Mobile Share Value Plans Questions and Discussion

Hi mdgelfond, 

There are many different ways that you can keep your plan costs down while getting a new device. Using the Next plan will retain the $25 a month charge. You can also keep your lines out of contact and will still continue to save. Additionally buying a device outright at full retail price will keep the $25 monthly savings. 

I don't know what plan you were on before, but in most cases even with the upgrades and any next payments will usually be lower than what you had before. 

Hope this helps!

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@MicCheck wrote:

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@mdgelfond wrote:

May 13, 2016 is the date i will be dropping AT&T due to poor business practices.

 

I signed up for the "awesome" value plan, to find out the hard way that as soon as you upgrade one of your phones, the $25 monthly discount is pulled out from under you for that line. What kind of service is that? Beyond pathetic. I've been a loyal customer since the "brick" cell phone, and this is how they treat me.

 

Looking to see if Sprint or any other carriers are willing to pay for the $773 cancellation charges to switch.

 

I will also be dropping UVerse, I don't want to support AT&T in any way, shape or form. Shame on you AT&T!!

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In the terms and conditions, AT&T clearly states, "To keep discounted pricing while upgrading to a new phone, you must purchase via AT&T Next, purchase at full price, or bring your own phone." Should a rep have mentioned this as well. I think so. Does it mean AT&T has bad business practices if they didn't? Nope.

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Personally, I've done all of my upgrades online so if the OP did the same, there may not have been any CS rep to mention that. Now, how is it the OP did not know about this when they signed up for the mobile share plan is anyone's guess. I knew the day the plans were announced that there would be no more subsidized upgrades and that I would be paying full price for phones if I switched. How so many people are missing that is a mystery to me. 

I have to say that when I signed up for this plan several months ago the info was readily available and I knew full well that if I upgraded with a subsidy I would lose the savings.  I tend to over research something before I do it though. 

I am also one of the many who feel deceived by the price increase on my most recent bill.

I think the bigger issue is that during my 10 years as an AT&T customer, an upgrade to a device historically has not equated to a price increase to my monthly bill, minus the $36 activation fees.

When I switched my grandfathered unlimited data plan and other lines to a mobile share plan, I did it under the pretense that I would be saving money monthly and the price decrease (4 lines for $160) was only AT&T trying to stay competitive to the price decreases of T-Mobile and their un-carrier movement.

I asked AT&T on the phone if my monthly fees would go up if I upgrade. I was also misinformed, and the only thing they say now is "I am sorry for the misinformation." Oh, and that Customer Service Summary... Let me assure you it was not produced during my upgrades, AT&T could not explain to me where to find it, or where it is during the upgrade process online, and had to email it to me on my last call to them.

And I still don't understand how NEXT is a better deal.  If I pay $15 a month on next, plus the average of $25 or more a month per phone, I am still at $40 a month per line.

Shame on me for not reading the fine print and realizing an upgrade would cost me $25 more per month, and for believing what I am told from AT&T Customer Service.

Shame on you AT&T for your deteriorating customer service, and your total disregard for long time customers.  Between this, and other recent issues I have had with AT&T that are off topic of this post, I am beyond fed up.

After so many wasted hours on the phone, attempting to correct this issue, I can only do 2 things at this point.

1. Vote with my wallet by not giving AT&T my business any longer

2. Ensure others are aware of how this plan truly works.

And remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Your definetly right, it is a shame that that information wasn't well disclosed.

Customers I personally talked to, I explained it as a temporariy discount, and planned for the inevitable contract pricing.

Some customer decided not to change, but many did.

As far as the AT&T Next. For plans under 10gb, the discount for being out of contract or in att Next is $15.

The pricing when comparing that is very close. AT&T Next is just slightly more convenient, in terms of flexibility, but pricing wise, it's almost the same

With the 10gb+, the discount is increase to $25. Then it seems overwhelmingly less expensive that contract options.

Example:

Iphone 5s

Contract $199.99 + $36 upgrade fee ~ $236 + tax

AT&T next 18:

($27.08 price of the phone - $15/$25 discounts) x24 months  ~ (12.08/2.08) x 24 months  ~  $290 / $49 + tax

That's an example, other phones will have varying degrees, but that's the rough breakdown

-Alex

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@mdgelfond wrote:

May 13, 2016 is the date i will be dropping AT&T due to poor business practices.

 

I signed up for the "awesome" value plan, to find out the hard way that as soon as you upgrade one of your phones, the $25 monthly discount is pulled out from under you for that line. What kind of service is that? Beyond pathetic. I've been a loyal customer since the "brick" cell phone, and this is how they treat me.

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Well,  removal of a discount given to you for not having a contract only seems fair if you sign a new contract.  Others have already said how you could have kept the discount, and probably even have saved a little money over the 2 year period that a contract subsidy would have convered.

The "out-of-contract" discount was clear to me before I ever made the decision to switch my service.  I made sure I fully understood that if I signed a new contract that I would pay an additional $600 over the life of the 2 year contract.  I also understood that if I paid the full price for my next iPhone I would only be paying $450 more than if I got a contract subsidized one.  For me, it was easy to see that paying full price was $150 cheaper over 24 months than buying with a contract subsidy.  Whether I choose to pay that all at once, or use a NEXT program is still undecided, but I have several months before I intend to upgrade so I still have time to make that decision.

Since you mention the $25 discount, your numbers should be almost identicle to mine.  The only difference may me is that you aren't purchasing an iPhone, so the contract subsidy may even be less allowing you to save more money by purchasing at full price.  If you are within your 14 day period, you can still return your phone and get your new contract voided to regain your discount.

I am running into the same situation. H ALowever when I called on APril 4th and spoke to Adriana (employee ***)- she never explained the upgrade price increase. I specifically asked about upgrading my parents phones to iphones when they had their upgrades this month. She told me that this was the best plan at $160, and I'd be saving so much money. It is also in the notes that I asked about the upgrades and she wrote she told me it would be $160 for all four phones. ATT has done nothing to accomodate their mistake, execpt tell me sorry. I am not filing a complaint with the BBB in regards to this employee.

[Edited for privacy.]