Contributor
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2 Messages
ATT won't unlock my phone until I pay ETF *TWICE*
Last month I paid my early termination fee in order to switch to Verizon since my new job gives me a discount with Verizon. I ported my number over to Verizon last Monday and tried to unlock my phone from the AT&T network. After talking with a customer service rep Tuesday, they said my phone should be unlocked by Wednesday or Thursday. Thursday came and went and my phone was still locked.
After hours on the customer service line trying to get to someone who could give me something other than a canned answer, I found out the real reason why my phone wasn't being unlocked.... The manager said that the agent who initially took my ETF payment over the phone last month didn't input it into their system as an ETF payment, it just showed as a general credit to my account. Because of this, it shows that I am still under contract and therefore they can't unlock my phone. They said the only option is to port my number back over to AT&T to restart service, then pay the ETF... *AGAIN*. When I asked if my 2nd ETF payment would be reimbursed or credited to my final bill, they said there was no guarantee that it would. The manager I spoke to said she couldn't do anything else and when I asked to escalate to her manager, she said they don't take direct calls and that they would call me within 24 hours. It's been 24 hours and surprise surprise....NO CALL BACK!
Basically AT&T is holding my phone hostage until I pay a fee I already paid because someone on their end made a mistake. Meanwhile, I am without a working phone due to AT&T's incompetence and unwillingness fix their mistake.
Fl_retire
ACE - Professor
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3K Messages
7 years ago
@FORMERcustomur Since you have ported your phone number to Verizon have you tried to unlock your phone as a non-customer?
https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/request/#/unlockstep1
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.2K Messages
7 years ago
The ETF is not generated until you cancel service. How can it be, ETF stands for Early Termination Fee. Key word TERMINATION. Once terminated, the remainder of the fee and the taxes on it are calculated and billed. Absolutely can't be done till you cancel. Crediting the payment was all that could be done.
A final bill is always due after termination.
Only after you terminate service and final bill is processed can your phone be unlocked.
There is also no assurance your phone will work on Verizon, which means you should have used the switch offer from Verizon. Verizon is a CDMA network. Very few ATT phones will work on Verizon. Did you check the IMEI with Verizon?
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sandblaster
ACE - Expert
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64.7K Messages
7 years ago
As @lizdance40 noted, your ETF fee does not get charged until your final bill is generated. If you just ported the number last Monday, your final bill and ETF fee likely has not even been generated yet. Pay no attention to that port back and cancel again nonsense. Now that you have cancelled service, the final bill will get generated. Hopefully you were close to the end of your bill cycle when you ported your number because your final bill won't be generated until your normal bill cycle is complete. Your phone will eventually be unlocked, sorry to say you just need to be patient. You likely won't be able to unlock until several weeks after you pay the final bill.
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FORMERcustomur
Contributor
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2 Messages
7 years ago
Thanks for the replies. The phone is an iphone 6s and I confirmed that it will work with Verizon's CDMA network. I tried unlocking the phone as a non-customer but it still says the phone is under contract.
The most frustrating part about this is that when I call the "customer service" (using that term loosely) line, I get told completely different things every time. It speaks volumes about AT&T that the only straight answers I get come from you guys and not the 7+ AT&T reps I've talked to so far.
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ATTHelp
Community Support
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231.5K Messages
7 years ago
Hi there @FORMERcustomur!
I am sorry to hear you are having issues with unlocking your device. I understand the importance of unlocking your phone in order to use with a different carrier, and I would be more than happy to assist you in getting this resolved!
I will be sending you a private message to your Forum’s Inbox in order to collect some additional information. Please be on the lookout for this.
I look forward to hearing from you so we can get this taken care of!
Donna, AT&T Community Specialist
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.2K Messages
7 years ago
We recommend customers switch to prepaid for a month to get ETF generated and account paid off, while still having service
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.2K Messages
7 years ago
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