AT&T Wireless (which is now part of Cingular) recently ripped me off. My wife and I signed up for a cell phone the first week of December with a two-year contract.
In early December we decided to try a pre-paid cell phone because we were spending almost $50 per month with AT&T and weren't using very many minutes. We decided to wait until the middle of the month to make sure our 2-year contract was finished.
On December 15, I purchased a Virgin Mobile pre-paid phone and had our cell number switched to it, effectively closing our AT&T account.
On January 6, I returned from a 10-day trip and opened up my 'last' AT&T bill to pay it and close the account. I was surprised to see a $175 fee added to the bill with no reason listed.
I called AT&T's customer service center and spoke with a young man there. He said "that is a $175 early cancellation fee." I explained that our contract had ended on Dec. 1 and we therefore hadn't broken our contract early.
After putting me on hold for a minute, he came back and said "Your phone was disconnected for late payment, so extra days were added to your contract. Your contract was extended through December 26, so you cancelled it 11 days early. The charge is valid."
Outraged, I asked him to speak to a supervisor. I heard him talking to someone in the background, then he came back on and said "The charge is valid, sir. I can't help you." Then he hung up.
I immediately emailed AT&T, trying to find some satisfaction. They sent me a form letter back asking me to call a different number. I called it immediately, but the office was closed for the evening. Grrr.
I called the next day, and guess what? After explaining the situation, the lady said "You'll need to speak to our customer service department. We can't help you." Then she gave me the first number I had called.
Since I was going in circles, I mailed AT&T a letter last month explaining the problem. My letter has been gone for 3 weeks now and I haven't heard back, plus my account still shows the fake $175 charge.
I looked through the terms and conditions of our account, as well as our past bills and found NO MENTIOn of AT&T being able to add days to our contract for late payments.
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