone it kills NEXT.

The family shared plans might be good for someone who has a lot of lines that use no data and a line or two that uses a lot of data. But the older family plans were much better for people who yearly upgraded.

First of all, you don't get the new phones essentially free after selling your old ones. You get the up-front costs covered, but what about the $25/mo you pay for the next 24 months? That's built into your monthly bill. They have to make that subsidy back somehow. You didn't really think they're selling you an $850 phone for $399.

I thought the same way you did, until I saw the benefit of saving $25/mo per line going with the Mobile Shared Plan. My bill went from $260 for 4 lines down to $160. It's not going back up, because I'm not getting duped into that 2-yr agreement for a "discounted" phone.

The resale of the phone doesn't kill Next. You get to sell it for $300-$400 after paying $1000 in total ($399 up front, plus $600 over the next 24 months). I'll pay $510 for the next 12 months ($42.50 x 12) and give it back to them. I don't mind not being able to sell it, when I didn't put that much into it.

 

[MareLuce]

they give a discount to NEXT lines because they actually WANT you to upgrade yearly or every 2 years because they get a decent phone back, still new enough to resell AND you stay in the ever-paying monthly plans.

Thanks for including this part in your note BJMR. Yes, on the AT&T site it says "trade-in" for next, but since I saw someone talk about selling theirs yearly and that $ making up for the extra cost of ATT Next, for a single minute, till I saw your reply, I was thinking Next was OK.

What really has me smoldering over this is

1) it feels like ATT is punishing me for being loyal

2) to prep for this upgrade, I called someone from ATT to confirm I could get the upgrade. I asked if my plan would need to change, she said no. She didn't mention anything about the cost changing. We talked for 10 more min about best data plan to keep costs low.

 

[Cjbeeman Ithaca]

I just purchased the 6 at an Apple Store. I was handed an IPad Mini with a printed document to sign that said "I understand my ATT plan will not change" but there would be an additional $40 change for 1 month added to my bill for the connection. This document was not included in the receipt I received, just the statement that I'd seen and read the document. Something very underhanded about that.

I don't. Know who's pulling the fast one. I sure did NOT know there'd be an extra $40 on EVERY future bill. I think Apple's at fault. I'm going back to my IPhone 3.

 

[greytmom]

I just purchased the 6 at an Apple Store. I was handed an IPad Mini with a printed document to sign that said "I understand my ATT plan will not change" but there would be an additional $40 change for 1 month added to my bill for the connection. This document was not included in the receipt I received, just the statement that I'd seen and read the document. Something very underhanded about that.

I don't. Know who's pulling the fast one. I sure did NOT know there'd be an extra $40 on EVERY future bill. I think Apple's at fault. I'm going back to my IPhone 3.

I think you may be talking about the one time upgrade fee.

 

[balamw]

I think you may be talking about the one time upgrade fee.

There's that, and the $40/month that it costs to have a subsidized phone under contract on a Family Share plan. (Which is actually only $25/mo. more than a BYO device since they charge $15/mo for that.).

The monthly cost of AT&T Next is variable.

B

 

[Newtons Apple]

Holy crap, how slimy can they be.
I'm done with them.
Verizon has better coverage in my area and tmobile is adequate.

I like how they spring this on you 36 hours before launch.

ALL of the carriers do this!

Not just AT&T!

 

[mdlooker]

I just purchased the 6 at an Apple Store. I was handed an IPad Mini with a printed document to sign that said "I understand my ATT plan will not change" but there would be an additional $40 change for 1 month added to my bill for the connection. This document was not included in the receipt I received, just the statement that I'd seen and read the document. Something very underhanded about that.

I don't. Know who's pulling the fast one. I sure did NOT know there'd be an extra $40 on EVERY future bill. I think Apple's at fault. I'm going back to my IPhone 3.

I just called ATT and asked why was I getting charged an "upgrade" fee and "new plan" fee when I'm the same person paying for years? The rep tried to go back and forth with me and I just kindly asked to speak to a supervisor. Within two minutes, she reversed the charges and my monthly bill is the same as it always has been.

 

[viva la ben]

I ordered a 6 plus with my premier FAN grandfathered FamilyTalk with UDP, and the only $40 fee I see is a one time upgrade fee. The breakdown on the order conf. matches my existing monthly charges. I see nothing about an additional 40 a month, even in the fine print.

 

[siufai]

I ordered a 6 plus with my premier FAN grandfathered FamilyTalk with UDP, and the only $40 fee I see is a one time upgrade fee. The breakdown on the order conf. matches my existing monthly charges. I see nothing about an additional 40 a month, even in the fine print.

The $40 /month is only for those who upgrade on Mobile Share plans with a two year contract. Since you are on FamilyTalk with UDP, it does not apply to you.