I have tried to call to cancel my service, but the wait is always too long. Shouldn't I be allowed to cancel my service through email? If I can verify all of my information, then I think I should be allowed. This is the email I sent ATT&T to explain my reasoning. I think I gave them enough reason. Am I wrong?
Dear Pedro,
Sorry I haven't gotten back to you. It's hard to find the time lately. The reasons I wish to cancel service are as follows:
Broken phones-
My 2 daughters received their first phones a while back. They were Pantech phones. I don't recall the model, but they were the same phone, only differing in color. Both phones had problems...minor quirks. One phone eventually stopped working altogether. The screen became unresponsive. I searched the web and found it to be a common problem with the phone. I never considered it to be a big deal. Many phones have defects. The phone was still under warranty. I called AT&T, they sent a replacement phone. The replacement phone had some scratches on the screen which I considered normal since it was a refurbished phone. The phone we sent back had a red dot near the battery. I thought this red mark meant that the phone had come into contact with water and that it wouldn't be replaced, but when the replacement phone arrived, it too had the same red mark, so i assumed that the red mark was normal and that maybe it changed to some other color if it came into contact with water. I sent the original phone back. Not long after, I received the original phone back with a note that stated that the phone had come into contact with water and that it wouldn't be covered. To top it all off, the replacement phone broke in the same manner as the original phone....frozen screen! Also, the original phone sent back to us by AT&T was now missing the red dot(tab/sticker). What happened to the red dot? Why did the replacement phone have a red dot? The replacement phone should have come with a notice of some sort to instruct the customer to as to how the replacement phone should look, and that if it doesnt, then to call. There was no such notice, no paperwork with the replacement phone. It didn't even come with a box! I called AT&T about this and was told that the red dot on the new phone also meant water damage. I explained that the phone was shipped to us like that, but I was assured that it wasn't. How can I be assured that it wasn't if I am the one that opened the package and looked at the phone and saw the red dot on the replacement phone myself? AT&T was not at my house with me when the package arrived, so they cannot assure me that the red dot didn't exist at the time of arrival. After way too much arguing I was able to get my daughters early upgrades. I believe I had to wait a month or so to be eligible. Their new phones are the Motorola Atrix model. One of the phones started to have trouble connecting to wifi, but had no problem connected to 3G. That phone was accidently dropped into a toilet. I called AT&T to see about upgrades. There were no upgrades available. Not a big deal. I replaced it with a used iphone. It wasn't AT&T's fault that it fell into a toilet. The second Atrix phone is still active, but data will not work outside of the house. Web browsers do not connect to internet and pictures cannot be sent or received. I can't bring it to the store, because they don't deal with broken phones. I have tried calling, but gave up due to long wait times. I have restored the phone, but that did not fix it. I believe that there is a hardware issue, but I dread calling, which shouldn't be the case. I should not feel that way. I don't dare send the phone back.
Unlimited Data-
My wife and I purchased the Unlimited Data plans for our phones. I understand that AT&T no longer offer such plans. I completely understand that if I were to add a line that I would be unable to purchase the unlimited data add-on. I don't have a problem with that. I do however have a problem with the fact that I do pay for unlimited data, but do not receive it. I use wifi when at home. I do this because I feel it would be wasteful otherwise. Why would I not use wifi when available? I listen to music when driving through my iPhone using iTunes match. This streams music to the phone. I am using an Apple product carried by AT&T designed to stream music using this technology. By the end of the month I can no longer listen to music due to the fact that my bandwith gets throttled! My unlimited data now becomes quite limited. I really don't do much else with my phone on the network. I rarely watch videos over the network. I understand that AT&T is well within their rights to do so, due to some fine print in a contract somewhere. The fact remains, this is deceptive and quite dishonest, but business as usual nonetheless.
Tethering-
The Motorla Atrix phones that I purchased are able to be connected to a laptop dock made by Motorola. I purchased two of these docks. They look like laptops, but merely consist of a screen, keyboard and a power cord. When the phone is docked into the laptop, the display is projected on the dock screen, and the keyboard becomes active. All work is done through the phone. There is no networking hardware encased in the dock. If the phone is not on wifi when connected to the dock, you cannot access the internet without purchasing a tethering plan. Tethering by definition is: Tethering is the practice of using a mobile device (such as a cell phone) as a modem to connect another device (such as a laptop) to the Internet. When the Atrix is connected to the dock, the other device(dock) does not connect to the internet, only the phone does this, since there is no networking hardware in the dock, so tethering in fact does not occur. AT&T uses their own interpretation of the word. The fact remains, this is deceptive and quite dishonest, but business as usual nonetheless.
Upgrades-
My wife and I have only owned iPhones since becoming AT&T customers. The upgrade policy is always changing. It depends on so many factors. One of the most important being, how much money the customer pays per month. I have no idea what the policy is. This shouldn't be so difficult. If it's every two years, than keep it that way. I bought the iPhone 4, then a year later I was able to upgrade to the 4s at subsidized pricing. My wife has owned her iPhone 4 for over a year, yet she is not eligible for subsidized pricing until May 2013. Why isn't she eligible after a year as I was?
Coverage-
Before I switched to AT&T, I had checked the coverage map to ensure that I would have good service at home. By the map, I was covered without question. This in fact was not the case when we received our first phones. We had little to no coverage....still don't....in our whole neighborhood! I let it go, but when I heard about the Microcell, I called AT&T to inquire about one. I was told that I could purchase one at a discount. Why would I buy additional equipment to give me coverage at my home when by AT&T's own map I supposedly already had full coverage? After way, way too much arguing I was able to get a Microcell free of charge. I now have full coverage at home. Now, the Microcell is having problems. The wifi indicator blinks red quite often and we lose service. Rebooting it usually fixes it for awhile, but it's happening more frequently. Again, I dread calling about this, which again, shouldn't be the case. I should have full coverage as to what the coverage map states. The fact remains, this is deceptive and quite dishonest, but business as usual nonetheless.
In summary, I feel that my issues are legitimate and not just the ramblings of a whiny customer that wants to get things for free. I am not deterred by early termination fees. There is a manner of principle here. I plan to give my business to Sprint which does in fact offer truly unlimited internet, and they also give free Microcells to their customers in poor service areas.
well, I agree with you, but the sad thing is that At&t is requiring customers to upgrade to a tethering plan when purchasing the laptop dock as part of a plan. It’s a complete ripoff. since you’re not moving from your phone, you’re just extending the phone a little with a bigger screen, mouse and keyboard.
Just because you change the form factor a little doesn’t mean they have the right to charge more for data. Is NOT tethering.