12-19-2009, 12:15 PM

We are completely fed up with AT&T. We will be jailbreaking my wife’s iPhone tomorrow and I will NOT be buying the iPhone that I had planned to buy until Apple gets an alternative to AT&T.

My wife bought our kids each an $80 AT&T phone to replace their pre-paid AT&T Go phones. The younger son decided he didn’t want to replace his old phone, so she took the unopened, unactivated phone back to the AT&T store. They said there was a $35 “restocking charge” for returning the $80 phone. When my wife asked why they hadn’t told her about the restocking charge before she bought the phones they said the notice about that is clearly printed on the back of the receipt. Never mind that the receipt isn’t available to read until after you’ve bought the phone. They then said that if she hadn’t left the store with the phone they could have taken the phone back without the restocking charge, but that since she had left the store with the phone there was nothing they could do. Of course, this simply demonstrates that had they WANTED to they could have given her a full refund, and it wasn’t really “out of their hands”.

It gets better. Not being one to take abuse without a fight, my wife then stood outside the store attempting to sell the unopened phone to passersby, explaining about the restocking charge and why she was trying to resell the phone. The manager of the AT&T store then approached her saying he was going to call the mall security guard if she didn’t leave. Her response was to call the guard herself and ask how far she needed to be from the AT&T store to be legal. The guard advised her that it wasn’t permitted to sell anything on mall property without a lease agreement. My wife then went to see the mall manager, who ended up buying the phone from her at the original retail price.

AT&T will never see another dime from us…EVER! No matter what! For any product or service! I am an Apple investor, and I will oppose any further dependence or association with AT&T for Apple. Apple is a reputable company. AT&T are simply pirates out to rape the public at every opportunity. Die, AT&T, just die!

12-19-2009, 01:04 PM

Originally Posted by Zeke

Die, AT&T, just die!

Agreed.
I hate AT&T, they have awful coverage and awful customer service.

I have switched to T-Mobile and I plan to stay with it.

It has better coverage than AT&T, better customer service, and is a lot cheaper!

Sorry for your experience with AT&T, but there are other, better services out there. =D

12-19-2009, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by Zeke

We are completely fed up with AT&T. We will be jailbreaking my wife’s iPhone tomorrow and I will NOT be buying the iPhone that I had planned to buy until Apple gets an alternative to AT&T.

My wife bought our kids each an $80 AT&T phone to replace their pre-paid AT&T Go phones. The younger son decided he didn’t want to replace his old phone, so she took the unopened, unactivated phone back to the AT&T store. They said there was a $35 “restocking charge” for returning the $80 phone. When my wife asked why they hadn’t told her about the restocking charge before she bought the phones they said the notice about that is clearly printed on the back of the receipt. Never mind that the receipt isn’t available to read until after you’ve bought the phone. They then said that if she hadn’t left the store with the phone they could have taken the phone back without the restocking charge, but that since she had left the store with the phone there was nothing they could do. Of course, this simply demonstrates that had they WANTED to they could have given her a full refund, and it wasn’t really “out of their hands”.

It gets better. Not being one to take abuse without a fight, my wife then stood outside the store attempting to sell the unopened phone to passersby, explaining about the restocking charge and why she was trying to resell the phone. The manager of the AT&T store then approached her saying he was going to call the mall security guard if she didn’t leave. Her response was to call the guard herself and ask how far she needed to be from the AT&T store to be legal. The guard advised her that it wasn’t permitted to sell anything on mall property without a lease agreement. My wife then went to see the mall manager, who ended up buying the phone from her at the original retail price.

AT&T will never see another dime from us…EVER! No matter what! For any product or service! I am an Apple investor, and I will oppose any further dependence or association with AT&T for Apple. Apple is a reputable company. AT&T are simply pirates out to rape the public at every opportunity. Die, AT&T, just die!

Someone forgot to take their meds today...

12-19-2009, 02:04 PM

Yeah I left AT&T for TMobile and LOVE it! They are the best network but they do the trick for where I live and their customer service is amazing. I've talked with many employees and ex-employees who all say they pride themselves on customer service at TMobile and low prices for plans which they obviously do. Give them a shot or do some research on them, it's a great company that I really hope doesn't become too dwarfed by Verizon.

12-19-2009, 02:25 PM

I am sorry to hear of your problem with your local AT&T store. But I have to say that I for one ( and I may be the only one it seems ) have not had a single problem with AT&T and I have been with them since the 1st week end the iPhone hit the market. While it is true that I have had to contact customer suport a time or two they have always handled my issues with with a great degree of curtisity and professionalism. I have upgraded twice and added a second line then canceled that line all with no trouble.

Now I don't travel much so the map of 3g coverage doesn't bother me at all as all of Lincoln Nebraska has great coverage. Is it really fare to blame an entire company for the ineptness of a couple of people in a local store ?

clayneal

12-19-2009, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by clayneal

I am sorry to hear of your problem with your local AT&T store. But I have to say that I for one ( and I may be the only one it seems ) have not had a single problem with AT&T and I have been with them since the 1st week end the iPhone hit the market. While it is true that I have had to contact customer suport a time or two they have always handled my issues with with a great degree of curtisity and professionalism. I have upgraded twice and added a second line then canceled that line all with no trouble.

Now I don't travel much so the map of 3g coverage doesn't bother me at all as all of Lincoln Nebraska has great coverage. Is it really fare to blame an entire company for the ineptness of a couple of people in a local store ?

clayneal

Agreed. I've had far better experiences dealing with AT&T than I ever did with the clods that worked for Verizon. As far as coverage, I do travel a lot and have little to no issues with 3G data. Voice, well that is substandard to Verizon IMO. T-Mobile, on the other hand, has one of the worst services in greater Southern California. I know people who can't get a T-Mobile signal in their own homes and have to go outside to make calls. In fact, I know more people who have switched to AT&T or Verizon away from T-Mobile because their horrible service. Then again, T-Mobile IS cheaper than AT&T or Verizon so you get what you pay for I suppose...

12-19-2009, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by Emptee

Yeah I left AT&T for TMobile and LOVE it! They are the best network but they do the trick for where I live and their customer service is amazing. I've talked with many employees and ex-employees who all say they pride themselves on customer service at TMobile and low prices for plans which they obviously do. Give them a shot or do some research on them, it's a great company that I really hope doesn't become too dwarfed by Verizon.

Oh you mean T-Mobile's outages? Like the one last month where 1.7 million people didn't have GPRS data? Or like Thursday where we had no ability to use the phone or text? That's when they finally launched 3G in our area, which using everyday is about the same speed atEDGE. I like how they advertise "national 3G coverage"

Uhm, no I don't think so. It took them till Q4 of 2009 to launch it in several major cities, including Cinci. Have you seen their 3G map? It's hysterical. They are way behind in the technology. They used to be awesome, I had the best service ever, had more than 4 bars everywhere. Butrecently, their coverage has been no more than 3 bars, and sometimes I get no service. Right now I am in a very largely populated area, One of the more major areas of Louisville, and I have 1 bar. My friend, natedadude, upgraded to AT&T 3G, and gets 5 bars just about everywhere he goes, and has 3G that is FAST. At the moment, I don't think T-Mobile is ready for the smartphone era. They can't even keep up with the current technology. I don't see why they are the only major phone company that does not have a comparable 3G map.

12-19-2009, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by baggss

Agreed. I've had far better experiences dealing with AT&T than I ever did with the clods that worked for Verizon. As far as coverage, I do travel a lot and have little to no issues with 3G data. Voice, well that is substandard to Verizon IMO. T-Mobile, on the other hand, has one of the worst services in greater Southern California. I know people who can't get a T-Mobile signal in their own homes and have to go outside to make calls. In fact, I know more people who have switched to AT&T or Verizon away from T-Mobile because their horrible service. Then again, T-Mobile IS cheaper than AT&T or Verizon so you get what you pay for I suppose...

I'm from Southern California too.

At my house, I do not get service with Verizon or AT&T, but I have full service with T-Mobile. Probably just depends where exactly you live.

12-20-2009, 11:03 AM

yea, coverage is different in different places. i usually get 4 bars on my iphone where i live(long island) but if i go down to south carolina, i get a consistent 1-2 bars. its extremely annoying

12-20-2009, 02:35 PM

I love you at&t!

12-20-2009, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by Eric559

I love you at&t!

I'm with you. My contract is up in about 6 months. I'll be buying an new iPhone (hopefully 64Gb by then) and signing another 2 year contract. Verizon hasn't shown me anything that makes it worth my while to switch back, including Android, and don't even get me started on T-Mobile.

12-20-2009, 08:02 PM

Love AT&T

12-20-2009, 08:46 PM

I think of a lot of it depends on where you live. Since the iPhone is currently only with AT&T that is why I bypassed it (I use an Apple computer) and decided to go with the Pre (in addition to my being used to, and liking the Palm OS.)

12-23-2009, 07:07 AM

I have tmobile in Central FL, I get really good 3G coverage on my Blackberry, Plus it's significantly cheaper than ATT/VERIZON. The other thing I have on Tmobile that I like is UMA which is really great considering there is wifi almost everywhere you go.

12-23-2009, 09:22 AM

I've only had two minor problems with AT&T's DSL service, and occasional phone outages due to critters playing with wires outside.

My latest DSL problem was this morning: no connection! I unplugged the router, and restarted the Mac. At first, I got the same connection error. I also noticed a buzzing noise, which lasted for a minute or two. When the buzzing stopped, the connection went through. But, that wasn't the problem. There is still an intermittent buzzing that I cannot pinpoint.

Anyway, in your position, maybe you should write a polite letter to AT&T Customer Service and explain why the restocking fee is unreasonable in your view. It can't hurt, if done with class.