Tutor
•
4 Messages
How to get out of shared/family account without access to it.
I just moved from Canada a month ago and my sister suggested I join in with her and my cousin's shared AT&T account. My cousin is the main account holder. I used a prepaid number when I came (which my sister already got me before I arrived in US). I joined my cousin's account since that would be cheaper for 2 of us and more data allowance per month. So, I temporarily have this postpaid number and was planning to change the number back to the prepaid number since that's the number that's newly registered to everything since i moved to America (bank, SSN, etc) and I called Canada Revenue and also my canadian bank accounts regarding change of number.
The problem now is due to miscommunication, my cousin changed the passcodes etc without clarifying with us and blocked us out of the account. This was one reason why I was hesitant to join into his account in the first place. So, I was wondering if there is any way I can get out of the account. My sister's and my account are paid for by my sister's credit so he has no business holding our accounts from us. We can't access anything with our accounts, can't even check our usage.
What are our options to be able to get out? We would like to open a shared family account just me and my sister. Can we open a new account with an active account under his?
All we want now is to get out from his account. I can't change my number (prepaid to postpaid) because he is not allowing us access. I just need that number changed again instead of calling everyone in Canada (CRA, banks and health services) and also here in America.
formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
•
117K Messages
8 years ago
You need to work this out with your cousin. If you purchased phones on his account and have lines in contract you need account number and password to port back to prepaid. The alternate is to walk away and get new numbers on your own plan.
0
0
tranquility00
Tutor
•
4 Messages
8 years ago
We have no contract with AT&T. We didn't purchase any cell phone either.
We tried to settle it. he is just a complicated person and just wants to make this difficult for us. And that is exactly what we want to do. Just walk away. But we don't want to walk away with unresolved records with AT&T.
We are willing to pay off the remainig days of the mothly period. But we don't want to continue our subscription under his account any longer.
0
0
formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
•
117K Messages
8 years ago
At least you tried.
So new numbers and your own plan it is....
0
0
Busternutt
Professor
•
3.2K Messages
8 years ago
He is the account owner and is solely responsible for the bill. If he is so difficult, just stop paying him your share and walk away; it is then his problem, not yours. My guess is that when he figures this out, he will become more cooperative.
Unfortunately, he is the only one who can port the number out to another carrier or start the delegation of responsibility to another party. Your only choice is to stop paying him.
0
0
tranquility00
Tutor
•
4 Messages
8 years ago
He is not paying for my sister and my account. It's charged to my sister's credit card. He is paying only for his own number.
Another question is, would we be able to open a new account with our present accounts still active since we cannot request deactivation.
Note: We are not under contract nor did we purchase any phone from AT&T.
0
0
Busternutt
Professor
•
3.2K Messages
8 years ago
So she needs to cut off her credit card auto payment. Is it through ATT's auto pay or set up with the bank for payment? If it is ATT's auto pay, she won't be able to deal with them. She will have to contact the bank to decline the charges.
Is he the account owner or not? If he is, YOU don't have an account with ATT and can open one in your own name. The problem is that you can't keep the same number without his approval.
0
0
tranquility00
Tutor
•
4 Messages
8 years ago
It's his account. Would the two numbers under his account still be under his name? Or separate with ours? I'm not even sure coz I just added a postpaid account for me to use when we added it to his account.. that was before he changed the codes and locked us out.
I hope we'll be able to open a new account on Monday.
Since my sister and I cannot access and deactivate the accounts or the card from the accounts, does that mean my sister has to cancel her card just so there won't be automatic payments deducted for next month?
0
0
Busternutt
Professor
•
3.2K Messages
8 years ago
He is the account owner. That means he owns everything; the account, the numbers, and most importantly, the debt. Yes, those number are under his name which is why you can't get them ported to you.
Your sister should call the bank and see if she can have future ATT charges declined. If not, the easiest way is to tell the bank she has lost her card. They will cancel it and issue her a new one with new account number. Anything that is attempted to be charged to the old card will be declined. The down side is she can't charge anything either until she receives the new card, usually about 5 business days.
0
0