I just found out that AT&T wants to charge my family $400 to cancel our service. We've been AT&T customers for five years, but they recently lost a cell phone tower in my area which means we have NO service in our house or neighborhood. I can not make or receive calls from my house, on my street, or even all the way to the grocery store nearby. Anyone who calls me gets my voicemail. I'm a stay at home mom, so this is a big deal.
We had great service before, but in April my phone suddenly wasn't working. I went to the AT&T store who recommended that I purchase an iPhone -- supposedly had the best antennae and my current phone was really old. So I did. Nothing changed. I called and AT&T told me that they were having a service problem that would get better in a few weeks. Guess what? It didn't. We had lots of trips planned in May and June and I figured I'd deal with it when we got back since I could use my phone while travelling. So I've been talking to AT&T for two weeks about how to make the service better (trying microboost transponders, hooking through our broadband, etc). Husband and I gave up yesterday when he missed three work calls that he absolutely needed. I called to cancel today since we have no service, and learned that AT&T will not let us out of our contract.
This makes me so mad. I can understand having to pay the early termination fee if I simply wanted to switch to another company. But when AT&T changed their coverage so we can not use our phones? That's not right.
Have any of you had similar problems with AT&T? Did you have any luck not paying the early termination fee?
Thanks everyone. I'm going to call back this afternoon when my kids are asleep and try to escalate this even further. So far I've talked to three cancellation agents, two supervisors and one team manager. I've been nice and polite to everyone because I know they're just doing their jobs (and they've been quite nice too, so I can't complain about that). I really like Mama A's suggestion to remind AT&T that the contract requires a service to be provided, and if they're not providing the service - they can't enforce the contract. I'll update y'all later, and in the meantime I've backed up all my photos and data in case any of the supervisors offer to cancel my service immediately.
I just went through the same thing with direct tv. Where we moved we could not get signal. they charged us a moving fee, $250 disconnect fee, & $20 a month for each month we couldn't use. that was another $340. Plus they charged us $65 for movie channels that we didn't even have! I had to call several times and speak to several people but got it taken care of! Good luck!
My brother-in-law had a similar issue. He had no coverage where he lived. It took several minutes of being on hold and being transferred but he ended up talking to a manager who had the authority to waive the early termination fee.
Review the terms of your contract very closely.
Basic contract terms require that a service be provided. Therefore, if there is no service, AT&T is in breach of contract and is require to release you from it.
You have grounds to sue them if they have officially removed service from your area and will not release you without a fee.
You also need to contact the BBB. I had some issues w/ an ISP and they resolved the issue.
You need to contact the CEO of AT&T or even complain on their Facebook page if you already have Facebook. This should get you better results than going the ordinary person route.
Be calm and not emotional when you reach out. You be surprised just how much you can get some help from the actual man in charge.
Let me know how this works for you?
Ugh, I had to deal with this once -- it was right after we moved and realized we had no service at our new address. Here's what I did -- I refused to take No for an answer. After trying to talk to these people civilly several times over three weeks (from the middle of the street, which was the only place I could get service), and getting answers like "we will test the signal in your area and get back to you," I had enough.
Finally I just committed to getting it done no matter what. I was on the phone with customer service for like two or three hours (NOT exaggerating). I am a really patient and nice person, but I yelled. I cried. I got mean. You have to. It's the only way to deal with these big corporations. I kept demanding to speak to whoever I was talking to's supervisor. I went up the chain four or five times. Eventually they gave in.
Tips!
- Every time someone new comes on the phone, get their name and ID# and a reference number for the conversation. Oddly, there were NO records of my three weeks of prior calls -- they are sneaky like that. Make SURE you ask for the names/numbers.
- If they tell you someone will call you back, don't allow that! Tell them you need to deal with this now and you need to speak to their supervisor. There is ALWAYS a supervisor. Then another supervisor, and so on. Just keep going up.
- If you can, make the call during normal work hours so there's a better chance of the max number of supervisors being there.
- Don't be afraid to get mad. It sucks to take it out on the poor customer service people who work for AT&T, but really it was the only way it worked for me.
GOOD LUCK!!
ETA: When you get rid of AT&T, sell your iPhones on eBay and you'll get some decent money for them - prob. enough to pay for Verizon iPhones!
If I were you, I'd fight this. As someone else suggested - see if the Better Business Bureau can help. Speak to supervisors. Send a certified letter to the President of AT&T. I'm not kidding. I'm sure you could find example templates online. If you make a big enough stink, you won't have to pay. Heck you could even call your local news station's consumer watchdog/"troubleshooter"/whatever.
Fight it!
Did you explain that they changed their coverage and you no longer have service? If not, I would and I would just keep asking to speak to the supervisor when I got him I would ask for his supervisor until you get the answer you want. This really sucks for you.
Whenever I've had an issue with AT&T they have always been very nice on the phone but not helpful. Stay on the phone and politely demand to speak with a supervisor and keep going up the chain until you get that fee waived. Then get that person's name and write it down with the date and time.
I think it's a good idea to call the local tv station also. People hate bad press. And it might only take a phone call from the station and not even a full on air report to get them to budge.
If they are members of the BBB, then they will get a report that they have to answer if you file a complaint. I would do all of these. I know it's a pain but $400 is a lot of money these days when it's their fault you no longer have service.
Stick it out and stick to your guns. Be polite but firm. You rarely get what you want when you get angry and yell at them...even though you want to. Fight this all the way and good luck.
I would be furious. Take it up the chain of command. Get names of everyone you speak to. Don't stop asking for a supervisor until you get some satisfaction. Go to the website and send emails to every email address you find. Send a strogly worded letter to any physical address you find, including your local store. They probably are catching Hell from all the people in your area already, so, add your name to that list. Go that your local store and ask to speak to the store manager. Apply some heat before you actually cancel yout service. Once you cancel, they have no motivation to work with you.
Read your contract. See what they must do to hold up their end of the contract. If they breached the contract first you do not have to pay the fee.
Ask them about the MCell...have a friend with that same issue and they provided her with the MCell and it works great now!
I had the same problem with sprint years ago, their suggestion to me was to move.
All I can say is good luck getting out without paying. I canceled with sprint & didnt pay and guess what went on my credit report.... Now I cant get a cell phone in my name without paying a fortune.
And I agree its soooo not right.
Ive always loved at&t.....i would not stand for this id call back, talk to more people and threaten to call the bbb. Nobody, not even a giant like at&t wants a realistic report filed with the bbb.
Report them to BBB and tell them about it. If they can't provide you with the service you are paying for, there should be no fee to cancel.
Sounds like time to file a small claims suit against them. Add in the last few months of charges that you paid them and get the money BACK. They lied about the service outage being only a few weeks. UGH...we are with them and I hate them. But I disliked Verizon too and when I went with other companies they just got bought up by ATT. So trying to leave them didn't work!
I recently had an issue with Comcast that is similar. We are under contract, but are moving to an area in which they DON'T PROVIDE SERVICE, and they STILL wanted to charge an early termination fee. No kidding, I told the woman that I was trying to transfer service, not cancel it and that I couldn't help that they didn't service the area I was moving to. Her answer was "Well, it's not my problem that you're moving to an area that we don't service". Seriously?? I, of course, asked for a supervisor and stayed on the phone until I got the answer I wanted, which was that they are waiving the fee. You need to do the same thing. Keep calling and asking for supervisors until you get the answer you want. They are banking on the fact that you'll give up easily and just pay them. DON'T! I seriously considered starting a business at one point resolving issues like this for people because I am tenacious and a lot of people just don't like conflict (including my hubby), so they won't fight for what is right. I think I need to become and investigative reporter or something because I know how to "work the system" now and get through to the right people to get a situation resolved successfully.
Bottom line is that you just need to keep after it and continue calling and asking for people until someone gives in. You have to get upset enough to cause a ruckus, but not angry enough that you're cursing and being demeaning to people. Make sure you state your case clearly, but be very firm and let them know that you aren't taking no for an answer. Good luck to you! I know it's frustrating. :-/
I haven't had this problem specifically, but similar customer service craziness. Did you escalate this? Get on the phone with them and ask for them to cancel with no fee. When they say no, don't argue, but immediately ask for a manager/supervisor. Only someone in power can help you. Write a letter, and contact the BBB, if they won't help. I wouldn't take no for an anwer, at least not with out trying for a long while.
I have had this problem with AT&T for years. we have been with them since it was cell one, which we have been with for 6-7 years. the reason they are doing that is because once you got the iPhone, they "upgraded" you for another 2 year contract. How many days has it been since you got the phone? i would bs them and tell them your not satisfied with the phone and try to return it and use your old phone. They are a pain, needless to say, we are switching to verizon once our plan is up. Good luck with everything.
