Teacher
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1 Message
Mobile Share Value Plans Questions and Discussion
Beware.. The $160 per month plan for 4 smart phones with ATT is pretty shadey. They don't tell you that you are required to pay for 4 smart phones at full retail price. Maybe that small detail is buried somewhere in the fine print when the adds on TV play, but make sure you know exactly what you are paying for before jumping onto this.... It's very, very tricky.
mheb
Contributor
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1 Message
10 years ago
I called customer service about adding a line to take advantage of the New Plan & was told I could upgrade my current phones & add a line for $160.00 per month but when I went to the store I was told that I would have to pay for the phones up front or monthly. Then they told me it was actually cheaper to pay $15 a month for each phone totaling $60 a month plus $160.00 then to add a line to my current plan which would cost $204 a month. Seriously, like I could not do the math and figure out that was crap!! I left the store & called customer service & asjked to speak to a manager they left me on hold for 20 minutes & then finally hung up on me!!! Worst customer service ever!!!!!
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kbw175
Contributor
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1 Message
10 years ago
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loganic
Former Employee
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636 Messages
10 years ago
I expect a lot of people will be switch to 4gb ot 6gb plans when they get new contracts, and go back to pay close to what they were before.
A lot of people are treating the 10gb as just a temprary special
-Alex
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DN820
Contributor
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1 Message
10 years ago
They are giving us the same run around about two year contracts.
You might have me for now, but I'm gone at my first opportunity.
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jane697
Scholar
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397 Messages
10 years ago
Perhaps, but clearly switching down only makes sense if you have at most two lines on the plan--and even then, a two-line account would come out ahead cost-wise only on the 4 GB plan...and regardless, the savings assumes that your line(s) are not tied to a 2-year contract. Essentially, downgrading a data plan makes sense only if you're a single-line customer or have users on your account who use very little cellular data--i.e., 2 GB or less shared amongst all of you.
Me--as I have 4 lines on my account, it would make NO sense at all for me to switch from 10 GB ($160) to the 4 ($170) or 6 GB ($180) plans--and yes, I realize that ATT isn't necessarily pushing the < 10 GB plans as being a great value for families...which is probably why you don't see them pushing the <10 GB plans in any of their TV commercials. And yes I would save $20/month if I switch to the 2 GB plan but given my family's data usage history, 2 GB is nowhere nearly enough data.
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Sjwhome
Tutor
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6 Messages
10 years ago
I would like to keep this brief and to the point because this is basically a case of Bait and switch and being lied to by the employee of the AT&T store 1691 Artesia, Gardena, CA 310 532 1280, who are representing AT&T and their refusal to solve this problem and honor what I was promised by the store person originally and dealing with several AT&T representatives on the phone, who have made promises and adjustments that are all bogus and have to go through this every month explaining this situation every time.
The first week of March 2014 I went into the AT&T store in Gardena California to see about changing our Wireless Payment Plan. My Contract had expired and I told the representative named Octavio who waited on us that I want the Family and Friends plan that runs $160.00 per month but we only have 3 phones when the Plan says you need 4. He offered us for the same price 4 lines and a Mobil hot spot for the 4th line. We agreed to the plan which was 4 lines, unlimited texting and unlimited domestic calling and 10 gig of Data usage for $160 plus tax.
When we were getting ready to lead he said that we committee to a two year contract with this plan we can also upgrade our phones. My Wife and I both are Senior Citizens need to save money and agreed to do so.
So we went with the suggestions of the Octavio and went for the $160 a month plan and the two year contract so we upgrade the phone.
Ever since that day all our billing cycles are wrong and we are being charges for more than we agreed I have to spend a minimum of an hour on the phone with a AT&T rep who says they fixed the problem but each time I get the bill it’s wrong. Now they remove service that we agreed to on the original plan just to get the bill down a few dollars to try and appease me.
This is unacceptable and AT&T will not honor what we were told what we would get when we signed up. Everything was a lie and we were taken advantage by a sleek sales person who took advantage of use being that we are seniors and not that technically savvy. Plus the salesperson no longer works there so they told me at the Store to bad there is nothing that can do at the Store.
Desired Resolution
I want the Plan I was told we were getting $160 a Month for 4 lines, unlimited calls and Text 10 gigs and a free hot spot.
Or
Rescind the contract so we can change providers and stop this billing nightmare each month.
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corey.a.tanner
Contributor
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2 Messages
10 years ago
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kdfederer
ACE - Expert
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13.1K Messages
10 years ago
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GeekBoy
Master
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4.1K Messages
10 years ago
Regretfully, you have to pay for the phone one way or another. You either pay for the phone by paying full price for teh phone when you buy it, or you pay for it by paying a higher service fee when you get the phone for a discount with a 2 year contract.
The peole at WalMart don't care about the AT&T policies or terms, they just want to push the product out the door, and their store makes more profit by selling you a contract phone because AT&T subsidizes them to sell it to you at a discount.
If you read your bill before the upgrade, you would have seen that you were getting a $25 discount per phone for being "Out of Contract" (or under a contract that started prior to 02/01/2014). When you purchased the new phone with a 2 year contract you no longer qualified for that $25 per phone discount, so that's why your bill would have gone up.
We need a new saying, some thing like "There ain't no such thing as a free phone" (parody of the old saying "There ain't no such thing as a feww lunch"). You pay for the phone one way or another. The difference now is that prior to the new Mobile Share Value Plan introductions, everyone paid for the phone subsidy, even if they were not under a contract. Now if you are not under a contract, you get the discount to compensate for that. Once you sign a new contract, you lose the discount. This is a huge win for anyone not under contract, but it seems to be a huge shock to people who want to upgrade and not have to pay for their new phone...
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Viescas
Tutor
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1 Message
10 years ago
I was very disappointed today to learn that after 21 years of being a loyal AT&T customer they do not make any effort to keep me as a customer. I went in to purchase a new phone today. I had a very old phone when we switched over to the family share plan for four. It was not even a smart phone. I shopped around to compare prices and Radio Shack had the IPhone 5s for $80 plus the activation with a two year plan. When they were setting it up in the system I was told that AT&T was eliminating my $25 credit on my share plan and that it would go up from $160 to $185 per month for two years. So basically I was going to pay $550 more on the family plan over the two year term. So in total I would pay $80 plus tax, $35 activation fee plus $550. A total of $665. We called AT&T and spoke to a rep and then to a manager. I was told by the manager that for any upgrade we would lose the $25 credit raising our bill by $25 per month per upgrade. If all of my family members decided to upgrade we would pay $100 more a month.
I then went back to the AT &T retail store and decided to get the next plan for the IPhone 5s. I was told I would have to pay approximately $56.00 in taxes upfront and I would pay $32.50 a month for 12 months. So I would pay $390 plus the $56 in taxes a total of $496. I understood I would own the phone then. Well when i was going to sign the contract it stated it was $32.50 a month for 20 months or $650 over the 20 months. I questioned it and was told that it was 20 months and I would own the phone but I only had to pay 12 months to upgrade. I am certain that is the way AT& T trains it personnel. AT&T is very shady and as I am reading in this forum there are a lot of dissatisfied customers. It doesn't seem to me that AT&T cares and only wants to see what it can get away with. Just tell people upfront what you need to get out of them to make your revenue margin. Tell me that you need to get $660 out of me for the IPhone or whatever price it really is for what ever phone I chose.I am certain that in a few months when people catch on to the shadiness of the family plan AT&T will come up with another program. It seems to me that a business as big as AT&T should be more reputable and take care of it's customers. Why don't they tell people the way it really is and be upfront with them. I am not happy and I am seriously rethinking being an AT&T customer. I am looking a Verizon.
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