AT&T: Buyer Beware

[g5000]

When I signed up with AT&T a couple/few years ago for my whole family, my son needed a phone upgrade. I asked if I could buy one of AT&Ts phones outright and was told I could not. I had to buy the phone on an installment plan. Basically, a fee was added each month to my phone bill to pay off his phone over time.

Well, my son lost his phone a few days ago. Or it was stolen. He doesn't know what happened to it.

So I call AT&T to cancel his line.

I was told that about $600 was still owed on the phone and that I could just keep paying the monthly installment for the next 10 months.

Fine, fine. But then they tell me that while I am paying the six bucks a month to pay off his phone, I would still be charged the monthly rate for his phone line, too! Even though the line is cancelled!

What the ever loving F!!!?

My only other option was to pay the phone off in one lump sum.

Now...isn't that the same thing as my asking to buy it outright at the beginning?!?

Just beware of this. If you buy a phone on installments and you lose it, you then pay for the whole phone, or you keep getting charged every month for a cancelled line.

You could buy insurance to avoid this problem, that that's another monthly fee. If you have a son who would lose his head if it wasn't attached to his shoulders, you may want to consider this.

 

[Gary Seven]

When I signed up with AT&T a couple/few years ago for my whole family, my son needed a phone upgrade. I asked if I could buy one of AT&Ts phones outright and was told I could not. I had to buy the phone on an installment plan. Basically, a fee was added each month to my phone bill to pay off his phone over time.

Well, my son lost his phone a few days ago. Or it was stolen. He doesn't know what happened to it.

So I call AT&T to cancel his line.

I was told that about $600 was still owed on the phone and that I could just keep paying the monthly installment for the next 10 months.

Fine, fine. But then they tell me that while I am paying the six bucks a month to pay off his phone, I would still be charged the monthly rate for his phone line, too! Even though the line is cancelled!

What the ever loving F!!!?

My only other option was to pay the phone off in one lump sum.

Now...isn't that the same thing as my asking to buy it outright at the beginning?!?

Just beware of this. If you buy a phone on installments and you lose it, you then pay for the whole phone, or you keep getting charged every month for a cancelled line.

You could buy insurance to avoid this problem, that that's another monthly fee. If you have a son who would lose his head if it wasn't attached to his shoulders, you may want to consider this.

Verizon pulled similar sneaky shady highly unethical, actually outright dishonest shit when both me, later my wife, and years later when we also cancelled my son's Verizon line too. Every time it was something different to attempt to force us to keep paying or make it very difficult not somehow get raped on our way out. I will never use Verizon again. I will also never go with a carrier who mandates a long term binding billing contract. I've now been a Cricket customer for around 12 years and am happy with them and have no intentions of leaving anytime soon. My wife and son have since switched to Cricket too.

**** Verizon and **** any other telecom company who follows and adopts their format and billing practices. **** them all the way to Hades and back.