Dutlive's profile

Teacher

 • 

26 Messages

Sunday, June 29th, 2014 2:43 AM

High Speed Internet Equipment Fee

I ordered AT&T Uverse internet as a self-install  (no TV or phone, just internet).  There was a one-time equipment fee of $100.

 

After some problems with installation and delays in getting service, AT&T agreed to waive the equipment fee.  However, I just got my first bill and notice a $7 monthly charge for "High Speed Internet Equipment Fee."  Does this mean I will be charged $7 a month instead of the one-time $100 fee?  Or does it mean had I paid the $100 one-time fee I still would've been charged the $7 monthly fee?

 

I'd rather pay $100 once then $7 per month indefinitely, but the whole point of not paying the $100 equipment fee was AT&T's way of making it up to me for a botched installation experience.  Am I now paying MORE for equipment?

 

I just want to make sense of this fee to make sure I'm not getting ripped off.  

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

ACE - Expert

 • 

34.7K Messages

9 years ago

It used to be the policy that if you had IPTV then you got a model of RG that could only be rented, i.e. purchase was not ever an option, but if you were not an IPTV customer you could not rent your RG and you had to purchase it.

 

AT&T decided, as of January 2015, to change this policy.  At that point, all new U-verse customers are required to rent their equipment from AT&T, just as the IPTV customers have always done.  Any existing customer who already purchased equipment and had it activated on their account could continue to use the purchased equipment without paying the monthly equipment fee.  Such a policy is generally known as "grandfathering."  If their existing grandfathered equipment fails and a technician is called out to fix it, it will be replaced with a rental unit with a new (for them) monthly fee.

 

I suppose a gray area is what would happen if a grandfathered account replaces the RG themselves with a unit purchased from Craigslist, eBay or (apparently) even AT&T.  Will AT&T activate this replacement without the fee?  I don't know.  If they won't, and I purchased the equipment from AT&T, I would certainly be returning it and asking for my rental device.

 

Those of you who are now trying to sign up and use purchased equipment are trying to apply an old business model that AT&T no longer offers.  No one at AT&T should have told you that this was possible.  I updated this thread a month or two back to be sure that the current policy was on this thread so that no one would get a nasty surprise.

 

Whether AT&T should have a policy that requires you to rent their equipment or not is another subject, it is their policy and if you don't like it, you can choose not to purchase service from AT&T.

 

Official Solution

ACE - Expert

 • 

34.7K Messages

10 years ago

No.  You either buy the modem or you rent it.  In fact, as I understand it, a given model is either rented or sold.

The 3600 is sold.  If you got a 3800 or 3801, then that would be rented (and are never sold)... and those are able to handle IPTV, so their "ready for TV" excuse would apply.

It is not unusual for a $100 credit to be issued to cover the cost of buying the modem, the only downside of buying a modem is that after 12 months, the warranty expires and you are responsible for paying for a replacement if it should break.

 

Expert

 • 

20.4K Messages

10 years ago

No, you should not be paying the $7 fee as you would have had to pay the $100 modem fee and they waived it due to the problems that occurred. 

 

I'd contact ATT U-Verse Care here:
https://forums.att.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/2365485

Send them a private message, on this link, and they should be able to give the help needed to solve your double billing problems. They are available M-F 8am-11pm Eastern time, response may take up to 2 business days.

This is not the regular CS/TS people, but the social media Community Specialists that know the people to contact to get things done.


Include your account#, email address and a good phone # (land or cell) and time to contact you on.

Check the blue PM envelope, upper right on every page, for their reply. Good luck 😉

 

Chris


Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
Need Help? PM ATT Uverse Care (all service problems) or ATT Customer Care (all other problems)
Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
I Call It Like I See It, Simply a U-verse user, nothing more

Teacher

 • 

26 Messages

10 years ago

Fantastic.  Thanks for your prompt and helpful response.

Expert

 • 

20.4K Messages

10 years ago


@Dutlive wrote:

Fantastic.  Thanks for your prompt and helpful response.


You're welcome, they should be able to help w/that $7/mo billing. 😉

 

Chris


Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
Need Help? PM ATT Uverse Care (all service problems) or ATT Customer Care (all other problems)
Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
I Call It Like I See It, Simply a U-verse user, nothing more

Teacher

 • 

26 Messages

10 years ago

Internet speed is Max (12 Mbps) and the router is the Gateway 3600.

Expert

 • 

20.4K Messages

10 years ago

Definately should not have the $7 fee w/a 3600 gateway. 😉

 

Chris


Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
Need Help? PM ATT Uverse Care (all service problems) or ATT Customer Care (all other problems)
Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
I Call It Like I See It, Simply a U-verse user, nothing more

Teacher

 • 

26 Messages

10 years ago

Apparently, the folks at AT&T think the 3600 is leased equipment.  here is the response I got:

 

"Thanks for reaching out.  On 6/28 there was a $99 credit issued to your account for the 2 months of free service. You were not charged for any installation fees and the monthly equipment  fee is billed to all customers with leased equipment."

 

I do appreciate the $99 credit, but I'm so frustrated that they are trying to charge me for equipment when I was told I would not have to.  I'm hoping this will get resolved soon or I will be cancelling my service.  Every step of this process (from installation to service to billing to this latest issue) has been handled horribly.

 

The only positive experience I've had thus far has been on this forum.

Teacher

 • 

26 Messages

10 years ago

Here is the latest.

 

I called this afternoon becuase I did not get a reply to my email explaining that the 3600 should not be "leased equipment."  They said that I had to pay the $7 monthly fee because my uverse account was set up to accomodate TV and phone if I ever chose to add them (even though I only signed up for Uverse internet).  I explained that I had not been told of this fee initially and they said it would've been on my initial Customer Service Summary.  I went back and sure enough, there it was.  So they did waive the $100 one-time fee but not the $7 monthly fee.

 

They also explained that if I want to get rid of the $7 monthly fee I could purchase a Uverse compatible modem and return the one I currently have.  This is where I get really confused.  I thought the 3600 was such a modem.  Can someone help me identify a modem I could purchase to get out of the $7 monthly fee and a ballpark estimate of what it would cost me?

 

At least now I know the $7 monthly fee was always part of my bill and not part of a "bait and switch" but there's still some question as to if it ever should have been applied in the first place (based on the feedback I've received on this forum).

 

Can anyone help me?  Thanks in advance.

ACE - Expert

 • 

34.7K Messages

10 years ago

Normally the 3600 is sold to you for $100 and you do not pay a monthly fee for it.  If you did not pay a $100 up-front fee, then I guess you need to rent it.  If you did pay the $100 up-front fee, then you should see how many months of that fee you can get back.

 

If you have not paid the $100 up-front fee and you wish to stop paying the monthly $7, then you should be able to purchase one.  More than likely they will have to send you a new RG and have you return that one.

 

I suggest that you click this U-verse Customer Service link to send a Private Message (PM) to the AT&T customer service team to help you resolve your request. You can expect a reply via return PM (the blue envelope will appear in the upper right hand corner of this site, next to your name and avatar) in a business day or three.

This is a group of U-verse service specialists who are knowledgeable about U-verse and will stay with your problem until the end (instead of forgetting about it when the phone hits the cradle). Speed things up by including your Billing Account Number, and the best time and way to reach you.

Not finding what you're looking for?
New to AT&T Community?
New to the AT&T Community? Start by visiting the Community How-To.
New to the AT&T Community?
Visit the Community How-To.