Man! I should have seen this coming a mile away! This is how they make their money on "free" phones. I've been an AT&T wireless customer for more than 10 years now with VERY few problems; however, lately it appears that AT&T is more interested in getting in new customers with the lure of new free phones and bonus offers more so than they are in keeping good-standing customers by offering those same discounts to them - but I digress...
I got it in my head with this new wonderful number porting capability, I'll just yank my account (3 mobile phones) from AT&T and take them to Cingular and get MORE minutes, get ROLLOVER MINUTES AND FREE PHONES for $20 less a month than my current plan with AT&T. I did the online order placement thing, picked out some really cool phones (that were amazingly regularly $129 a piece) and went to see if my phone numbers can be ported/transferred why of course they can! I could not wait to FIRE AT&T!
I was told I'll get my new phones in about 5 days and when they get to me to call Cingular to ACTIVATE my new phones and then wait at least 2 days before I contact AT&T to verify that they no longer have my account so that I won't have any downtime (basically I would be serviced by AT&T and Cingular simultaneously during those 2 days) I understood and waited...
A week passes and I get a call that the new Cingular phones are "backordered" and that I can go to any Cingular store and PURCHASE the phones for $129 a piece and receive a "credit for them" when I get my bill - I say I'll wait. Now, remember, I have not cancelled my service with AT&T and have not activated my service with Cingular.
This morning I get up - NO CELL SERVICE - I call AT&T and they say Cingular now "owns" all of my numbers. How can that be - I have not agreed to their terms and have NOT activated a phone or an account... Nonetheless - AT&T says (after I held for 2 hours for a representative) I must call Cingular to ask for my number back.
So I call Cingular - yes, they did (oops) go ahead and PORT my numbers even though I don't have a PHONE and have not activated an account and have not agreed to ANYTHING other than to buy a new phone and set up new service once I RECEIVE the phones - Too bad. They can't cancel the order unless I want to lose all three numbers (which they now OWN) and the new phones haven't even shipped yet - so I'm at LEAST 2 weeks away from having new phones.
My only alternative is to BUY phones at a Cingular store and then ask for a "credit" when I get a bill. I ask for this in writing (that I will in fact receive a credit) and am told we have it noted on your order we don't have to send this in writing and I'm thinking to myself that this is a BAIT AND SWITCH... You know as well as I do that when I get my first bill in 30 or so days everyone at Cingular will have conveniently misplaced or forgotten about the credit.
I am now on the phone with AT&T (have been on hold for another hour and anticipate at LEAST another 20 or 30 minutes) requesting that they REPORT my numbers back to them after which I'll have to wait about a day or 2 for my phones to become active again (my old AT&T phones) and THEN cancel my order with Cingular (that hasn't shipped yet which I have a gut feeling that mysteriously they will ship during this time so I'll be stuck with them) and then have a double shot of WHISKY!
Nice little "bait-n-switch" racket Cingular has going here - get the consumer by the balls and TWIST - oh and for those that want to suggest I ask for another type of phone - did it - and was told this number is now assigned to the phone I can't have - so if I can't wait 2 or 3 weeks then I'll just have to BUY one.
Cingular people READ - Never urinate on an electric fence - I will make it my MISSION to sway every human being I can away from using your service - I'm copying this usacomplaints.com to every single newspaper, news station, consumer group and federal agency I can find - I will be your BIGGEST NON-ADVOCATE!!
0 comments