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bobsmith9000's profile

Teacher

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1 Message

Friday, February 21st, 2014 2:48 AM

Mobile Share Value Plans Questions and Discussion

Beware.. The $160 per month plan for 4 smart phones with ATT is pretty shadey. They don't tell you that you are required to pay for 4 smart phones at full retail price. Maybe that small detail is buried somewhere in the fine print when the adds on TV play, but make sure you know exactly what you are paying for before jumping onto this.... It's very, very tricky. 

Mentor

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43 Messages

10 years ago

My traxes and fees in NJ are about $15 more, not $30.  In NY they pay more.  So they vary by state.

 

Wait until you try to upgrade or get a phone using the "Next" plan.  You will be charged $25 or more per line.

 

Surprise....surprise.  That is the new AT&T slogan.

Mentor

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43 Messages

10 years ago

6 lines +1 tablet.....$175???

 

Yeah...who believes that?????....even with your 25% discount.

 

Break down the price.  Becasue that must be with a VERY OLD grandfathered plan with limited minutes.....OR with A LOT of DUMB phones.

Contributor

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1 Message

10 years ago

Hi...my sister and i went to this at&t store in sanford last March 2014 and signed up for the family plan that gives us 4 lines for $160 a month...they even said it the bill would be lesser since we get a florida hospital discount...we already had 2 existing phones with at&t so we added 2 lines for my mother and my daughter...everything was great until we got our first bill that was $314 ...so we went to the store and they said it was a "miscommunication" and we were not eligible for the family plan...it was like lying to us and putting us in the wrong plan and just saying that it was a miscommunication...they tried to fix it and they give us a little discount here and there but we are still paying more than 200 every month and they tell us something different every time...they also reduced our GB to 4 instead of 10 which is very sneaky...we have been going to that store every month since april because we get the wrong amount billed every freakin month and it is very frustrating...can somebody help us or tell us where to complain about this store!

Scholar

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198 Messages

10 years ago

It is obvious that there is no incentive to buy a phone from AT&T from this point forward.

 

Craigslist here we come.

Contributor

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1 Message

10 years ago

I have been a happy customer for six plus years but not happy with what AT&T did recently. I switch from Family plan to Mobile Share plan. while switching, there were no disclosures that the new plan comes with a discount of $25 per line which will "vanish" away if I sign a NEW two year agreement and upgrade my phone!!! I am out of contract and so if I understand that I am signing myself up for two year contract, but I will NOT continue to get $25 discount on plan that i am currently getting? I have done upgrades earlier too but this is a total no no!

Mentor

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40 Messages

10 years ago

I totally understand, that particular discount is amazing to have. I did some researching and due to most current customers having an older contract they qualified for the best pricing right away. Normally you have to be out of contract when getting that discount. This can work to your advantage, upgrading via the at&t NEXT you will maintain the discount on your services, then only be paying for the installment cost on the phone you financing. I've done some calculations and over the course of 12 to 24 months the average customer still saves about 100-200 bucks in the long run. Plus you can upgrade at any time on the NEXT which is a plus for me. I am doing it myself and love the benefits, Looks like you could have used some better customer service at the time of switching. 

 

Best, 

 

John

Contributor

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1 Message

10 years ago

You are very much not alone!

 

I just came to the same realization.  Very, very, very sneaky AT&T.

 

For those who don't get it -- here's the bottom line:

 

If you want an iPhone 6 and want to go the traditional route of paying a subsidized price (i.e. $199 for 16gb model), it is going to cost you $40/month per phone line on your account.


At present, because I have a 2-year agreement from before AT&T's pricing revision, I basically have been grandfathered and I am only paying $15/month per line ($25 less than the normal amount above).  

 

This status will evaporate the moment I choose to upgrade.  Why?  Because if I decide to re-up with a 2-year agreement again and pay cash up front (with AT&T footing the rest of the subsidized bill, likely around $450 on their end), they will go back to charging me the $40 per line.

 

Here's the catch.  If you decide to upgrade using AT&T Next, paying your phone in either 20-month or 24-month installment plans, you get the benefit of the $15/month per line pricing.  So wherease a new iPhone 6 may cost you $25-30+/month, you get a $25 break from the $40/month 2-year agreement pricing model.

 

Lost yet?  What's the difference, right?

 

It's actually kind of simple, but you have to think about it.  In years past, AT&T basically ate the cost of subsidizing your phone purchase, allowing you to buy your new shiny phone for a fraction of the total cost.  Of course, you paid this as part of your monthly fees, it just wasn't itemized for you.  

 

Well, now that's the new game.  They want you to see the cost of your subsidies so they can point to the real cost of your wireless service in hopes that the lower cost might fool you into thinking you are getting a fantastic deal!  Of course, the only thing that really matters is the final bill in all reality.

 

Why the different pricing structures?  Think of it this way.  Using AT&T Next pricing, AT&T essentially gets you to pay for the entire cost of your device (once you add up the 20- or 24-month payments together), saving them from having to pay a dime.  Then they tell you that you are getting an even better deal because they are giving you a $25/month break (from $40/month).  If you go the 2-year agreement method, then you get gouged by the $40/month fee and they get their money back anyways (actually, more if you think about it - $25/month x 24 months = $600).

 

So basically the only people who are going to make out are the ones who are off-contract or pay for a phone up front.  In any other case, you are going to pay.  And the more I think about it, the more I realize the only way to get your money's worth (or at least maximize it) is to sign up for AT&T Next 12 and be sure to upgrade every year.  If I am going to have to pay upwards of $300+ a year just for a phone, I am at least going to get a new one regularly! 

 

 One last thing - there is a HUGE CATCH!  With AT&T Next, basically you are renting a phone - you have to give it back in the end.  So whereas in the past I have sold my 2-year-agreement phones on eBay to help pay for the new model, this will no longer be possible.  I will just keep paying $25-30+ a month per phone/line indefinitely -- that is basically the structure of things.  Of course, if you are like me and you like new gadgets, this may be just the cost of doing business!

Voyager

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2 Messages

10 years ago

Meesterblack... I agree with everything you said up until the last parragraph... Can anyone confirm what I'm about to say? I am also not 100% sure.  

 

But anyway, the phone is yours, not att's.  You have to pay your installments obviously but if you wish to sell your phone you are free to do so, as long as you finish paying your installment.  ATT doesn't care if you sell your phone or lose it or you are robbed, all they want is the money you committed to paying for the amount of time chosen (18/24) the only reason for you to have to trade in your phone is so Att can pardon the remaining 8 installments assuming you traded in on month 12 and give you a new model phone with the same prospective agreement.  I too am planning (like you did before) on selling my iphone 6 on ebay in month 12.  Afterwards I will go back to the store and tell the service agent ''I want a new iPhone 6S with Att next'' then the clerk will say ''of course sir all you have to do is trade in your old phone'' I will say I don't have it'' then the clerk will say ''well sir if you don't have your phone to trade in, then you owe 8 months worth of installments'' (which by my calculations is a little upwards of $256) and all you do is just pay that amount with the money you made off the sale of the iPhone 6 which Unlocked by att should be north of $500.  Afterwards you still have $240ish (depending on how much you sold it for) saved towards the installments of the next phase.  Hope this helps, and I admit there may be a loophole I'm not seeing.

Contributor

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2 Messages

10 years ago

The other responses here are spot on. AT&T is basically forcing you see the actual costs of your decision. Before you paid for the subsidy in your monthly bill and didn't know it. Now they lower your bill, and force you into the Next plan or hide the cost of the subsidy under the smart phone plan cost ($40 vs $15). The only issue I see with the other post about selling your phone and then paying the rest of the remaining payments yourself was that to get a good resale value it needs to be unlocked. If you haven't finished your installment payments, I don't believe AT&T "has" to unlock it for you. Government regulations require they unlock your phone, but they can deny your claim for unlocking if you haven't fulfilled the terms of the Next installment plan....

Voyager

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2 Messages

10 years ago

@YesSir, Bob, that is defenitely worth taking a look at, however, the reason why I think they should be able to unlock your phone is because with Att Next you are an OUT OF Contract costumer, you are free to leave (that's how I understand it) anytime. Say you take an iPhone 6 with att next and in three months you want to leave for another company or cancel your service, you are free to do so albeit you still owe 17 installments to pay off your phone. I always thought that the whole unlocking thing was tied to a customer being in a two year service agreement. Can someone clear this up for me?

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