AT&T Wireless fine print irks customers This one's a bit old... AT&T Wireless fine print irks customers By Alorie Gilbert Staff Writer, CNET News.com December 13, 2002, 4:00 AM PT Some customers of AT&T Wireless are being hit with unexpectedly high bills when their plans expire, the result of a little-known clause buried within their contracts. Wireless plans are notoriously complicated, to the point that some companies have run ad campaigns touting their own simplicity while mocking other companies' tangled contracts. In the latest example, an easily overlooked detail in AT&T Wireless bills is generating a fresh round of customer complaints. Some AT&T Wireless customers are learning the hard way that the extras they received when they signed up for service, such as bonus minutes, no longer apply when their one-year contracts expire. As a result, people who think they're calling within the allotted minutes of their plan, are instead charged additional per-minute fees. The practice contrasts with that of most other major wireless companies. Verizon, Sprint, Cingular and Nextel, for example, continue to bill customers on a month-to-month basis under the same terms and conditions as their original contracts after their contracts expire. In the case of AT&T Wireless, many customers become aware of the unique clause only after they receive a sizable monthly bill. Pat McNulty, a mother of two in Monterey, Calif., said she recently received a $100 bill from AT&T Wireless for her daughter's monthly service, which is normally $29.99. When she called AT&T Wireless customer service to question the charges, she was told her daughter's contract had expired, as had the "promotional" extra weekend and evening minutes previously covered in the plan. "Deceptive" tactics The service representative offered to credit McNulty $60 if she renewed her daughter's contract for another year. "The tactic is extremely deceptive and I think it was done intentionally to make you renew or pay up," McNulty said. McNulty complained that the only notification the company gave her of the impending change in her daughter's plan was in fine print on page five of a 10-page bill. Consumer advocates say McNulty's anger is justified. "We would expect that service after the expiration of the contract would be on the same terms and conditions on a month-to-month basis," said Carl Hilliard, president of the Wireless Consumers Alliance, a non-profit organization in Del Mar, Calif. "If AT&T is not willing to continue service on that basis, we would expect them to give notice to the subscriber in a plain and conspicuous manner," he said. "Certainly an obscure note on page five of the bill does not constitute notice." AT&T spokesman Ritch Blasi said the company alerts customers on page five of their bills, 60 days in advance of the plan expiring, because that is where minutes and other billing information is listed. The company also notifies customers that promotions such as extra weekend minutes are good only for a year when they sign up for their plans, he said. Blasi was unaware of any complaints about the expiration policy, which applies nationwide and is not unique to customers in California. AT&T Wireless is among the largest of the wireless services providers, with more than 20 million subscribers. It also ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction and service among wireless providers, according to a J.D. Power and Associates survey of more than 17,600 U.S. households. J.D. Power measures customer satisfaction in many industries. Customer dissatisfaction Lee Biddle of the Utility Consumers' Action Network, a utilities watchdog group in San Diego, said the group has received several complaints about the AT&T Wireless expiration policy. "It does seem like a hammer they hold over you to keep you on a contract," Biddle said. The issue highlights an unfortunate trend in the wireless services industry: an ever higher level of customer complaints. The percentage of all wireless subscribers who have called customer service centers at least once in the last year with complaints has climbed to 61 percent, from 53 percent in 2000, according a recent J.D. Power study. The level of customer complaints is higher than for many other consumer services, including land-line telephone, cable television and stock brokerage services, said Kirk Parsons, author of the study. Customer service has never been a strength of the wireless service companies, said Michael Doherty, a telecommunications analyst for research firm Ovum. "Wireless companies were always looking for the new customers and churn was always a secondary issue," said Doherty, referring to poor customer retention rates across the industry. "For every customer leaving, there were always two or three more coming in the door. Over the last year or so that has changed radically." As growth in the number of new cell phone users slows, analysts say AT&T Wireless and other service providers are starting to work at improving customer service. But they don't always distribute improved service equitably, Doherty said. Service providers are beginning to do more customer segmentation, often factoring in the amount of revenue a customer generates for the company. Big spenders may get special treatment or better promotions. For instance, a high-value customer whose contract and promotional extra minutes are about to expire may get a call from the company offering a new promotion, but the offer isn’t extended to all its customers. "That's going to leave some people with the short end of the stick," Doherty said. http://news.com.com/2100-1033-977779.html
I actually need as much info on this as possible. I signed up with ATTWS in Nov. 2000. Then I extended my contract another year at the end of July 2001 for the extra 2000 N/W minutes. When my contract ended in May 2002, it took me awhile to realize that it ended and they have been charging me extra minutes for the last three months. I paid the first bill blindly, but haven't paid since. Their CSR's haven't even offered to reduce my payments for an extended contract. When I extended my contract in July 2001, it was basically an oral contract over the phone so doesn't that nullify the first contract? It's important because the CSR did not tell me at the time that the N/W minutes would be taken away after a year. I'm extremely outraged with this company and am in need of advice. Is there a class action lawsuit forming against them? I know that I am not the only one who has complained about this. Any help is much appreciated.
For them to be held liable, you would have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they told you that you would have the minutes for the lifetime of the plan. Without a recording of your conversation you'll probably just loose money on legal fees. Any new contract does not nullify any old contracts. If that were true people wouldn't need devorces to get remarried. Since it is with the same party, it can modify some terms of the original contract, but it doesn't nullify it. I've heard of instances where companies will give you the promo back for a contract extension, but they aren't going to apply it to your previous bills. Did ATT send you a contract to sign and return? It doesn't really matter for you since if you claimed that there was no contract you still are responsable for the bill, but if you did sign and return it ATT would have proof of agreement. It's terrable how poor customer service has become, but it's because too many people have taken advantage of it. Maybe you should go with a different (friendlier) provider.
this really irks me people get mad at companies because either they dont understand the rep/contract they are signing or they dont read the contract we, as customer, should always get something in writing,or at least try to, **especially if youre signing anything** i know that i always read the contract and inquire, if needed, for any clarification of what im signing... sheeesh people cant blame the company on every little thing gotta read gotta read **note the ill spelling while urging people to read ** ciao ps--- yea i'm a happy att customer so i may be just a little biased, but bottom line.... make certain that you understand entirely what it is youre getting into!!
Funny how alot of people don't read their bills. Right where it shows you what plan you have and your monthly useage, IN THE SAME SIZE FONT, shows that as of so and so date, your promotion will be ending. I know for a fact that it isnt hidden in the bill. AND, its printed on 3 bills prior to the promotion ending. Please people, read your bills. And don't call up and say "I don't read my bill, so I didn't know the promotion was ending".
I work for ATT and I hate customers like this...Like the above guy said it was on your bill for 3 months before your N/W ran Out and I am sure the rep on the phone/store told you the Promo was only for a year. Don't get me wrong some rep make mistakes and do not tell customers but more than likely you just didn't listen...But don't worry for customers like your self how don't listen current promos are for life and don't worry about paying your bill the collection agency will take care of that.......................... p.s. is fine print a 12 font????
Im in agreement with ALTON, i work for AT&T and i always hear this from customers complaining about expiring promotions...it can be both the customers and or the rep that signed them up not informing them about expiring bonus min or night and weekend minutes...Not all promotions expire after a year some are for life but its up to th CUSTOMER to read the bill everymonth, i know though this gets monotinous reading the same thing every month and trying to notice something different on there bill, it might be easy to overlook....The rep should inform the customer and the customer needs to remember this might happened depending on current promos
well said i was waitin for someone to echo my post! blah! ATT is doing big things!!!! oh and can one of you reps get me a job, entry level i dont care, with ATT all i do is keep up with them information/pklans/phones....so im thinking working PT/FT while im in college would be great thanks bye the way i live in the DCmetro area montgomery county MD thanks PM me for my email addy
I take a completely different approach to these customers. . A wireless bill is unlike others that come rolling into your home. These people have lives and if the MSC is relatively constant they will not wade through 5 pages of text to get to the portion that says the benefits assoc. with a particular promo are going to expire. Give em a break. Of course, the WILL need to sign a contract extension
Thats right, AT&T Wireless is composed of some of the biggest scam artists. If you want to do an ESN change (changing the phone that you use) you automatically get resigned for a year. They dont even tell you half the time. They just send a letter in the mail saying thanks for resigning about a month or two later.
if you do an esn swap they are absolutly NOT supposed to reup you!!! unless your getting a new phone from them at a discounted price then they reup you..or you can pay a higher cost for a replacement unit with no contract exstention...i work for att and thats BS! if you were exstended for activating your own equipment then id call care and demand to heve your old contract reinstated....
My experience with AT&T while living in Atlanta was that they would try to reup you anytime you called customer service. ESN swap, plan change (even if to a more expensive plan), etc... anything other than a simple question. Luckily I moved to a non-AT&T market and was able to get out with no penalty. SunCom Telecorp was almost as bad.
I want to report another case of deceptive AT&T behaviour to find out if anybody else encoutered it. This is a bit more subtle. When I renewed my contract for another year (Digital One-Rate) I also got extra minutes for a year. At the time of the renewal the CSR told me that I could change my plan at any time during the next 12 months as long as I did not cancel it alltogether. What I normally do is monitor the amount of usage of my phone and change the plan from month to month to the appropriate level to avoid paying extra minutes, or an unnecessarily high monthly fee. This worked for a few months after renewal. Recently, however, the AT&T CSR told me that if I changed my plan, I would lose my extra minutes. If I wanted to keep them I would have to signup for 12 months! That was a clear change in policy, and if I knew that I would never have signed up to begin with. Now I have another 6 months in my plan and no ability to change the plan without losing the extra minutes which were part of the reason for my 12 month commitment. Anybody else stuck like this?
apparently you are going to the wrong people to change esn's unless u r changing plans. i think verizon charges something like 11$ to change esn's
Another reason I like T-Mobile. You have what you sign up for until you change it. The simplicity of it all is so nice.
$11 to change a ESN? That's preposterous! I never imagined such ripoffs existed. All other carriers do this for free AFAIK.
Bobolito-- Verizon charges $11.25 to do an ESN swap in the store. If you call and do it over the phone with CS it is free. Also, Sprint charges $35 to do an ESN swap in-store or over the phone. Online activation is free from Sprint though...so there are ways to get it for free.
i can understand the cost of an oaa awe does it for free now..... its almost like goingto the bank and them charging you to see a teller(which does happen in some banks)
Hey mr. ATT rep. I have a question. I use Cingular but was thinking of changing to AT&T since I have been month to month with cingular for over 2 years now. I want to go GSM. Cingular says GSM will work here...area code 42332. 1800mobile.com will sell me an AT&T plan with the Sony Ericsson t306 world phone (GSM only phone)....the same I want to get from Cingular. 1800mobile says it will work....but when I go to the AT&T wireless web page......it says next generation phones aren't available in my area.......and will only allow me to choose a digital phone. Whats the scoop, will it work or not?
I believe that in civil cases juries base their verdicts on preponderance of the evidence. Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is the criteria in criminal cases. However, in this case, I agree with you that it would be difficult to prove, even based on preponderance of the evidence.
You would have valid point, IF all the other wireless providers in the US had similar clauses in their contracts. They do not. Consequently, such a clause is not customary in the US wireless business. In fact, such a clause is unusual in any service business. Most service contracts that I am familiar with are "evergreen." This means that all contract terms continue after the contract expires. This is certainly the case with my Verizon contract. Furthermore, this is also true with my 3 other wireless service agreements. That depends. Is it bold? Is it in red? Is it underlined? Is everything else on the page 10 point or smaller? Is it standing by itself at the top or bottom of the page, or is it buried in the middle of a page? If someone glances at the page, will their eyes be drawn to the statement that their contract will change dramatically on the expiration date? Since this sort of clause is not customary in service contacts in the US, ATTW should go out ot their way to clearly warn their customers that their contract will change significantly upon expirration. The reason that ATTW should do this is that it avoids the type of customer service problems described in this article.
well i am going to tell u this. it is not att's responsibility to hold a customers hand when the bill comes out. you learned how to read in elementary school, and u passed the credit check. so right there it says that u r responsible. now att can not call each cust and say this is going to expire, just not cost effective. if u don't read the bill u r at fault
awe has launched service in ky ar tn, et al 42332 is not covered under gsm but is on tdma. owensboro has the gsm coverage but not your zip. there may ba a build out in the next few years but not anytime soon. as time goes on 42332 may get the gsm service. i would call the local store in owensboro 270-926-3335 to see if u will see gsm. sorry about the length of time to respond
