Ording and Billing screwups

I'm a new Cingular customer and don't feel like things have gotten off on a
good beginning. Everything Cingular has done so far has gotten screwed up.

I ordered 3 phones online using the Cingular web site. I specified the
Nation 850 FamilyTalk w/ Rollover on 1 phone, and the 2 others were to be
additional lines at $9.99 per month. I received an email confirmation of my
order and it was for exactly as just stated.

When the phones arrived the related documentation showed that I was on the
Nation 2000 FamilyTalk plan. I called Cingular and they made the
changeover. Unfortunately all the booklets and paperwork I have show the
errant plan. Cingular said they didn't know how to generate new paperwork,
but that it was unimportant since I could switch rate plans anytime I
wanted. (I wasn't thrilled about the paperwork, but I could print out the
information from the web site.)

The next day in looking at my account on the website I noticed that a bunch
of things that are included in the Nation 850 plan have not been activated
for my account, or have been activated as an additional cost option. (For
example, basic voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding all were either not
on the account or were listed as added costs. There were many other things
as well.) I called Cingular and they made the changeover after I itemized
for them all the things that were to be in the Nation 850 plan. (Can't they
figure that out themselves?)

I haven't received a bill yet on this account. Tonight in looking at my
account online I notice 2 things:

(1) It shows my "available" long distance minutes as 0, and my "used" long
distance minutes as 4. It also shows my available package minutes as 850
and my used package minutes at 8. The problem is that with this rate plan
there is no distinction between local and long distance, so this readout
makes no sense.

(2) It shows my current charges as $202.23. Unfortunately, the details are
not yet available. I don't see any way that a $59.99 plan plus 2 extra
lines at $9.99 each is going to get me anywhere near that total. (The
phones have already been paid for.) So now, I apparently am going to have
to call Cingular again to get this straightened out.

After 9 days with this phone, I have used more minutes talking to Cingular
than all my other calls combined. On an Internet order where all of this
goes directly into the computer when the order is placed, I don't understand
how so much of this is screwed up. Particularly when the email I received
from Cingular is right, but the execution behind the email is totally
different.

I love my phones and get good coverage. I'm not very excited about the
supporting service.

Tony

---

› See More: Ording and Billing screwups

Sorry to hear about your ordering woes. I'm fairly new to Cingular as
well and find their usage reports to be very confusing, but I've figured
out a few things to help make more sense of their system.

>(1) It shows my "available" long distance minutes as 0, and my "used" long
>distance minutes as 4. It also shows my available package minutes as 850
>and my used package minutes at 8. The problem is that with this rate plan
>there is no distinction between local and long distance, so this readout
>makes no sense.
>
>
Since you're on a Nation plan, just disregard the long-distance
minutes. They have no effect on the bill and are purely informational,
i.e., 4 out of the 8 total minutes you've used so far were LD. Zero
"available" LD minutes threw me for a loop, too. They should state
"Unlimited" or just eliminate the LD info altogether on Nation plans.

>(2) It shows my current charges as $202.23. Unfortunately, the details are
>not yet available. I don't see any way that a $59.99 plan plus 2 extra
>lines at $9.99 each is going to get me anywhere near that total. (The
>phones have already been paid for.) So now, I apparently am going to have
>to call Cingular again to get this straightened out.
>
>
Your initial invoice will always be much bigger, especially with Family
plans, because that's where you're billed for all of the activation fees
on top of the standard plan fees, plus taxes. $202 does seem pretty
hefty, though, for a three-phone plan. Make sure they're charging you
the correct activation fees (here in NC, it's $18 per line for Family
plans).

Also be aware that usage reporting can be delayed by several days. I
had become used to Sprint's real-time reporting and wasn't aware of the
delay with Cingular until I was charged for extra minutes on my second
invoice. For this reason, I now try to taper off my anytime calls
during the last few days of my billing cycle so as to avoid any big
overage surprises. 35 cents per minute adds up to a lot quickly! I
also prefer using the *MIN# feature on the phone (versus the website) to
look up my minutes because it gives you an "as of" date to help you
gauge how many you truly have remaining. Plus it's free to use.

That said, however, my three invoices to date have been accurate <knock
wood> and I'm really happy with the coverage and reception I get with
Cingular. Good luck.

My experience also is that Cingular billing is confusing -- especially their
webpage.
I suggest you wait until the first bill to review your account.

Remember that Cingular bills in advance for their services so you may see
partial monthly charges plus one full month charge in advance. Depending
on you billing cycle, your first bill may reflect almost 2 months worth or
charges.

Personally, if I were you, i would have started on the 2000 minutes family
talk plan in order to accumulate rollover minutes. Then I would have moved
down to a lower price plan. It's good to have rollover minutes to that you
can feel free to talk whenever you want and not worry about overage charges.
That's just my opinion.

So far my bills are Ok and i'm happy with the service.

"Tony" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm a new Cingular customer and don't feel like things have gotten off on
> a good beginning. Everything Cingular has done so far has gotten screwed
> up.
>
> I ordered 3 phones online using the Cingular web site. I specified the
> Nation 850 FamilyTalk w/ Rollover on 1 phone, and the 2 others were to be
> additional lines at $9.99 per month. I received an email confirmation of
> my order and it was for exactly as just stated.
>
> When the phones arrived the related documentation showed that I was on the
> Nation 2000 FamilyTalk plan. I called Cingular and they made the
> changeover. Unfortunately all the booklets and paperwork I have show the
> errant plan. Cingular said they didn't know how to generate new
> paperwork, but that it was unimportant since I could switch rate plans
> anytime I wanted. (I wasn't thrilled about the paperwork, but I could
> print out the information from the web site.)
>
> The next day in looking at my account on the website I noticed that a
> bunch of things that are included in the Nation 850 plan have not been
> activated for my account, or have been activated as an additional cost
> option. (For example, basic voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding all
> were either not on the account or were listed as added costs. There were
> many other things as well.) I called Cingular and they made the
> changeover after I itemized for them all the things that were to be in the
> Nation 850 plan. (Can't they figure that out themselves?)
>
> I haven't received a bill yet on this account. Tonight in looking at my
> account online I notice 2 things:
>
> (1) It shows my "available" long distance minutes as 0, and my "used" long
> distance minutes as 4. It also shows my available package minutes as 850
> and my used package minutes at 8. The problem is that with this rate plan
> there is no distinction between local and long distance, so this readout
> makes no sense.
>
> (2) It shows my current charges as $202.23. Unfortunately, the details
> are not yet available. I don't see any way that a $59.99 plan plus 2
> extra lines at $9.99 each is going to get me anywhere near that total.
> (The phones have already been paid for.) So now, I apparently am going to
> have to call Cingular again to get this straightened out.
>
> After 9 days with this phone, I have used more minutes talking to Cingular
> than all my other calls combined. On an Internet order where all of this
> goes directly into the computer when the order is placed, I don't
> understand how so much of this is screwed up. Particularly when the email
> I received from Cingular is right, but the execution behind the email is
> totally different.
>
> I love my phones and get good coverage. I'm not very excited about the
> supporting service.
>
> Tony
>

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 21:59:30 -0500, "Tony"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>The next day in looking at my account on the website I noticed that a bunch
>of things that are included in the Nation 850 plan have not been activated
>for my account, or have been activated as an additional cost option.

This is a MAJOR snafu in the web site. Like you, I am on a Family Talk
plan with 3 phones; the first costs $39.99/month, the other two are
$9.99/month each. Cingular's web site shows my account with 3 phones,
each of which costs $39.99/month.

When I call customer service, their computers show the correct rate
plans, as do my bills. The web site is seriously ****ed up - which is
probably why it's down for maintenance right now. Hopefully they have
figured out how to make it work correctly and are implementing the
fixes...

--
"I believe that forgiving [terrorists] is God's function.
Our job is to arrange the meeting."
- Norman Schwartzkopf

Get ready for more of the same..

Keep all your bills and who you talk to. There is going to be a class action
suit in the coming years..



"Scott en Aztlán" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 21:59:30 -0500, "Tony"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>The next day in looking at my account on the website I noticed that a
>>bunch
>>of things that are included in the Nation 850 plan have not been activated
>>for my account, or have been activated as an additional cost option.
>
> This is a MAJOR snafu in the web site. Like you, I am on a Family Talk
> plan with 3 phones; the first costs $39.99/month, the other two are
> $9.99/month each. Cingular's web site shows my account with 3 phones,
> each of which costs $39.99/month.
>
> When I call customer service, their computers show the correct rate
> plans, as do my bills. The web site is seriously ****ed up - which is
> probably why it's down for maintenance right now. Hopefully they have
> figured out how to make it work correctly and are implementing the
> fixes...
>
> --
> "I believe that forgiving [terrorists] is God's function.
> Our job is to arrange the meeting."
> - Norman Schwartzkopf

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Wed, 20 Oct 2004 13:04:02 GMT,
"VHNerd" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Get ready for more of the same..
>
>Keep all your bills and who you talk to. There is going to be a class action
>suit in the coming years..

That's a good thing? Making lawyers rich while accomplishing nothing?

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>