I contacted Cingular during the first week of August to cancel my overcharged plan and was told by a CSR that I could not cancel my plan because of the billing cycle. So, I waited another week to try and cancel again, but this time I had made contact with AT&T to have my services ported.
On August 12, AT&T got busy taking care of business for me. Well, wouldn't you know by August 16, AT&T had me as an active customer, but had not received any information from Cingular. When I called Cingular to see what the hold-up was, I was told that they had no control over the porting process and that I would be responsible for the "unused services", and might I add, an entire month of unused services. This was unheard of.
When I received a bill I contacted Cingular because according to my records, I did my part and AT&T did their part. I ask to speak to a manager to explain their mistake, but I was told by a CSR that I was not going to get the charges pro-rated because "Cingular does not pro-rate their charges." I asked to let me speak to a manager anyway. She transfered me, only to have the call disconnected within seconds. I wondered if this was done intentionally.
Once again, I called back. The 2nd CRS, who seemed to be more polite, was a wolf in sheep's clothing, for she had me holding on for over 30 minutes. I hung up and called again. This time, the 3rd CRS seemed ever so helpful. He apologized and assured me that I would not be on hold for 30 minutes, but maybe 5 to 7 minutes. It was more like 10-12 minutes.
Finally, I reached a "manager, " only to be told that even if I had cancelled my services before the end of the cycling period I would have been charged because I had to give Cingular a 30 day notice. She even went on to say that it was stated in the contract. Honestly, I don't look at the contract on a daily basis.
After a few choice words, I hung up feeling like I had gotten ripped-off in the worst way. I will discourage anyone and everyone from even considering doing business with Cingular. As for the unused service charges, I plan to contact the FCC, my state Attorney General, my Congressman, and the Public Services Commission. Companies like Cingular give the United States a bad image.
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