Cell Phone...Anyone have this happen?

[schel]

Hello,

Let me just say Grrrrrrr!!!!!

We have AT&T Wireless through my employer, at a 24% savings. I know great... However my son now 10 and he is soooo busy we want to be able to get a hold of him since he is out and about and always on the go. So I got an offer in the mail to add a line for 9.99/mo, free phone, free activation and so I called on it. Then the guy says I need a $800.00 deposit and after a year we will credit it back to your account. WTF!!! I said to the guy so you cash in on the $800.00 deposit how is that a deposit?? Isn't a deposit supposed to be that just a deposit should you not follow through with your bill, etc...

So I basically told him no your not getting a deposit for free phone and free shipping, I'll sign up through work and get another line and pay the activation fee minus a $800.00 deposit. So I do the order yadda, yadda, yadda, and get an E-mail yesterday the order was cancelled due to credit.

Ok we are 1 year and 4 months out post BK, never lost our house, never lost our truck and have made payments on them and current through whole process. On top of that have gotten a Master Card and kept current with little charges here and there and pay off to build our credit.

Are we not getting the phone and extra line because of our credit and post BK? Anyone know anything about this that can pipe in I would appreciate it cuz I am steamin right now!!

Thanks for input...
Maybe I'll just do pay as you go until our contract is up and then AT&T can go you know what themselves!

Any suggestions; ideas, etc.. welcome.
Bottom line we need 3 cells, have a land line, (would consider droping if we could get a good cell service, and go with internet/cable and cells) We do not need internet or texting that is just more $$. Call the person and say what you need in a minute instead of typeing in what you want to say and paying an extra fee....

Schel

[BobMango]

Wow, and I just thought their service sucked. I'm 2 months post discharge and just upgraded my Verizon service with a new phone and rate plan. No hassles there.

Have you checked your credit to make sure everything is reporting correctly? Even if they were reporting correctly six months ago, it's a good idea to check again since some items have a way of getting back on there after some time.

[SMinGA]

How is your payment history on your At&t account? How long have you been with them?

Been w/ Sprint for years. I think going on 6. Have not tried to add a 3rd line, but we renewed our plan/upgraded our phones with no issue last November. Credit was in the crapper with 4-6 month lates on all revolving.

[ready2puke]

I've been with Verizon wireless for a very long time

and started with Verizon business land line since they bought out MCI.. I got really screwed with the new contract and had to stop paying them. Its been 5 months since I've stopped paying Verizon and I was able to get a 2nd line on a new plan with Verizon wireless with no problems at all...
Try Verizon, they are way better in every way
Good luck
Stop paying cc's for 19 months, have no idea what my score is but I can only imagine..Haven't filed yet.

[JEM]

Another Verizon customer here....very satisfied.

Granted we haven't filed yet.....BUT we're a few months into non-payment of our CC's, so obviously our credit score has tanked. We had to renew our contract last month with Verizon and had no problems what-so-ever. I don't know if they check credit or not, I've never noticed that they do for renewals on our credit reports.

[ColoradoBell]

This is probably no help whatsoever, but:
I've learned that it's all in who you end up talking to. So if I am talking to someone who is disinterested or resistant to helping me, I just politely hang up, call back and try someone else. Sometimes it takes a few tries, but I end up with someone who 'clicks' with me as if I were their friend instead of just another voice on the phone. It almost always helps resolve the problem, it certainly brightens my day, and I think my appreciation goes a long way towards making the voice on the other end glad that they helped me out.

Good luck!

[BobMango]

Another Verizon customer here....I don't know if they check credit or not, I've never noticed that they do for renewals on our credit reports.

I believe that Verizon only checks their internal "credit" database for existing customers. May not help those who are getting jerked around by their current non-Verizon carrier, but ....

[wantout]

Have you looked into the Pre Paid cell phones?

I had ATT and droped them, went to a pre paid, service is great and I only pay for what I use...works for me YMMV.

[nc73]

yeah prepaid is the way to go. if I didn't need internet on my smartphone to accept contract jobs i would have kept my old prepaid.

[schel]

Thanks for input, I am calling them today and like ColoradoBell said I will take her advise and do just what she said. We have always paid our bill on time and never have got a late notice. I'll keep you posted on what I find out.
Thanks again.
Schel

[Faust]

I am new ATT Wireless customer and I just got my first bill. It was $260.00 more than I was expecting!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I called once this am but got nowhere. I am going to have to go into a store and find out what is going on.

The plan I signed up for was $59.99 Family plan with 550 min + 3rd line for $9.99 + Unlimited family messaging $30.00. They say it's $196.00 per month + 19.99 for 2nd & 3rd line + $30.00 for unlimited messaging. WTF?!

I'm pretty pissed.

[JEM]

I am new ATT Wireless customer and I just got my first bill. It was $260.00 more than I was expecting!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I called once this am but got nowhere. I am going to have to go into a store and find out what is going on.

The plan I signed up for was $59.99 Family plan with 550 min + 3rd line for $9.99 + Unlimited family messaging $30.00. They say it's $196.00 per month + 19.99 for 2nd & 3rd line + $30.00 for unlimited messaging. WTF?!

I'm pretty pissed.

Wow! I'd be ticked off too!!

I know one thing that Verizon has been doing for awhile...when you go into the store to renew your contract and/or upgrade your phone, the receipt they give you prints out what plan you are on and the cost it will be per month. Example: 1400 min. $69.99/mo, additional line $9.99 etc....

So you have proof I guess if the bill came showing something different.

Do they give you anything like that at AT&T that you could show them?

[Faust]

Wow! I'd be ticked off too!!

I know one thing that Verizon has been doing for awhile...when you go into the store to renew your contract and/or upgrade your phone, the receipt they give you prints out what plan you are on and the cost it will be per month. Example: 1400 min. $69.99/mo, additional line $9.99 etc....

So you have proof I guess if the bill came showing something different.

Do they give you anything like that at AT&T that you could show them?

Oh you bet I do!! At the time I placed my online order I received the confirmation email showing the plan I chose. It will be interesting to hear what the store says.

[JEM]

Oh you bet I do!! At the time I placed my online order I received the confirmation email showing the plan I chose. It will be interesting to hear what the store says.

Good Luck! I hate dealing with stuff like that. I am so non-confrontational.

I know this last time, we renewed mid-cycle so that next bill was a little higher, but it was because some of our features changed and we got billed for a month and a half--but it was explained on the bill what the "extra" was from.

[jalex]

I am new ATT Wireless customer and I just got my first bill. It was $260.00 more than I was expecting!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I called once this am but got nowhere. I am going to have to go into a store and find out what is going on.

The plan I signed up for was $59.99 Family plan with 550 min + 3rd line for $9.99 + Unlimited family messaging $30.00. They say it's $196.00 per month + 19.99 for 2nd & 3rd line + $30.00 for unlimited messaging. WTF?!

I'm pretty pissed.

Faust,

I don't quite see how they came up those numbers. However, AT&T bills a month in advance. So your first bill will be a prorated bill for the time from activation to the end of your billing date plus the next month's normal charges. They also include activation fees on the first bill ($36/line I think).

My family plan charges me $9.99 for the second line, so unless you got a promotional offer them charging you for each additional line is standard operating procedure.

I'm not saying the bill is right, but the first bill from AT&T is always a shocker due to their wonderful billing procedures. I would definitely have someone go over it with you, just to make sure it is right.