Help - AT&T Converted by service without My Knowledge

hi everyone. i hope someone can help me. i have been a long time cingular cell phone user (close to 10 years). i had a $5/mo pkg which gave me unlimited text, media, and internet service. i just recently noticed that when i couldn't get a text photo i contacted AT&T. they tell me that my service was changed and if i wanted these services i could call, blah, blah, blah. also they have been trying to get me to convert for a while (the cingular service i had, i also had over 9,000 rollover minutes which i would lose if i changed plans). of course, i refused to change plans.

is this the way AT&T operates? has anyone experienced this? although i wrote them a very terse email today, i haven't heard anything back from them. is this the way AT&T operates. I also notice when i had cingular, i had a signal in my house; now under AT&T, i can't even get a signal in my own home office!

i am quite livid right now and am looking to change carriers. i considered the IPhone but once hearing that apple doesn't know when or if iphone will move to other providers from AT&T, iphone is no longer an option to me.

can anyone give me any advice or their experiences? certainly would be appreciated. thank you.

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Originally Posted by MyGreatDane

hi everyone. i hope someone can help me. i have been a long time cingular cell phone user (close to 10 years). i had a $5/mo pkg which gave me unlimited text, media, and internet service. i just recently noticed that when i couldn't get a text photo i contacted AT&T. they tell me that my service was changed and if i wanted these services i could call, blah, blah, blah. also they have been trying to get me to convert for a while (the cingular service i had, i also had over 9,000 rollover minutes which i would lose if i changed plans). of course, i refused to change plans.

is this the way AT&T operates? has anyone experienced this? although i wrote them a very terse email today, i haven't heard anything back from them. is this the way AT&T operates. I also notice when i had cingular, i had a signal in my house; now under AT&T, i can't even get a signal in my own home office!

i am quite livid right now and am looking to change carriers. i considered the IPhone but once hearing that apple doesn't know when or if iphone will move to other providers from AT&T, iphone is no longer an option to me.

can anyone give me any advice or their experiences? certainly would be appreciated. thank you.

I guess my first question for you would be just how long ago did you have this $5/mo plan with unlimited text and such? I have never heard of that in my years with Cingular, now AT&T or my time working in AT&T customer service.

Second, I got calls from people claiming that their service went down when Cingular got taken over by AT&T but that is silly being that they still use the same towers and since then have taken over more cellular companies and added their towers to the list of towers AT&T has. If you're really worried about the service though you can call customer care and request to be transfered to technical support and have them file a request to have the towers near you checked out.

Thirdly, as for whatever rate plan you're on if they want you to change and you don't want to lose your rollover minutes...firstly, no offense, but if you have 9000 rollovers saved up odds are good you're not going to use them. If you really want to make a case out of it, you can do that. You can change rate plans and you get to take as many rollovers with you as the new plan includes i.e. if you switch to the 700 minute plan you get to keep 700 rollovers. But if you've been a customer for some years and you complain to a customer service rep they can file a form to get you back all of your rollover minutes.

Lastly, again I mean you no personal offense, but it's probably better that you did vent off some steam on this forum rather than calling customer service and taking it out on the poor rep who received your call. I absolutely couldn't stand it when someone called and they were mad and defensive right off the bat, because it wasn't my fault, I was just a rep in a call center doing my best to help solve people's problems. So when you do give customer care a call to get this straightened out, please heed this advice: Don't get rude and loud, that will definitely NOT encourage them to do their best to help you out. Keep your cool and try to keep in mind that whoever you are talking to has absolutely nothing to do with the hierarchy of AT&T and they certainly did not do anything to hurt your service or your rate plan, etc etc.

thank you for your msg. and help. as i mentioned i had initially had been a cingular customer for many years. although during the cell phone wars, everyone else in my family went over to verizon but i am a loyalist by nature and had no reason to move on. i do absolutely remember the $5/mo unlimited text msg, which i would also get text photos. i rarely used the web access, but now looking at the web info: system keeps reading this info as an email address so it wont let me send, i can always pm it to you. and it has a red locked key. granted i haven't used it lately because i get absolutely too much email. i only found out that i could no longer get text photos (which i always got before), until Thanksgiving day when someone sent me something and i couldn't access. before i just had to click on it and the photo would showup. after the merger, we rec'd several calls from at&t trying to get us to change plans but quite honestly i saw no reason to change and when rep told me i would lose at that time over 9,000 rollover minutes, i had no desire to change. i work in a field that is really having a slow down now but one day will pick back up again. with this plan (prior to merger), the only change i made was to an unlimited day plan since i use my phone most business days. i pay about $119/mo. after i couldn't access the photo, i went to our online account and didn't see any of the services i KNEW i had. remember i've been a cingular user for about 9-10 years. i asked via the online inquiry form and the response i rec'd was that i only had 200 max text msgs and that i needed to call some number to increase my service. i do know that during the merger with AT&t, there was no plan that offered me what i currently had, and i was happy with what i had. i have not spoken to customer service (i am professional but also know i am hot as h**ll over this. i did respond back via email (if you need more help, pls. feel free to contact me stuff), letting them know that i expected to have the same service as before regardless of the merger. btw, i have an unlocked treo650. the rep did communicate that i should contact them because sometimes the unlocked version (purchased new) might not work. this is my second unlocked 650 and both have worked, so that made absolutely no sense. i did ask that if this rep was not in a position to honor my wishes and change my services back to what it was before that it should be bumped up to a level of mgt that can make such decision. i do feel that as a client for 10 years, i deserve a bit more than the usual bs which i felt i was getting. i have not received a response but as i stated to the rep, this change was unauthorized by me and it was unethical. if this is how a customer with this much (paying) history with a company is treated like this -- i don't want to be part of it. i have no doubt, another provider would be happy to have me as customer. i did speak with apple and it seems that the iphone will remain with at&t for a while, so i guess i won't be getting an iphone. unless they correct my situation, my loyality to cingular/at&t ends. btw, the cingular service i had worked flawlessly in home office and bedroom, now since at&t merger it constantly drops. sorry this is so lengthy. P.S;i have recent undeleted versamail since 7/20/08

alan0j - yes i may lose my close to 9,000 rollover minutes but i will be with a new compny. before this economy downfall, my usual paper bill - just outling the itimezed calls usually averged anywhere from 18-21 pages alone of just itemized calls. that how much i used the phne per month, so i'm not a lighweight when it came to phone usage

This is happened with AT&T for many years.

First, they force the AT&T wireless customers to get a Cingular Wireless phone, then they change their name a hundred times...then they change plans. Then they force customers off of their plan...they do all of this.

It is common, it has happened to my family. I am the only one who had Verizon for a lot of years, they recently switched.

Originally Posted by MyGreatDane

thank you for your msg. and help. as i mentioned i had initially had been a cingular customer for many years. although during the cell phone wars, everyone else in my family went over to verizon but i am a loyalist by nature and had no reason to move on. i do absolutely remember the $5/mo unlimited text msg, which i would also get text photos. i rarely used the web access, but now looking at the web info: system keeps reading this info as an email address so it wont let me send, i can always pm it to you. and it has a red locked key. granted i haven't used it lately because i get absolutely too much email. i only found out that i could no longer get text photos (which i always got before), until Thanksgiving day when someone sent me something and i couldn't access. before i just had to click on it and the photo would showup. after the merger, we rec'd several calls from at&t trying to get us to change plans but quite honestly i saw no reason to change and when rep told me i would lose at that time over 9,000 rollover minutes, i had no desire to change. i work in a field that is really having a slow down now but one day will pick back up again. with this plan (prior to merger), the only change i made was to an unlimited day plan since i use my phone most business days. i pay about $119/mo. after i couldn't access the photo, i went to our online account and didn't see any of the services i KNEW i had. remember i've been a cingular user for about 9-10 years. i asked via the online inquiry form and the response i rec'd was that i only had 200 max text msgs and that i needed to call some number to increase my service. i do know that during the merger with AT&t, there was no plan that offered me what i currently had, and i was happy with what i had. i have not spoken to customer service (i am professional but also know i am hot as h**ll over this. i did respond back via email (if you need more help, pls. feel free to contact me stuff), letting them know that i expected to have the same service as before regardless of the merger. btw, i have an unlocked treo650. the rep did communicate that i should contact them because sometimes the unlocked version (purchased new) might not work. this is my second unlocked 650 and both have worked, so that made absolutely no sense. i did ask that if this rep was not in a position to honor my wishes and change my services back to what it was before that it should be bumped up to a level of mgt that can make such decision. i do feel that as a client for 10 years, i deserve a bit more than the usual bs which i felt i was getting. i have not received a response but as i stated to the rep, this change was unauthorized by me and it was unethical. if this is how a customer with this much (paying) history with a company is treated like this -- i don't want to be part of it. i have no doubt, another provider would be happy to have me as customer. i did speak with apple and it seems that the iphone will remain with at&t for a while, so i guess i won't be getting an iphone. unless they correct my situation, my loyality to cingular/at&t ends. btw, the cingular service i had worked flawlessly in home office and bedroom, now since at&t merger it constantly drops. sorry this is so lengthy. P.S;i have recent undeleted versamail since 7/20/08

Oh don't get me wrong, I understand your frustration and where you're coming from. I guess sometimes you just have to roll with the changes, even if they do seem wrong or unethical. As for the texting, I'm sure they already told you this but the current plan they offer is $20 a month for unlimited texting on an indivdual line. And if you have a PDA style phone you have to have a $30 PDA unlimited internet package. Now I'm not justifying the prices, don't get me wrong, I'm just letting you know what they currently offer if they did not tell you. As for the unlocked phone info, they were just telling you the truth. Some unlocked phones work fine, others will not. Sometimes it's just a matter of manually programming AT&T's browser settings into your phone.

As for a change in service, for real just contact AT&T customer care and politely ask to be transferred to technical support. If they ask why, just let them know you need a trouble ticket filed and you'd rather talk to tech. If they are a good rep they will do their best to troubleshoot with you before transferring, unfortunately that all just depends on who you talk to.

As for the $5 plan you previously had.....I highly doubt you can get that back. But I will let you in on a little secret, you act polite to them, but at the same time throw a fit and point out who long you've been with them and threaten to cancel and go to another provider, you can sometimes get them to put what's known as a "recurring adjustment" on your bill. Please don't use that terminology, but basically it means that each month you will automatically have a certain amount deducted from your bill.

Originally Posted by nicknrm

This is happened with AT&T for many years.

First, they force the AT&T wireless customers to get a Cingular Wireless phone, then they change their name a hundred times...then they change plans. Then they force customers off of their plan...they do all of this.

It is common, it has happened to my family. I am the only one who had Verizon for a lot of years, they recently switched.

All companies do that. They buy other smaller companies. People that had Cellular One service freaked out and were angry because AT&T bought their company. I guess bottom line is, if the company you're with isn't big enough to take care of itself, some other company will come take care of it for them. No, it's not always fair, but there are WAAAYY worse things that can happen to a person than for their cell phone provider to change up a bit.

The problem is, AT&T had only been effected by one large purchase, the Acquisition of AT&T wireless by Cingular Wireless. The other changes are AT&T's choice.

Verizon Wireless has NEVER forced customers to switch plans. Like Alltel customers for example, they will be able to continue to choose from the Alltel line of phones and keep their same plan...FOREVER. They can willingly switch and Verizon Wireless will give them a $50 credit to do so. Verizon also lets the smaller companies market under the same name.

Originally Posted by alana0j

Oh don't get me wrong, I understand your frustration and where you're coming from. I guess sometimes you just have to roll with the changes, even if they do seem wrong or unethical. As for the texting, I'm sure they already told you this but the current plan they offer is $20 a month for unlimited texting on an indivdual line. And if you have a PDA style phone you have to have a $30 PDA unlimited internet package. Now I'm not justifying the prices, don't get me wrong, I'm just letting you know what they currently offer if they did not tell you. As for the unlocked phone info, they were just telling you the truth. Some unlocked phones work fine, others will not. Sometimes it's just a matter of manually programming AT&T's browser settings into your phone.

As for a change in service, for real just contact AT&T customer care and politely ask to be transferred to technical support. If they ask why, just let them know you need a trouble ticket filed and you'd rather talk to tech. If they are a good rep they will do their best to troubleshoot with you before transferring, unfortunately that all just depends on who you talk to.

As for the $5 plan you previously had.....I highly doubt you can get that back. But I will let you in on a little secret, you act polite to them, but at the same time throw a fit and point out who long you've been with them and threaten to cancel and go to another provider, you can sometimes get them to put what's known as a "recurring adjustment" on your bill. Please don't use that terminology, but basically it means that each month you will automatically have a certain amount deducted from your bill.




All companies do that. They buy other smaller companies. People that had Cellular One service freaked out and were angry because AT&T bought their company. I guess bottom line is, if the company you're with isn't big enough to take care of itself, some other company will come take care of it for them. No, it's not always fair, but there are WAAAYY worse things that can happen to a person than for their cell phone provider to change up a bit.

Originally Posted by nicknrm

The problem is, AT&T had only been effected by one large purchase, the Acquisition of AT&T wireless by Cingular Wireless. The other changes are AT&T's choice.

Verizon Wireless has NEVER forced customers to switch plans. Like Alltel customers for example, they will be able to continue to choose from the Alltel line of phones and keep their same plan...FOREVER. They can willingly switch and Verizon Wireless will give them a $50 credit to do so. Verizon also lets the smaller companies market under the same name.

That's a beautiful thought hun, and it always starts that way. Just like AT&T said they wouldn't force CellOne customers to switch. Slowly but surely there were no more CellOne phones for warranty exchange, so if your phone messed up you had to upgrade. Then there were no more CellOne SIM cards, they quit making them after the merger. So if your SIM card messed up, you could go somewhere else or upgrade to AT&T. It always happens that way and always will, so is the way of big business.

Have you heard of US Cellular? Metro PCS? Alltel? They are all owned and operated by Verizon Wireless. US Cellular has been for like 4 years! Metro is new and so is Alltel.

I am starting to sound like I hate AT&T, which isn't the case. I just don't like how their customer service department operates, their marketing department operates, and how they instantly bash other carriers that attempt to become better than them. They have some excellent qualities, but when it boils down to it...the bad slowly overrides the good. You hear about the bad way more than you hear about the good. It is that way with any carrier. For example, people always assume Verizon Wireless is more expensive. That isn't the case, their prices are nearly identical to AT&T's. Some are actually cheaper. Some are more...but that's just because not everyone can be the same. As far as calling plans, Verizon's identical to AT&T is the majority of ways. They are also close to Sprint's pricing.

Originally Posted by alana0j

That's a beautiful thought hun, and it always starts that way. Just like AT&T said they wouldn't force CellOne customers to switch. Slowly but surely there were no more CellOne phones for warranty exchange, so if your phone messed up you had to upgrade. Then there were no more CellOne SIM cards, they quit making them after the merger. So if your SIM card messed up, you could go somewhere else or upgrade to AT&T. It always happens that way and always will, so is the way of big business.

alan0j - although you may have doubted the $5/mo unlimited text, photos, etc. attached is part of what i rec'd from AT&T when i asked the initial rep to bump it up to someone of authority. this is what i received:

"...regarding changing your text and data plan back to your old plan that was $5 and included unlimited use." "After reviewing your email and account, I apologize that the old plan for unlimited text and data for $5 is no longer available."

Originally Posted by MyGreatDane

alan0j - although you may have doubted the $5/mo unlimited text, photos, etc. attached is part of what i rec'd from AT&T when i asked the initial rep to bump it up to someone of authority. this is what i received:

"...regarding changing your text and data plan back to your old plan that was $5 and included unlimited use." "After reviewing your email and account, I apologize that the old plan for unlimited text and data for $5 is no longer available."

Wow. I guess that plan was before I signed up with Cingular or else I definitely would have gone for it. :-)

At least they did finally acknowledge you.

More Information... AT&T Go Phone

I had no idea you had prepay.

By law, the wireless carrier can change your calling plan/texting at anytime. This is with any carrier...

Any company with anything, if it is cell phones or anything else...

Originally Posted by Panya7

More Information... AT&T Go Phone

hi - regarding the prepay - if the comments were made regarding my circumstances, unless cingular/AT&T, did that without my knowledge, i've never had pre-pay. we get a bill every month that outlines every single call made and received from my phone. i use my cell at will and never have gotten any type of message, like, you don't have enough time left or remaining minutes or anything like that. however, i don't know about pre-pay, just what i've had other people tell me. i know the rest of my family is on verizon wireless and are no longer tied to a contract; their account just says 'month-to-month' and we pay that bill when the bill comes in. they don't get the xxx number of minutes availble or anything along those lines either. i suspect my other family members have lived out their 2 yr contract.

it all doesn't matter at this point. i rec'd an email today from someone from cingular/AT&t that tried to tell me i had some sort of service i know i never would have gotten. (i have a 3rd party software (one time fee) that allows me to connect my cell phone (minutes) to my pc so if i need internet access on the road, i would use that). to make a long story short, i just ended my email back to them, saying ' pls. don't insult my intelligence, it's offensive'. end of story. my relationship with cingular/AT&T just ended today. i tried to give them a chance to do the right thing, but obviously they would rather try to BS me instead...not the kind of company i'd like to do business with. the one thing many people don't realize is that what makes this country great is that there are choices and i believe, after giving a company an opportunity to do the right thing, that i have choice to spend my money anywhere i wish. phone companies as well as other companies do not have a monopoly on services. those days are long gone.

the one mistake i made, is that i do not look at the bills when they come in (hubby pays bills). apparently as acknowledged by cingular/AT&t, a system conversion done in 2/08 changed and the $5 plan went away. had i been more involved in bill paying things, i would have caught this much sooner. until around this thanksgiving when i couldn't access a photo that was emailed to me, is what made me contact them. lesson learned.

thanks to everyone who tried to help me.

Sorry, it was my mistake. I replied to Panya...mistaken them for you...

Sorry.

It is illegal to convert your plan or anything else without your knowledge...since you are contracted into it! It's kinda like me going down to the Ford dealer and agreeing to buy a Ford Focus, but instead they charge me for a Ford Mustang.

Are you intending to switch to another carrier? Try Verizon Wireless. In every instance, Verizon Wireless had been the best and most honest. Yes, you will not get unlimited messaging for $5...since those days with carriers are long gone. 250 messages=$5. But they have never been known to change their name multiple times (like AT&T) and change customers agreements. They have never done that. The only customers they have been forced to slowly convert (as forced by the FCC) is the old analog customers. Since Analog has been eliminated, if they didn't switch, they would lose coverage. They still have customers on plans that were identical to when they activated service, 5 years or more ago. They always contact you, email you, etc...about new opportunities available and to ask if you would want to switch, but you're never forced.

Try them.

Originally Posted by MyGreatDane

hi - regarding the prepay - if the comments were made regarding my circumstances, unless cingular/AT&T, did that without my knowledge, i've never had pre-pay. we get a bill every month that outlines every single call made and received from my phone. i use my cell at will and never have gotten any type of message, like, you don't have enough time left or remaining minutes or anything like that. however, i don't know about pre-pay, just what i've had other people tell me. i know the rest of my family is on verizon wireless and are no longer tied to a contract; their account just says 'month-to-month' and we pay that bill when the bill comes in. they don't get the xxx number of minutes availble or anything along those lines either. i suspect my other family members have lived out their 2 yr contract.

it all doesn't matter at this point. i rec'd an email today from someone from cingular/AT&t that tried to tell me i had some sort of service i know i never would have gotten. (i have a 3rd party software (one time fee) that allows me to connect my cell phone (minutes) to my pc so if i need internet access on the road, i would use that). to make a long story short, i just ended my email back to them, saying ' pls. don't insult my intelligence, it's offensive'. end of story. my relationship with cingular/AT&T just ended today. i tried to give them a chance to do the right thing, but obviously they would rather try to BS me instead...not the kind of company i'd like to do business with. the one thing many people don't realize is that what makes this country great is that there are choices and i believe, after giving a company an opportunity to do the right thing, that i have choice to spend my money anywhere i wish. phone companies as well as other companies do not have a monopoly on services. those days are long gone.

the one mistake i made, is that i do not look at the bills when they come in (hubby pays bills). apparently as acknowledged by cingular/AT&t, a system conversion done in 2/08 changed and the $5 plan went away. had i been more involved in bill paying things, i would have caught this much sooner. until around this thanksgiving when i couldn't access a photo that was emailed to me, is what made me contact them. lesson learned.

thanks to everyone who tried to help me.