Data plan added to legacy account without permission

The AT&T rule for smartphones is, if you have one on your account, data is REQUIRED. If you don't want data and the phone is only for emergencies, you can buy a cheap gophone, that is not a smartphone, and it can be used on the account without data.

AT&T has a terms of service that you have to agree to, to have service with AT&T. In that terms of service, data is required on postpaid accounts using a smartphone.

The requirement for smartphones to have a data plan has existed for at least 10 years. I'm pretty sure that requirement existed in 2007 when that line was added.

I will “third” that.  If you don’t want the data plan, get her a basic phone from prepaid rack.  

The only way to use a smartphone on ATT WITHOUT the required data plan, is to put the phone on a prepaid plan and ask data be turned off to avoid extra charges.  

BTW you might want a little bed time reading... the terms of service allow ATT to do many things that you may think are “unauthorized”.  But when you signed up and each time you buy a phone, you renewed the terms of service.

https://www.att.com/legal/terms.wirelessCustomerAgreement-list.html

 Section 6.3 applies here.

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@goodkarma wrote:

So we use an already owned "smart phone" for a 75 year old family member who is almost completely confined to home & we must pay a $30 data plan fee?!!!!   I was appalled- 20+ years & treated like that?!!!!!

This seems like it shouldn't be any kind of a surprise. 

Don't you have a data plan on your current smart phones?

If that old smart phone was on AT&T postpaid, didn't it previously have a smart plan?

So basically all smartphones you've had with AT&T had data plans? But you didn't think this one would because of the age of the user?

Obviously, the data plan requirement was not anything that existed when we signed an ATT contract.  How can we be held to that, especially since it was just crammed on our bill without informing us? 

Wait, aren't you the one who crammed a smartphone onto a line without informing AT&T? When you're not paying for a smartphone on that line? After 20 years of providing service and you treated AT&T like that?!?

All you have to do is put a flip phone on that line and you don't have to have data on the line.

I have already submitted a complaint thru the FCC & am preparing for us to leave ATT, who obviously does not comprehend the meaning of "loyalty", nor do they care about negotiating an exception.

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Again, they're just charging you the smartphone rate for a smartphone.

Why would they care about making an exception? I'd have loved to put a smartphone on a line for my mother and not had to pay for data ages ago. If they grant it for you, they have to grab it for everyone.

I'd love to hear how the FCC responds.

@goodkarma That said, it sounds like you're on an old minute plan if you have data plans seperately.

The new shared data plans would likely save you money.

How much data do the two of you need?  We can help you figure out a good plan that would be cheaper for the three lines with the amount of data you need...

If you're on an old FamilyTalk or Nation plan then it's time to move to a newer plan that won't result in the data required policy being forced.

On Mobile Share Advantage or the new Unlimited plan the data requirement is fulfilled by the shared plan, resulting in any phone being meeting the requirement without a bolt-on being added.

@Gary L The FCC does not actually respond. All they do is forward the complaint to ATT and then ATT must respond within 30 days. If they don't respond by then, the FCC can impose a fine but they won't intervene or respond to the actual complaint.

   Current plan. https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/data-plans.html

The old plan is probably more expensive than the new plan.  Shared data is cheaper.  My mother uses little data, and is on my sisters plan at the same rate as all other phones.  

The FCC has bigger fish to fry and I’m sure will appropriately file the complaint in the “circular file “.  

But I am curious if they have a form email response.  

Since the OP wrote last night, they will hopefully read today and realize they jumped the gun in filing a complaint before knowing they did have an agreement with ATT that allows the addition of a data plan.  

Not sure what the FCC will do other than say "you agreed to the terms and conditions"

" If it is determined that you are using a voice-capable Device without a voice plan, or that you are using an iPhone or designated Smartphone without an eligible voice and tiered data plan, AT&T reserves the right to switch you to the required plan or plans and bill you the appropriate monthly fees. In the case of the tiered data plan, you will be placed on the data plan which provides you with the greatest monthly data usage allowance. If you determine that you do not require that much data usage in a month, you may request a lower data tier at a lower monthly recurring fee."

https://www.att.com/legal/terms.wirelessCustomerAgreement.html#whatAreVoiceDataPlanReq

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@sandblaster wrote:

The requirement for smartphones to have a data plan has existed for at least 10 years. I'm pretty sure that requirement existed in 2007 when that line was added.

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The first iPhone came out 10 years ago, and I don't think data plans were required for the first year or two. It probably that OP's phone was active before it became required and since it was still the same phone, it had never been caught. Once the SIM card went into the new phone, the system check the IMEI and cause the "error."