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Apparently several retailers are selling the Vibrant for $99 with upgrade. TMobile has been persuaded by several users on their official forums (including myself) to credit the difference ($100) to their bills.
Post on the T-Mob forums:
http://forums.t-mobile.com/t5/Samsu...o-Walmart-Firefly-Radio-Shack-etc/td-p/421988
hmmm I'll have to try this tomorrow. maybe I'll get lucky.
sent from my samsung vibrant
bahnburner said:
Apparently several retailers are selling the Vibrant for $99 with upgrade. TMobile has been persuaded by several users on their official forums (including myself) to credit the difference ($100) to their bills.
Post on the T-Mob forums:
http://forums.t-mobile.com/t5/Samsu...o-Walmart-Firefly-Radio-Shack-etc/td-p/421988
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Not to put a damper on things, but I work for TMO care in an un-named higher position. Feel free to call, but don't expect that to be the case. There isn't an official "offer" like that going on and if it has happened, it has been a judgment call by the rep and/or sup. But speaking from experience, this kind of thing is rare.
Just want to avoid banging heads against a brick wall.
israel941 said:
Not to put a damper on things, but I work for TMO care in an un-named higher position. Feel free to call, but don't expect that to be the case. There isn't an official "offer" like that going on and if it has happened, it has been a judgment call by the rep and/or sup. But speaking from experience, this kind of thing is rare.
Just want to avoid banging heads against a brick wall.
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Thanks for clearing things up. I know it's the CSR's call, but it has worked for several people on the T-Mo forums, but obviously, it's hit or miss. Anyway, it's worth a try regardless.
what other deals/benefits can we get from the t-mob?
If you've been with T-Mobile for a long time you would have a much easier time getting preferred features.
good chunk of change for u vibrant users!
Been with tmo for like 7 years and they wouldnt sell me for $165
I did this on the relese day... Worked. I did have to call in twice and as I was nearly out of contract they knew I could walk.
When I called on July 13th to get an official confirmation on the release of the Vibrant, I also wanted to disable a 3rd line I had that is no longer in use. the CSR transferred me to another dept (which I later learned to be the Loyalty dept). I told them to disconnect my 3rd line and the reason was that it was no longer in use by my cousin who changed carriers.
The Loyalty Rep was trying to convince me to leave the line open. And seeing that I was interested in the Vibrant, he would be able to give it to me for 99 because that line was out of contract. Since my main line was out of contract, I asked him about that and he said that under my account, any of my 3 lines was eligible for a loyalty discount, but it is only available over the phone.
I called on the 15th and they had to verify what was entered in the notes for the loyalty discount.
I got mine for 99. I cited that I can get it from Amazon, Android And Me, etc. for that price.
I was lucky enough for T-mobile to give me the vibrant for $200 even though I just got a new plan with them around 3 months ago. So I don't think I'll be pushing my luck.
Yeah, I got the vibrant for $200, the new contract price even though I was on my previous contact for only 12 months.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Loyalty refused to credit me 100$ even though I was out of contract before my upgrade, and threatened to leave for Sprint. But they lowered my monthly bill by 20$.
offensive said:
Loyalty refused to credit me 100$ even though I was out of contract before my upgrade, and threatened to leave for Sprint. But they lowered my monthly bill by 20$.
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That'll work. They just saved you $480 over the course of your contract. Not a bad deal, and a whole lot better than $100 credit.
I decided to give CS a call, mentioned I was an Amazon Prime customer and Amazon has it for $99. Ended up getting a $100 credit to my account! Thanks T-Mobile!
called cust serv and it was a no go bc I bought in store.. I tried tho...
A few weeks ago, I placed a call to T-mobile customer loyalty personnel, first line of defend declined to match Costco $100 price. I escalated the issue and politely requested to speak to the supervisor, a few minutes later I got T-mobile to agree on $149 with free 2 days shipping & no activation fee.
I have 8 lines with T-mobile and have been a loyal customer for over 5 yrs. T-mobile CS was fantastic and cordial during the "negotiation".
junkdruggler said:
called cust serv and it was a no go bc I bought in store.. I tried tho...
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Try again... I bought it in-store too.
All this puts you on a 2-year contract right? Even More Plus won't get any of these deals?
Today, I called T-Mobile because I returned my unresponsive G2 and wanted to go back to my previous state of not having a contract. I was within my 14 day grace period for my device so I believed that my contract would also be reverted back to the original status.
The customer retention guy with a heavy southern accent said that I signed a new contract for both the phone and the service... So If I want to be out of the contract, I need to pay a 200 dollar early deactivation fee because the contract with a new phone and the service is two separate contracts. How unfair is this? I extended my contract to get a discount on the phone that stopped working after a few days. Now I can't get back my non contract status??? This is so ridiculous.
I told the guy that I will cancel my account and go with ATT+ the iFail and he promptly told me that I will be billed 200 dollars plus any service usage. I asked to speak to his supervisor and he said he was a supervisor in a very coy and belittling way. I proceeded with "you can take that bill and stick it up your ass you f*ck" and hung up. Am I really obliged to pay that 200 dollar deactivation fee? Anybody here know how this works? I'm so frustrated and angry at T-Mobile for treating a long time customer like this... I was thinking the service contract extension and the phone are together as one. Any suggestions?
No, if you returned the phone within 14days you return the contract extension also. I did this when I bought my Vibrant. I bought it with a contract extension, then returned it and went on to buy another Vibrant from costco at a stupidly cheap off contract price. On the return of my Vibrant to the T-mo store I was refunded the price of the phone and my contact extension was reversed. I am currently still off contract and can upgrade if I choose to.
As the poster below says... be nice but firm, know your rights.
Call back and try another rep. Bit of advise though, comments like that just make the situation worse.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk
Damn bro. I would call back again and talk to another person. You have 14 days buyers remorse. Call t mobile and tell them your unhappy and want to return the phone.. That should do it bro.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Call 611.
Say Cancel.
Talk to loyalty representative. (Every rep is different, the other guy might've been an ignorant idiot)
If they don't budge & you are within your Still 14 day return policy call t-mobile, repeat the same process BUT this time have your call recorded (you shouldn't tell them b/c they will say they can't talk anymore and hangup, even though They CAN & Do Record your calls)... also be sure to bring up the issue during the call and bring up the day it is etc. (build your case within the call)
File a complaint with the BBB... companies take that seriously.
Make sure you word it so that it is EXPLICITLY Clear who's at fault & Why & provide some emotional appeal... you can mention your call was recorded and you have evidence (even though it May not be legally acceptable)
Your issue will get resolved.
I got in a dispute w/ Dish Netw0rk [contract issue] and had to go the BBB route to get my issue resolved.
btw don't get mad at them or tell them something that can bite you in the ass later... they make a lot of 'Notations on your acct' and other reps will refer to it in the future and may assist you based on that.
Call corporate. I called 6 times to a CSR at tmo to return that piece of crap vibrant and they all told me I couldn't return it even knowing of the issues it was having at the time. I called corporate tmobile and they settled it within 5 mins. Shipped my phone back, got a full refund, and got a g2 discounted at upgrade price when I wasn't even eligible for one.
Sent from my HTC Vision G2
luis86dr said:
Call corporate. I called 6 times to a CSR at tmo to return that piece of crap vibrant and they all told me I couldn't return it even knowing of the issues it was having at the time. I called corporate tmobile and they settled it within 5 mins. Shipped my phone back, got a full refund, and got a g2 discounted at upgrade price when I wasn't even eligible for one.
Sent from my HTC Vision G2
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How do I call corporate? Can you please help me with that info?
Yeah call 611 talk to different reps!
@luis86dr - How did you fanagle the discounted price! That sounds awesome.
Here's the number for tmo corporate. Located in new mexico.
425-378-4000
Also I didn't have to hassle them at all. They offered me all that. My word of advice is make sure you state when you call you want to speak to someone in corporate. I called once and said I needed to speak to someone about my phone n they transfered me to the regular customer service reps who didn't do crap for me from the get go. So clarify you want to speak to someone from CORPORATE. Then you should be all gravy from there.
Sent from my HTC Vision G2
SmartHat said:
If they don't budge & you are within your Still 14 day return policy call t-mobile, repeat the same process BUT this time have your call recorded (you shouldn't tell them b/c they will say they can't talk anymore and hangup, even though They CAN & Do Record your calls)... also be sure to bring up the issue during the call and bring up the day it is etc. (build your case within the call)
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Always check your state laws before recording a telephone conversation. In some states it is a felony to record a phone call without the other party's consent.
Better off trying corp and seeing what happens... less of a headache.
Sent from my HTC Vision G2
Actally guys, just an fyi, that number takes you to the corporate offices in bellevue washington, not arizona.
Trust me
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Its in new mexico. Not the washington office. Regardless that's the number I called.
Sent from my HTC Vision G2
luis86dr said:
Here's the number for tmo corporate. Located in new mexico.
425-378-4000
Also I didn't have to hassle them at all. They offered me all that. My word of advice is make sure you state when you call you want to speak to someone in corporate. I called once and said I needed to speak to someone about my phone n they transfered me to the regular customer service reps who didn't do crap for me from the get go. So clarify you want to speak to someone from CORPORATE. Then you should be all gravy from there.
Sent from my HTC Vision G2
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Thank you. I will try this first thing tomorrow morning.
luis86dr said:
Its in new mexico. Not the washington office. Regardless that's the number I called.
Sent from my HTC Vision G2
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Maybe whoever you spoke with is in new mexico, but I assure you, t mo corporate is in bellevue wa. I can't speak for where the reps are located. But that is a washington state number.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Forget corporate, forget escalations.... I had to do the same ****... Call back, say blackberry at the automated prompt. You will immidiately be connected to Tech Support. Explain it to them, they'll hook you up!
Did you change your rate plan to one of the new plans? I'm just curious because if you dd then there is a contract extension for that and a separate one if you're eligible for an upgrade. If you return your phone within the remorse period then you are still eligible to get a full discounted upgrade but are still in contract due to the rate plan change. Hope that makes sense
luis86dr said:
Its in new mexico. Not the washington office. Regardless that's the number I called.
Sent from my HTC Vision G2
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First of all, T-Mobile corporate offices are headquartered in Bellevue, WA. Second, that 425 area code is for Kirkland / Bellevue area. Third, I used to work for them. Believe me that number took you straight to Bellevue. You may have been transferred elsewhere, but it took you there first.
@Delirius
When I was out of contract, they offered the phone first and just gave me a newer plan for loyal customers. They never said I was signing off on two contracts. When a normal person that wasn't on a contract, upgrades their phone... they would expect the phone and the new contract to be included in the 14 day remorse period. If that isn't the case, T-Mobile is basically tricking you into thinking that you have 14 days to decide if you want to stay with T-Mobile, or get back to non contracted status. Pretty shady if that's the case.
Also, why do I get the feeling you work at T-Mobile? Anyhow, if you were on the cheaper, non contracted Even More Plus plan, you will have to upgrade that plan to the Even More plan counterpart which is more expensive in order to cover the discounted phone price. So you are telling me they can't go back to their old plan under the remorse period? Pretty sneaky and underhanded way of forcing us to stay or pay the early termination fee.
Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using XDA App
I don't disagree with you just wondering if they mentioned an extention for the rate plan change. From what it sounds like you were offered the unlimited loyalty plan for $49.99 and if that's the case then there is no contract for the plan. Just trying to find out the details so I can at least give some advice.
Edit: if you moved from even more plus (no contract) to even more (contracted) to get the discount on the phone then you did accept a contract for the change but if you returned the phone then there is a way to have the plan moved back. I would advise going to you nearest corporate T-Mobile store and speak to the manager and explain the situation. They have the ability to change it back to even more plus if the reason is good enough. If they don't know that they have this ability then they are unaware but they do have the ability. Hope that helps
I, like many others I assume, bought the Xoom from Best Buy on a month-to-month Verizon contract with the intention of canceling the contract immediately. Today I called and tried to cancel the contract and had a frustrating 60 minute phone call. The agent, working with her supervisor, was telling me that there is no way I can possibly cancel my plan with them and that if she were to cancel my account, my Xoom would become a brick. She told me that in order to get the device to work in wifi only mode I would have to return it to Best Buy and go to a Verizon store to purchase one with Wifi only. She indicates that there is no way possible to convert my existing device, even if I brought it into a Verizon Wireless store. I just got off the phone and she said she will be calling me back after contacting the best buy store on my behalf and trying to work out a solution.
Has anyone had success with this situation? What did you do? Is there a secret code word I have to give to Verizon? Is she actually correct... if she cancels my account will my Xoom turn into a brick?
There is no wifi model yet. Turning off your cell service shouldn't brick your tablet. I would call back and talk to a different rep.
Don't have one yet. But that is just BS. Call them back and just cancel it. If they say it will be a brick (complete lie) then tell them so be it. You want nothing to do with Verizon. You only wanted the Xoom.
They sold you a load of crap. There's no tie in to the OS and cell service. Tell them to cancel your account and you'll "risk" it. Verizon has been known to say anything to keep people from canceling...its happened before.
i just wanted to clarify. the person you talked to was full of bull.
i walked out of best buy with an unactivated tablet (meaning no verizon data) and wifi and everything works beautifully.
also i would like to point out the obvious error with this "reps" logic. if a tablet without verizon data was a brick, it wouldn't be possible to activate one in the first place.
She is insinuating that it will brick the device because it was set up with Verizon in the first place. That is the only fear I have... that there is some sort IMEI check when the device boots and if it can't authenticate with a Verizon tower it will fail in the bootloader.
If that was the case, they wouldn't be able to sell tablets without Verizon service. I imagine they would also be looking at a major lawsuit if people couldn't cancel the service.
I can't be the only one that is trying to do this... would someone who has done this please give me some peace of mind?
padanfain said:
She is insinuating that it will brick the device because it was set up with Verizon in the first place. That is the only fear I have... that there is some sort IMEI check when the device boots and if it can't authenticate with a Verizon tower it will fail in the bootloader.
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no, again, i would like to point out that if you were out of range of a tower (which can and does happen that would result in a "brick" as you call it).
your fine, call cancel be happy.
padanfain said:
I, like many others I assume, bought the Xoom from Best Buy on a month-to-month Verizon contract with the intention of canceling the contract immediately. Today I called and tried to cancel the contract and had a frustrating 60 minute phone call. The agent, working with her supervisor, was telling me that there is no way I can possibly cancel my plan with them and that if she were to cancel my account, my Xoom would become a brick. She told me that in order to get the device to work in wifi only mode I would have to return it to Best Buy and go to a Verizon store to purchase one with Wifi only. She indicates that there is no way possible to convert my existing device, even if I brought it into a Verizon Wireless store. I just got off the phone and she said she will be calling me back after contacting the best buy store on my behalf and trying to work out a solution.
Has anyone had success with this situation? What did you do? Is there a secret code word I have to give to Verizon? Is she actually correct... if she cancels my account will my Xoom turn into a brick?
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She lied to you. The first CS Rep gave me trouble to, but a seperate completely bull**** story. She told me that since I went to costco, and they are an "indirect retailer", that I would have to go to them to cancel the line.
After calling Costco I was informed that this wasn't true, and that Verizon lies . She told me to make up a story that I needed to cancel the data plan because I couldn't use it right now but I would be reactivating in a few months.
Due to impatience, and stubbornness I called Verizon again, without a fake story, just adding that I'd been "misled" by one CS Rep, and that I had already called Costco. The second rep was very helpful, did my cancellation with no problem. She informed me, as I already knew, that the device would work perfectly fine without activation. At this point I had skipped activation and hadn't use a single byte of Verizon data and had been using wifi for hours.
When you call, and get a better rep, make sure that they waive the activation fee, as it's not automatically waived when doing a quick cancellation.
So to recap.
Don't Take No For An Answer.
Inform them that your device is off contract, and you are keeping it, just getting rid of the data plan.
Make sure they waive the activation fee.
You're device will not brick, and you can just turn off verizon data in the settings.
So YES. I have successfully cancelled month-to-month data and kept a fully functional XOOM.
padanfain said:
I can't be the only one that is trying to do this... would someone who has done this please give me some peace of mind?
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just call again and get it done. You called Verizon right and not Best Buy. Verizon can easily do this they are just trying to keep you on your data plan. Threaten if that you dont have your plan canceled then you will report them to the BBB. Im sure that will get you some attention
I work for Verizon in customer service and we had a training the other day that stated if a customer signs a two year contract and gets a discount and then cancels the data plan within the two years they will be charged the 200 difference. I hope this is not true and just something they told us, but for your case I again hope it isn't true. Good luck man and I will try to find out more today at work.
call them back. My cancel phone call took 30 seconds, I explained the situation, she said ok let me cancel that...... there you go, activation fee waived, service canceled. We'll let you know about the 4g upgrade.
padanfain said:
She is insinuating that it will brick the device because it was set up with Verizon in the first place. That is the only fear I have... that there is some sort IMEI check when the device boots and if it can't authenticate with a Verizon tower it will fail in the bootloader.
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No, that does not happen.
First, Verizon has officially said you do not need service to purchase the device anymore. Motorola will sell you the Xoom directly without service.
Second, when you start the device for the first time it asks you to begin the setup which the first step is to activate the device on Verizon. Immediately under it states you can continue with wifi setup by click the button.
The OS is not locked. This was mearly a strong arm approach by Verizon and Best Buy to get at least 1 month ($20) of service and connection fee ($35) from anyone purchasing.
angermeans said:
I work for Verizon in customer service and we had a training the other day that stated if a customer signs a two year contract and gets a discount and then cancels the data plan within the two years they will be charged the 200 difference. I hope this is not true and just something they told us, but for your case I again hope it isn't true. Good luck man and I will try to find out more today at work.
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They key point is that he didn't sign a contract. He is on a month-to-month plan with no obligation to continue service.He did not get a subsidized price. This is how I purchased mine.
EDIT: I could be wrong. The OP says "month to month" which implies no contract, but then states he's on a contract. Hmm....
She called me back and after talking to best buy she did exactly what I told her to do in the first place -- cancelled my account and prorated my two day's usage which was 1.50. I had to pay the activation fee. I know there are others who didn't, but frankly, after arguing with them for an hour just to cancel, I really didn't feel like having it out again with them just for $35 bucks -- my time is worth more than that.
Thanks for all the responses guys and gals.
Wow, I'm glad I didn't end up picking one up from costco given all the hassle to cancel with Verizon. Ugh, don't think I'm ever going to activate it based on this.
Sent from my EVO using XDA App
padanfain said:
She called me back and after talking to best buy she did exactly what I told her to do in the first place -- cancelled my account and prorated my two day's usage which was 1.50. I had to pay the activation fee. I know there are others who didn't, but frankly, after arguing with them for an hour just to cancel, I really didn't feel like having it out again with them just for $35 bucks -- my time is worth more than that.
Thanks for all the responses guys and gals.
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Just FYI, I think there's a 72hr return policy on the activation fee. A google search will get you verification.
I just called and cancelled. Took 5 minutes. Device still works just fine! I just have to pay for the 1 day of usage.
padanfain said:
She called me back and after talking to best buy she did exactly what I told her to do in the first place -- cancelled my account and prorated my two day's usage which was 1.50. I had to pay the activation fee. I know there are others who didn't, but frankly, after arguing with them for an hour just to cancel, I really didn't feel like having it out again with them just for $35 bucks -- my time is worth more than that.
Thanks for all the responses guys and gals.
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They gave me ****, i just told them i know it can be canceled and i don't want the data package. You have 72 hours to cancel and not pay the activation. If you did sign a contract, then yes you will have to pay the ETF.
I need to share my story in the hopes of preventing anyone else from going through the same ordeal.
AT&T is the absolutely worst carrier on the planet. Absolute worst! In the process of switching and evaluating carriers I signed up with ATT. I had them for 4 days and I had more dropped calls in 4 days with ATT than I had in 5 years with Sprint and 2 years with T-Mobile. I barely had the service for 2 days before they sent me a bill (they are quick to do that for sure), which they already screwed up charging me for services I did not order.
Upon calling them, they told me I had to go back to the AT&T store to resolve my issue. I did just that, they admitted their mistake and said the corrections should be on my account in 24 hours. 2 days later my account was the same and I was once again redirected to the store. I had enough! Within 5 days I returned the phone, and cancelled my service. That should've been the end of it, but no, a month later I get a whopping $492 bill from AT&T. They were charging me an early termination fee even though I had 30 days to cancel and I canceled within 4 days!! I spend hours, hours on the phone getting the run-around, getting transferred from one person to the next, having to explain my problem over again to each agent and each "manager", before I got my charges dropped (supposedly, I still expect to receive a bill from them because they are THAT incompetent).
Avoid AT&T like the plague! They are the absolute WORST!
If you are still having problems getting the ETF waived, contact the consumerist. (consumerist.com).
Read their help site on how to create and E.E.C.B. first (Executive Email Carpet Bomb for those non-consumerist readers).
Dude, that sucks that you had to go through all that ****. I'm having a pleasant experience with them so far since I signed with them back in April 2011. You should definitely fight them about that ETF bull****. You're within that 30 day window. No F'ing way you should pay that ETF. And on top of that, they should charge for things that you used like data and minutes if anything. Not the potiential amount i.e. 900 min plan but only used 100 minutes.
Haxel said:
If you are still having problems getting the ETF waived, contact the consumerist. (consumerist.com).
Read their help site on how to create and E.E.C.B. first (Executive Email Carpet Bomb for those non-consumerist readers).
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That's nothing, with Verizon in the Omnia II days I walked in, grabbed a phone, signed up, and while still in the store I opened the box. The screen was split in 2. I walked it back to the rep I had just spoken with and he told me that I'd have to pay the full asking price of the phone because the break was not there when he'd activated it.
With sprint, I had a ppc6800 that I loved. They released an update that caused the phone to be unstable and when I went back gave me some touchscreen Samsung dumbphone. They refused to give me dubphone data back but said they couldn't upgrade me to another smartphone and the ppc6800 had cycled out. One of the reps flat out called me stupid for preferring my ppc6800 because the Samsung had new capacitive touchscreen technology.
..
Better than it was...
I switched to Big Mamma eight years ago to get the RAZR phone. Service sucked and pricing was ridiculous, so I canceled and went back to T-Mobile. Last year I decided that it wasn't doing me any good to stay with TMo since their phone upgrade options were weak and contract pricing wasn't any better. Also, my partner and our best friends have a family plan w/ATT, so switching onto that and getting a new shiny ear-toaster would still be a savings over what I was giving TMo. So, I got my Infuse and got on the plan. I'm happy with it. Service is good, I haven't had to deal with customer service, and the price is right.
How's this one for you:
Signed up with AT&T in September, bringing my own device (an Infuse) so I could upgrade at any time. Added a work discount, so a contract is involved.
October 2nd, I get my girl an iphone 4s (contract free) and we convert to a family plan. Due to the nature of our numbers, we have to convert our individual accounts to a corporate account, then convert that to a family plan. Keep this in mind...
October 10th, work discount still not applied, now they're telling me that when they reapplied my discount, they lost my upgrade, so they're going to reset everything. Also was triple billed, so they gave me about $300 in credits to bring me down to normal levels.
November 6th, work discount STILL not applied, they lost both of our upgrades now. 4 hours of calling gets things fixed (so I thought).
December 5th, work discount STILL not applied, so I call up. Upgrade for my girlfriend's line restored, but mine is "lost forever". Retentions "manager" tells me I can either lose my upgrade or he'll send me any device that isn't apple to me for free, and overnight it to me. I choose the white Skyrocket, but the point of having my upgrade was to eventually get the Nexus. I'm not happy. Overnighted phone takes 5 days to get to me, during which I have no phone.
December 13th, call to complain. Work discount FINALLY applied, tons of credits given to me to make up for the inconvenience. Retentions manager gives me a permanent $10 credit to give me a free third line, so I have another permanent upgrade. I'm relatively satisfied at this point. Due to the amount of credits on my account, my balance is NEGATIVE $9.
December 20th, I get a call from COLLECTIONS saying that I owe $600 to AT&T due to 4 months of unpaid bills. Seems like when they converted us from consumer to corporate to consumer again, they NEVER CANCELLED THE INDIVIDUAL LINES. I have to call in to AT&T and spend 3 more hours clearing this up.
January 4th, my 30 days with the Skyrocket is almost up and I get MAYBE 4 hours of battery life, along with a horribly splotchy screen. I call to have it replaced under the 30 day return period. Retentions tells me I have to pay a $35 restocking fee. I explain that this is a mistake, and that I'm a former employee and specifically state the return policy to them. I'm told to hold while she asks her supervisor to waive my fee. 10 minutes later, it gets interesting...
I get transferred to the FRAUD department, and a supervisor, "Mr. Lopez" tells me that my account is frozen due to fraud. I'm told I can't return my phone, I can't upgrade, can't cancel, can't due anything. If I need to replace my device I need to pay FULL RETAIL and then I'll get my money back once they receive my device. Being a former employee, this also includes at least a month wait after they get the device back in stock. I ask him to tell me WHY I'm in for fraud, and he refuses, calling me a liar, a thief, and starts getting quite loud. I hang up, and he calls back. His callback number is to the call center 30 minutes from my house, and I explain to him that if he doesn't explain why I'm in for fraud, I'll drive to his call center and speak to his supervisors. He hangs up on me. My account is now locked, and I can't do ANYTHING.
I call back and speak to another call center's fraud center dept, and they patiently listen to my story and confirm that I had no reason to be flagged for fraud. They tell me to go to the store and return my device, and credit me $35 just in case they charge me a restocking fee. As of right now I've filed a report against "Mr Lopez" which turns out isn't his real name. They had to go through the notes and found his codes, so hopefully he gets let go for this. The behavior used was absolutely inexcusable.
So yeah, I'm now stuck with a phone I don't want, but hopefully everything is fixed. My girl doesn't want to leave AT&T, and her mother is using the third line, so it would be a huge inconvenience to take off for Verizon or T-Mobile. I'm hoping this gets resolved once & for all.
TLDR version - AT&T bent me over and broke out the sandpaper condom.
Dude I would have filed a report with the better business beru that is bull. I hope everything turns out for the best
Sent from my xploding E3d
I had att and the dreaded iPhone for nine months. People would stand next to me and call me just to make fun of how my phone would never ring. I'd miss over 50% of my calls here in DC due to my phone never ringing. Couldn't do anything about it with that nice contractual obligation tho. Good times.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
entropism said:
How's this one for you:
Signed up with AT&T in September, bringing my own device (an Infuse) so I could upgrade at any time. Added a work discount, so a contract is involved.
October 2nd, I get my girl an iphone 4s (contract free) and we convert to a family plan. Due to the nature of our numbers, we have to convert our individual accounts to a corporate account, then convert that to a family plan. Keep this in mind...
October 10th, work discount still not applied, now they're telling me that when they reapplied my discount, they lost my upgrade, so they're going to reset everything. Also was triple billed, so they gave me about $300 in credits to bring me down to normal levels.
November 6th, work discount STILL not applied, they lost both of our upgrades now. 4 hours of calling gets things fixed (so I thought).
December 5th, work discount STILL not applied, so I call up. Upgrade for my girlfriend's line restored, but mine is "lost forever". Retentions "manager" tells me I can either lose my upgrade or he'll send me any device that isn't apple to me for free, and overnight it to me. I choose the white Skyrocket, but the point of having my upgrade was to eventually get the Nexus. I'm not happy. Overnighted phone takes 5 days to get to me, during which I have no phone.
December 13th, call to complain. Work discount FINALLY applied, tons of credits given to me to make up for the inconvenience. Retentions manager gives me a permanent $10 credit to give me a free third line, so I have another permanent upgrade. I'm relatively satisfied at this point. Due to the amount of credits on my account, my balance is NEGATIVE $9.
December 20th, I get a call from COLLECTIONS saying that I owe $600 to AT&T due to 4 months of unpaid bills. Seems like when they converted us from consumer to corporate to consumer again, they NEVER CANCELLED THE INDIVIDUAL LINES. I have to call in to AT&T and spend 3 more hours clearing this up.
January 4th, my 30 days with the Skyrocket is almost up and I get MAYBE 4 hours of battery life, along with a horribly splotchy screen. I call to have it replaced under the 30 day return period. Retentions tells me I have to pay a $35 restocking fee. I explain that this is a mistake, and that I'm a former employee and specifically state the return policy to them. I'm told to hold while she asks her supervisor to waive my fee. 10 minutes later, it gets interesting...
I get transferred to the FRAUD department, and a supervisor, "Mr. Lopez" tells me that my account is frozen due to fraud. I'm told I can't return my phone, I can't upgrade, can't cancel, can't due anything. If I need to replace my device I need to pay FULL RETAIL and then I'll get my money back once they receive my device. Being a former employee, this also includes at least a month wait after they get the device back in stock. I ask him to tell me WHY I'm in for fraud, and he refuses, calling me a liar, a thief, and starts getting quite loud. I hang up, and he calls back. His callback number is to the call center 30 minutes from my house, and I explain to him that if he doesn't explain why I'm in for fraud, I'll drive to his call center and speak to his supervisors. He hangs up on me. My account is now locked, and I can't do ANYTHING.
I call back and speak to another call center's fraud center dept, and they patiently listen to my story and confirm that I had no reason to be flagged for fraud. They tell me to go to the store and return my device, and credit me $35 just in case they charge me a restocking fee. As of right now I've filed a report against "Mr Lopez" which turns out isn't his real name. They had to go through the notes and found his codes, so hopefully he gets let go for this. The behavior used was absolutely inexcusable.
So yeah, I'm now stuck with a phone I don't want, but hopefully everything is fixed. My girl doesn't want to leave AT&T, and her mother is using the third line, so it would be a huge inconvenience to take off for Verizon or T-Mobile. I'm hoping this gets resolved once & for all.
TLDR version - AT&T bent me over and broke out the sandpaper condom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
File with the FCC. That WILL get their attention.
Sent from my HTC Sensation with Beats Audio using xda premium
entropism said:
How's this one for you:
Signed up with AT&T in September, bringing my own device (an Infuse) so I could upgrade at any time. Added a work discount, so a contract is involved.
October 2nd, I get my girl an iphone 4s (contract free) and we convert to a family plan. Due to the nature of our numbers, we have to convert our individual accounts to a corporate account, then convert that to a family plan. Keep this in mind...
October 10th, work discount still not applied, now they're telling me that when they reapplied my discount, they lost my upgrade, so they're going to reset everything. Also was triple billed, so they gave me about $300 in credits to bring me down to normal levels.
November 6th, work discount STILL not applied, they lost both of our upgrades now. 4 hours of calling gets things fixed (so I thought).
December 5th, work discount STILL not applied, so I call up. Upgrade for my girlfriend's line restored, but mine is "lost forever". Retentions "manager" tells me I can either lose my upgrade or he'll send me any device that isn't apple to me for free, and overnight it to me. I choose the white Skyrocket, but the point of having my upgrade was to eventually get the Nexus. I'm not happy. Overnighted phone takes 5 days to get to me, during which I have no phone.
December 13th, call to complain. Work discount FINALLY applied, tons of credits given to me to make up for the inconvenience. Retentions manager gives me a permanent $10 credit to give me a free third line, so I have another permanent upgrade. I'm relatively satisfied at this point. Due to the amount of credits on my account, my balance is NEGATIVE $9.
December 20th, I get a call from COLLECTIONS saying that I owe $600 to AT&T due to 4 months of unpaid bills. Seems like when they converted us from consumer to corporate to consumer again, they NEVER CANCELLED THE INDIVIDUAL LINES. I have to call in to AT&T and spend 3 more hours clearing this up.
January 4th, my 30 days with the Skyrocket is almost up and I get MAYBE 4 hours of battery life, along with a horribly splotchy screen. I call to have it replaced under the 30 day return period. Retentions tells me I have to pay a $35 restocking fee. I explain that this is a mistake, and that I'm a former employee and specifically state the return policy to them. I'm told to hold while she asks her supervisor to waive my fee. 10 minutes later, it gets interesting...
I get transferred to the FRAUD department, and a supervisor, "Mr. Lopez" tells me that my account is frozen due to fraud. I'm told I can't return my phone, I can't upgrade, can't cancel, can't due anything. If I need to replace my device I need to pay FULL RETAIL and then I'll get my money back once they receive my device. Being a former employee, this also includes at least a month wait after they get the device back in stock. I ask him to tell me WHY I'm in for fraud, and he refuses, calling me a liar, a thief, and starts getting quite loud. I hang up, and he calls back. His callback number is to the call center 30 minutes from my house, and I explain to him that if he doesn't explain why I'm in for fraud, I'll drive to his call center and speak to his supervisors. He hangs up on me. My account is now locked, and I can't do ANYTHING.
I call back and speak to another call center's fraud center dept, and they patiently listen to my story and confirm that I had no reason to be flagged for fraud. They tell me to go to the store and return my device, and credit me $35 just in case they charge me a restocking fee. As of right now I've filed a report against "Mr Lopez" which turns out isn't his real name. They had to go through the notes and found his codes, so hopefully he gets let go for this. The behavior used was absolutely inexcusable.
So yeah, I'm now stuck with a phone I don't want, but hopefully everything is fixed. My girl doesn't want to leave AT&T, and her mother is using the third line, so it would be a huge inconvenience to take off for Verizon or T-Mobile. I'm hoping this gets resolved once & for all.
TLDR version - AT&T bent me over and broke out the sandpaper condom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably the absolute worst carrier horror story I have ever heard....
That's granted I use to work customer service for at&t.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
I think vodaphone Australia is worse. Reception sucks and sometimes messages sent are few days late.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
entropism said:
How's this one for you:
Signed up with AT&T in September, bringing my own device (an Infuse) so I could upgrade at any time. Added a work discount, so a contract is involved.
October 2nd, I get my girl an iphone 4s (contract free) and we convert to a family plan. Due to the nature of our numbers, we have to convert our individual accounts to a corporate account, then convert that to a family plan. Keep this in mind...
October 10th, work discount still not applied, now they're telling me that when they reapplied my discount, they lost my upgrade, so they're going to reset everything. Also was triple billed, so they gave me about $300 in credits to bring me down to normal levels.
November 6th, work discount STILL not applied, they lost both of our upgrades now. 4 hours of calling gets things fixed (so I thought).
December 5th, work discount STILL not applied, so I call up. Upgrade for my girlfriend's line restored, but mine is "lost forever". Retentions "manager" tells me I can either lose my upgrade or he'll send me any device that isn't apple to me for free, and overnight it to me. I choose the white Skyrocket, but the point of having my upgrade was to eventually get the Nexus. I'm not happy. Overnighted phone takes 5 days to get to me, during which I have no phone.
December 13th, call to complain. Work discount FINALLY applied, tons of credits given to me to make up for the inconvenience. Retentions manager gives me a permanent $10 credit to give me a free third line, so I have another permanent upgrade. I'm relatively satisfied at this point. Due to the amount of credits on my account, my balance is NEGATIVE $9.
December 20th, I get a call from COLLECTIONS saying that I owe $600 to AT&T due to 4 months of unpaid bills. Seems like when they converted us from consumer to corporate to consumer again, they NEVER CANCELLED THE INDIVIDUAL LINES. I have to call in to AT&T and spend 3 more hours clearing this up.
January 4th, my 30 days with the Skyrocket is almost up and I get MAYBE 4 hours of battery life, along with a horribly splotchy screen. I call to have it replaced under the 30 day return period. Retentions tells me I have to pay a $35 restocking fee. I explain that this is a mistake, and that I'm a former employee and specifically state the return policy to them. I'm told to hold while she asks her supervisor to waive my fee. 10 minutes later, it gets interesting...
I get transferred to the FRAUD department, and a supervisor, "Mr. Lopez" tells me that my account is frozen due to fraud. I'm told I can't return my phone, I can't upgrade, can't cancel, can't due anything. If I need to replace my device I need to pay FULL RETAIL and then I'll get my money back once they receive my device. Being a former employee, this also includes at least a month wait after they get the device back in stock. I ask him to tell me WHY I'm in for fraud, and he refuses, calling me a liar, a thief, and starts getting quite loud. I hang up, and he calls back. His callback number is to the call center 30 minutes from my house, and I explain to him that if he doesn't explain why I'm in for fraud, I'll drive to his call center and speak to his supervisors. He hangs up on me. My account is now locked, and I can't do ANYTHING.
I call back and speak to another call center's fraud center dept, and they patiently listen to my story and confirm that I had no reason to be flagged for fraud. They tell me to go to the store and return my device, and credit me $35 just in case they charge me a restocking fee. As of right now I've filed a report against "Mr Lopez" which turns out isn't his real name. They had to go through the notes and found his codes, so hopefully he gets let go for this. The behavior used was absolutely inexcusable.
So yeah, I'm now stuck with a phone I don't want, but hopefully everything is fixed. My girl doesn't want to leave AT&T, and her mother is using the third line, so it would be a huge inconvenience to take off for Verizon or T-Mobile. I'm hoping this gets resolved once & for all.
TLDR version - AT&T bent me over and broke out the sandpaper condom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you're a former employee.. i'm surprised you didn't know it takes ~2 billing cycles for the discount to be applied.
I'm not talking about the discount monetarily but the actual account having the classification attached, which should take a few weeks tops.
Every carrier in North America sucks.
AT&T mangles the hell out of their Android phones to keep Apple happy
Verizon has a long history of mangling phones even worse than AT&T's, they're the first carrier to get a Google developer phone (Galaxy Nexus) and piss off Google so badly that the device's developer phone status was revoked.
T-Mobile is useless - Their coverage is awful, and things are so bad that putting a T-Mobile SIM into any device within 15 miles of where I work/live causes that device's IMEI to be blacklisted for 10-20 minutes, even after putting an AT&T SIM back in. While their "bring your own device" plans (discounts on the plan for not having a contract subsidy on the phone) are good on paper, they're kind of pointless considering that with the exception of the GSM Galaxy Nexus, only phones sold by T-Mobile support the 1700 MHz AWS band.
Sprint has slightly better coverage than T-Mo, but has oddball radio technology leading to the most wildly inconsistent phones possible. The SPH-D710 (Galaxy S II) is undoubtedly the worst Samsung Exynos-based handset on the planet thanks to Samsung having to stuff the phone full of oddball radio hardware not used anywhere else on this planet.
I had several problems with atnt, mostly over billing, we worked an agreement that the billing would be on the fifth of the months but some how it was set to be on the 23, I get a late fee and when I explain and show them the paper work, I was told that they do not honor those request so, I end up buying out of a contract and jail-braking and unlocking my iPhone to use the t-mobile network. I have had no problems ever with t-mobile. Just got a android phone loving it much better than my iPhone.
lol i find it so odd how its almost embedded in the American culture to have this deep personal relationship with our service providers.
Best coverage is debatable, since we all live in unique locations and travel a unique path and only need coverage to an extent. We can argue the ranks and who's service provider is superior but its all moot. Every company has millions of customers and that equates to billions of different experiences and i am sure every company, even the one you keep dearly close to your heart, has their fair share of horror stories.
Ive also never heard of the ability to blacklist an imei in my experiences in the industry.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
ngocdao said:
lol i find it so odd how its almost embedded in the American culture to have this deep personal relationship with our service providers.
Best coverage is debatable, since we all live in unique locations and travel a unique path and only need coverage to an extent. We can argue the ranks and who's service provider is superior but its all moot. Every company has millions of customers and that equates to billions of different experiences and i am sure every company, even the one you keep dearly close to your heart, has their fair share of horror stories.
Ive also never heard of the ability to blacklist an imei in my experiences in the industry.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whatever you have never heard of - I can tell you, back in 2008 it happened without fail. If you put a T-Mobile SIM into an AT&T phone anywhere near where I lived, it would report "no service". If you cleanly shut down the phone, put the AT&T SIM back in, and powered it back on - still "no service" for at least 15 minutes. Prior to inserting the T-Mobile SIM, the phone would always have solid high signal strength coverage.
If you look at the coverage maps of T-Mobile and Sprint - they clearly have MUCH smaller networks than AT&T and Verizon.
I've never had any problems with ma bell, since switching to them
from sprint 3 years ago. Hopefully you get that resolved soon.
I can honestly say I have NEVER had a problem with AT&T Service or Customer Relations. Then again... I never really have talked to one of their customer reps outside of store. SO MUCH AUTOMATION
Just thought I would share my experience for whatever it's worth.
I should start off with saying that I live in the country and never had the best service with AT&T. I used their Microcell to subsidize my reception and it worked okay. I imagine if I lived in a big city or an area with excellent AT&T reception my story would be different.
Problems I had with AT&T that were well documented on my account: poor reception, duplicate text message issue that came and went (only real way to stop it was battery pull and/or sim transfer to the Captivate), last two months data usage was waaaay off as in AT&T thought I was using substantial more data than I was (3G Watchdog / common sense) and no amount of hours spent on the phone with customer service resolved my issue.
So after being a slave customer of AT&T's for almost two years, and two different phones with them my ETF was $110. I decided I would gladly pay the $110 and go get a SGN from Verizon, who I know through my roommate and former roommate to have excellent service both at my home and work. I realize that this differs thoughout the country but make no mistake about it, in Northern Alabama VZW is the ONLY carrier to have excellent reception everywhere I go.
So I went to the Verizon store and bought a Galaxy Nexus. I provided my AT&T customer number and of course my phone number to the VZW salesman, no call to AT&T was needed to cancel my service. Side note: I brought them a 6 year old PoS phone my sister was kind enough to provide me and they gave me $50 off. I also asked the rep before letting him know I was buying the phone, "if I do decide to buy this from you today and pay my AT&T ETF can you wave the activation fee to help me out?" he did.
So I get my last bill from AT&T and even with my service cancelled they were trying to charge me an extra $20 data fee, either for the next month or an additional fee I don't know but I know it wasnt a legitimate charge (surprise, surprise). I called AT&T customer service and explained to the guy that my service had been cancelled for a week and the $20 data charge should not be on my bill, he agreed. I then mentioned in passing that "AT&T was not able to provide me with reception and I felt it was unfair of them to charge me an ETF when I had been a good customer and was not recieving what I was paying for". That phrase was not even fully out of my mouth when he said "I agree with you, let me go talk to my manager." he was gone for 2 minutes or less and came back to the phone saying, "I spoke with my manager and we are able to wave your $110 early termination fee." I couldn't believe it! That wasn't even why I called, I was only mentioning that in passing because that is how I felt. I was absolutely going to pay the ETF and be done with AT&T forever! But this man, prob the one and only customer service rep at AT&T that would have been willing to do that for me, didn't even let me get the whole sentance out of my mouth before jumping into action and going above and beyond to help me out! I honestly feel like I could have called AT&T a hundred more times and not get the same experience. I was so happy that I payed my remaining balance instantly through ACH.
So that is my story, whether it's helpful or even an interesting read to anyone else I am not sure. I know it will get down voted, and especially by ClearFire because I pissed him off and now he down votes all my posts no matter how helpful lol. But I am not holding grudges, not towards any member of this forum that I might have had disagreements with and not towards AT&T who I formerly hated, err, well maybe I still do hate AT&T lol. I will never go back to AT&T as long as I live, I am extremely happy with VZW! At home when I was getting <5 down and maybe 1 up on a good day and one bar of service with AT&T, I now get >15 down and >4 up and full bars from Verizon. Again this is my experience and I realize that reception differs greatly in dif geographical areas. I guess this is my "goodbye Atrix community" thread. Mostly it was a good time here with you, I will be sending some of you friend requests and I will check back in at the Atrix forums. Have a great day all of you and I hope something I said was helpful.
Good stuff. I'm in a very good area for att. Wifi at home and work. Nothing to complain about. Does Verizon have unlimited mobile to mobile as well?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Deggy said:
Good stuff. I'm in a very good area for att. Wifi at home and work. Nothing to complain about. Does Verizon have unlimited mobile to mobile as well?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No sadly Verizon does not have unlimited mobile to mobile. I am on the 900 minute plan and that includes 5 "friends and family" numbers for unlimited calling, the numbers can be mobile or landline.. I am actually thinking of downgrading to the 450 minute plan to save $20/mo and using GrooVe IP + my Google Voice number during peak hours. At home and at work I have WiFi so I'm thinking this will be a good idea I just have to get in the habit of doing it. I included my data speeds in the OP more of a reference of what I dealt with as soon as I left the house.
Congrats! I had an experience with att a while back... I think it was because I moved out of their coverage area, let's just say it wasn't as painless as your story. Good for you.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
per policy if your less than 12 months in your contact and ltv 1 your etf gets waived. that is prolly why they did it. ltv = life time value, or tech has to note the account about the service issues, those are the only two ways to get it done.
twayneo said:
per policy if your less than 12 months in your contact and ltv 1 your etf gets waived. that is prolly why they did it. ltv = life time value, or tech has to note the account about the service issues, those are the only two ways to get it done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
another way is to be military that just got deployed. this happened to a family member with 3 months left on the contract. it's a shame that you have to know the information yourself because a lot of customer service reps don't. ended up renewing a 2 year contract and finding out that we could have terminated the account without any fees, of course by then we were already 3 months into the new contract and it took me about 1 month of fighting to get it terminated.
the service that is provided often depends on the rep that picks up. that's why a lot of times i just hang up on a rep that's not being helpful and try again.
autumn_leaf said:
the service that is provided often depends on the rep that picks up. that's why a lot of times i just hang up on a rep that's not being helpful and try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS!! Is the best end all advice ever. And I know through personal experience. Not just AT&T but all companies and all services.
autumn_leaf said:
the service that is provided often depends on the rep that picks up. that's why a lot of times i just hang up on a rep that's not being helpful and try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
10char
autumn_leaf said:
the service that is provided often depends on the rep that picks up. that's why a lot of times i just hang up on a rep that's not being helpful and try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should really do that more often.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
You wouldn't believe the amount of waivers/credits AT&T give out daily.
The best way to get what you want is to ask for a manager.. Most managers are so lazy that they'd rather just give you a credit than talk to you.
If you get no luck through customer care - dial 611, wait for option to cancel service - you'll be connected to retentions, and they are allowed to give a lot more.
They have changed things up recently, though.. If you've had a number of credits in the past then you're likely to be declined when requesting further credits..
A while back, I was checking my phone bill online and noticed that I didn't have the unlimited text plan I thought I did. So I added the service with their website. The next month I looked at my bill, and I noticed a $150.00 for text messaging, for going over my plan.
So I call AT&T and the young woman I spoke with looked up my account, and then said she would get a manager. The manager I spoke with verified that I had made the change to unlimited text plan, but it wasn't put into effect. So she immediately credited my account for the text overage.
Both people were very helpful and nice. In fact I haven't had any bad experiences with AT&T's customer service. Maybe it's my voice, and they decide to be nice to me. IDK.
dratsablive said:
A while back, I was checking my phone bill online and noticed that I didn't have the unlimited text plan I thought I did. So I added the service with their website. The next month I looked at my bill, and I noticed a $150.00 for text messaging, for going over my plan.
So I call AT&T and the young woman I spoke with looked up my account, and then said she would get a manager. The manager I spoke with verified that I had made the change to unlimited text plan, but it wasn't put into effect. So she immediately credited my account for the text overage.
Both people were very helpful and nice. In fact I haven't had any bad experiences with AT&T's customer service. Maybe it's my voice, and they decide to be nice to me. IDK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I worked there for about 8 months - it's really luck of the draw. There are so many grey areas in their policies, and not everybody is made aware of some of the less common issues/procedures to deal with them.
You just have to hope that you get a hold of somebody who knows what they're talking about (or has a manager who does), & that they're in a good mood Honestly, there are very few things that they can not do (without a transfer)
My experience with AT&T has been positive. I have had accidental international data overages and have been credited.