Tutor
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Were customers notified in advance about the administrative fee?
Were customers notified in advance that there was a 65% increase in the administrative fee (to defray certain expenses ATT incurs) this month?
Tutor
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1 Message
Were customers notified in advance that there was a 65% increase in the administrative fee (to defray certain expenses ATT incurs) this month?
formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.3K Messages
6 years ago
@overwatch
I was going to ask, “how do you figure it’s deceptive?” Because that goes back to the idea that ATT owes you an explanation or justification for the increase. They don’t. And that they provided one - they didn’t.
But hey, you believe what you want.
Acording to ATT:
The Administrative Fee helps defray certain expenses AT&T incurs, including but not limited to: (a) charges AT&T or its agents pay to interconnect with other carriers to deliver calls from AT&T customers to their customers; and (b) charges associated with cell site rents and maintenance.
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overwatch
Mentor
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50 Messages
6 years ago
Who cares? You don't care how much you are charged for products or services? Apparently the shills here care a LOT, otherwise why keep posting a defense here? Or why are shills here trying to convince all consumers that they shouldn't care about the $1.7+ billion in extra fees AT&T is collecting from them outside of their agreed upon plan price? Obviously I care, otherwise I wouldn't be trying to get others to realize that there is a problem here with deceptive billing. I care as an AT&T investor since such practices harm consumer relations and damages the AT&T brand. I care as an AT&T customer since I feel ripped-off every time an additional amount is added to the advertised price plan.
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overwatch
Mentor
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50 Messages
6 years ago
Actually, when a company advertises a cost for a service, but then they add fees in addition to the advertised cost, they do owe the consumer an explanation for the additional cost and why it was not included in the advertised price.
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overwatch
Mentor
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50 Messages
6 years ago
If the billing practice is not deceptive, then why not just include the "Administrative Fee" in the advertised price so consumers know up front how much they will be paying? Adding this additional fee that keeps going up every few months without prior notice is deceptive. Any normal consumer would agree it is deceptive. That you state it is not deceptive speaks volumes about your reasons for participating in these forums.
This forum is a joke. It is obviously populated by shills for AT&T that are here to defend any actions by AT&T, whether unjust or not. It's easy to spot the shills. They have this tag:
They should at least be honest and admit their affiliation and any form of compensation they are being provided. By stating " We are customers too, NOT employees...." and not mentioning what type of compensation they are receiving, they are furthering the dishonest practices of AT&T.
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.3K Messages
6 years ago
@overwatch
The existance of extra fees and taxes is disclosed on every sales page and the Terms of service.
My property tax bill went up $1,200 in 4 years
My cell phone bill went up $8.16 in 4.5 years.
Guess which one I’m not going to complain about?
Guess which one I can do anything about? (Neither).
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.3K Messages
6 years ago
Nope still don’t work here. 🙄
No discount, no payment.
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.3K Messages
6 years ago
And lastly... my kids are on ATT.
note my carrier....
Im paying $4.27 total tax and fees on ATT lines. $5.17 on my Verizon line.
(I give up, it’s upside down no matter how I upload)
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overwatch
Mentor
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50 Messages
6 years ago
What are you trying to state here? That the Administrative Fee is a de facto plan price hike? That's what I stated in the beginning, but all of you "A.C.E.s" jumped all over me. Why not just be honest and raise the plan price then? It's because then they could not deceive consumers with a lower advertised price... or in the case of consumers with "very old plans" AT&T can avoid notifying consumers that their plan price will be increasing by just adding any plan price hikes as an increasing "fee". They might as well advertise that they have unlimited plans for $1. They can make up any difference they want as a "fee" without prior notification to consumers, no? Nothing wrong with that?
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Since1996
Mentor
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46 Messages
5 years ago
I agree with @overwatch and I ALSO CARE!!! You can't make math easy by deceptive figures and you cannot make comparison easy by deceiving the customer with deceptive prices. That does not compute!
As for the ACE's property tax increase example, if you didn't vote, you don't care. If you voted, then you care one way or another and you have a course of action to try to repeal the tax if you don't agree with it. We have taxation with representation. Too bad that doesn't seem to apply to large a corporate duopoly that dominates the market for a commodity and service. Our recourse is through the FCC & FTC and by forums like this one to gauge the customer base to see if we are an odd duck or if others are like-minded. Also, Consumer Reports seems to care. They are reporting on cable companies doing what AT&T seems to be doing with communication and entertainment.
I've been an At&T customer for many years and they have never given me a reason to take notice of what they do until recently. They are messing with my satellite TV service (23 years with DirecTV, now AT&T) and my cellular service (I've had cell phones since 1989 when the company was called Cingular). In the past, I didn't care because they didn't give me a reason. Now I care because they ARE giving me reasons. If we don't care as individuals they won't care but if we care as a large group, it seems they will have to notice us and at least care a little.
I've only been on AT&T's forums for about a year now because they have made me take notice by changes and charges to my various services. If that is what they want to do to their customer base, they are succeeding. As for the ACE's on this and other AT&T threads, more than one seem to have an attitude that is more take it or leave it, AT&T's way or the highway, rather than courteous helpful responses as fellow consumers. Notice I'm not talking about all ACE's. Maybe the tone of some of the responses is more from constantly having to deal with the same questions over & over again or people asking questions that can be easily answered with a quick Google search but then, if they are aggravated by the question or questioner, then why not just not answer? Some answers seem to be defending AT&T like they were the defense lawyer in a courtroom instead of just personal opinions and views. Like I said, it's not that we don't appreciate the time and effort put in by ACE's, it is just the tone of some of the responses that makes me notice.
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.3K Messages
5 years ago
@Since1996
And “take it or leave it” is exactly correct. If a business doesn’t suit your needs, or hurts your wallet, leaving is your right and the best way to be heard. Back in 2014, when I left Verizon for ATT, the losses were so massive that Verizon was forced to match ATT’s plan. But it took a loss of a million connections. Unfortunately in this case Verizon is still more expensive and matched the rise in admin fee. There are still plenty of other options out there, including prepaid service.
Just be aware when you shop, All carriers are going up. They have been creeping up in the past 3 years.
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