Yet another Rediculous Iphone purchase attempt

[whysoserious]

I am fuming right now.  I just went to purchase my Iphone from the Apple store and to no surprise they tried to screw me on the upgrade.

So Ive been an att customer ever since my first cellphone, ya know those huge first flip phones they had. On my current plan I have been upgrade eligible for about 4 months now. Ive always planned on the Iphone 3g but was waiting for availability. A few weeks ago I decided that I wanted to change my number since the one I had was from when I lived in another state. I call ATT and they say sure no problem we will change that free of charge.  I keep asking things like will I lose minutes? will I lose my upgrade and was told numerous times that NOTHING would be affected by the number change.

Fast forward to this morning. I call the apple store and find out that they have the iphones in stock. Its an hour away but its a small price to pay...so I thought.  I get to the apple store and get in line. I wait for 30 minutes and get up to the counter. Sure enough they have it in stock. Salesman hands me the box and I hand him my credit card.  Then it happens:

"Oh your not eligible for an upgrade, its going to be $499"   

Sure enough the computer shows that due to the number change im not eligible for the iphone upgrade.  Last new phone I got was about 28 months ago, well past the two year contract. 

 I call ATT and they say if it was ANY other phone they could override it and I could walk out with it today but since its an Iphone it has to go through a 72 hour wait and be overriden by a president of some sort. Of course its saturday so the 72 hours wont start until monday. And to top it off it now has to be done through the ATT store which means I have to get on the waiting list.

Moral of the story:

ATT makes a mistake and now I waste 2 hours of driving 1 hour of waiting and calling customer service, plus an extra 10+ days of waiting to get an iphone.

I cant believe how rediculous this is. Im glad to see they care about their loyal customers. .

[graphite07]

1. we are all customers here.... yes i been thru what your going thru, my contract had expired i was due for a upgrade but NO AT&T said i did not agree to the trems 2 years i would have to agree to the terms over the phne when a supervisor was on the line. i did this it rest my date until 2009.... this was last year...   so i called the call center they told me the store manager would have to d oa over ride with a code from the call center.

i would wait and see what happends and try a different AT&T store, i would not go back to apple because they are not on the same page as AT&T.   

i learned one thing  NEVER change anything on your cell account until you do your Upgrade because everytime it effects your upgrade due date and its a huge run-a-round to get the problem corrected.  i would call CS support and get a supervisor on the phone and order your 3G iphone from the website if they have it in stock!!!

[Joanas]

"I learned one thing  NEVER change anything on your cell account until you do your Upgrade because everytime it effects your upgrade due date and its a huge run-a-round to get the problem corrected."

I could not agree more!!!

[cousintim]

Upgrade overrides takes UP TO 72 hours and are granted by the Regional Manager, who is one level above the Store Manager,

[JustMeEdda]

You are not alone in your distress.... here is my story.  With a very similar ending to yours.  The only thing... is that I do have the authorization from the regional manager already.... and I do not want to buy from AT& T anymore....

I am an old  and faithful Apple customer. I had a Macintosh, when all the kids around the block had Tandy’s, and I kept pretty loyal to Apple until I entered the work force and was forced to enter PC World.  As the new generation of Apple products emerged I found myself wishing to be in the new cool wave of innovation that seemed to be defined by owning an apple product.  Not long after that I had my first I-Pod.  And so did my husband.  And my Mom.  And my secretary.  Courtesy of ‘Edda’ – the coolest wife, daughter and boss around the block.

A year later, when my Old PC was ready for an upgrade– which was only 19 months old and it certainly did NOT need an upgrade– I convinced my husband that a McBook Pro would make me SOOOO happy.  So he got it for me.  A year later it was time to upgrade tmy husbands I-Pod.  I believe he needed a new fourth generation I-Pod … an 80G one of course!.  Then mine broke.,. and I needed an 80G…you get my drift. As cosumed techies, we tend to be in the bleeding edge of innovation. 

Unfortunately when the I-Phone came out I had just moved to Georgia and was a bit reluctant to invest in phone that would not support my business needs.  But I kept dreaming and drooling everytime I saw an I-Phone.  I was actually green with envy when my neighbor that can barely type, got an I-Phone.  But I had to be practical.  I really did not need an I-Phone.  (BTW… I still do not). 


And then  a MIRACLE!  Apple announced the generation of I-Pods that would fit the enterprise… and to top it… it was a 3G – which my husband assured me was the coolest thing in speed and usability.  But excitement lasted very shortly, when it suddenly dawn on my that I had a contract with T-Mobile and AT&T was the sole service provider for my dream phone.

But hope is the last thing to die in my family.  So there I drag my husband to the AT&T store, so we could just check.  No commitments. MISTAKE… HUGE MISTAKE (As Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman).  Because I fell in LUST.  I wanted that phone so badly…  It took all of 15 minutes for my husband to read my face of happiness, and he was willing to pay the $600, it took to break the contract with ATT.  He just loves to make me happy.

So we go ahead and inquire about the phone, and Sy, a young man in the Mall of Georgia AT&T store, informed us that unfortunately they did not have I-Phone since the launch was very close for the 3G version.  But we could go ahead and port the phones that day, because if discount rates were available we would be able to buy the I-Phone at the discounted price when it came out.  So we went ahead and ported my phone with the certainty that we would be able to buy the phone when it came out.  As we walked out of the store my husband told me… you are one step away from getting your phone.  And I was happy.  What I did not realize then, was that happiness has a price.  And I have come to realize one I am not willing to pay this time.

Almost four months later I still do not have an I-Phone.  You see… when we ported our phones from T-Mobile, AT&T in their wonderful computers, tied us to a two year contract.

They insisted we take this ‘free’ phones, even though we did not need them.  And in their computers that made us ineligible for equipment upgrade until 2010.  Although we realized before thirty days had passed and returned the phones on time.

And even though we had not taken any equipment we can not get an I-Phone at the discounted price, although every client that joins AT&T gets a free phone, or a discounted price on a phone and we got neither. 

After many conversations with AT&T they are willing to sell me a phone at a discounted price, with the caveat that I must buy it from them.  And to buy it from them I need to pay for it before I get my phone since they have to order it. It seems that the field where the information for equipment upgrade eligibility is stored can not be edited, unless I buy the phone from an AT&T store. But the reality is that I do not care for relinquishing my right to choose who to buy from.  I do not want to buy a phone from AT&T anymore.  I went to AT&T because I wanted an I-Phone. Since I cannot buy it from Apple at the reduced ADVERTISED price, for which I meet all criteria, because of AT&T, then I am not sure I care to be client for any of the two.

So no, I do not care to relinquish the right to choose where to buy.  I do not care to be sold products under false pretenses.  I do not care to patronize a company that can not own up to the responsibility of the mistakes they make to meet their sales quota.  I do choose to raise my voice to every forum I can reach as a consumer to make sure other people are not discouraged when similar things happened to them as it just happen to me today.

I have asked my husband to cut my service from AT&T. Since he thinks in time it will be resolved, he has decided to ignore my request.  On the meantime I have left a message on the voice mail stating to call me at home since I will not be available via mobile phone in the foreseeable future. 

[cousintim]

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JustMeEdda wrote:
[...]

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You are clearly free to make your own purchase decisions but it does seem that some of the barriers about which you complain are self-constructed. YMMV.

[Jldnr77]

Unfortunately it really doesn't matter that you "have the right to choose where to shop" because you DON'T.  For one, there are only two places you can currently buy the iPhone 3G anyway.  At an AT&T store, or at an Apple store.  Apple stores aren't given the authority by AT&T to do the kind of override you need, so they can't assist you in the way you need to be assisted.  So despite the fact that you may not want to shop at an AT&T store, other stores that DO sell the iPhone 3G would NOT be able to do that override for you.

After many conversations with AT&T they are willing to sell me a phone at a discounted price, with the caveat that I must buy it from them.  And to buy it from them I need to pay for it before I get my phone since they have to order it. It seems that the field where the information for equipment upgrade eligibility is stored can not be edited, unless I buy the phone from an AT&T store. But the reality is that I do not care for relinquishing my right to choose who to buy from.  I do not want to buy a phone from AT&T anymore.  I went to AT&T because I wanted an I-Phone. Since I cannot buy it from Apple at the reduced ADVERTISED price, for which I meet all criteria, because of AT&T, then I am not sure I care to be client for any of the two.

So no, I do not care to relinquish the right to choose where to buy.  I do not care to be sold products under false pretenses.  I do not care to patronize a company that can not own up to the responsibility of the mistakes they make to meet their sales quota.  I do choose to raise my voice to every forum I can reach as a consumer to make sure other people are not discouraged when similar things happened to them as it just happen to me today.

I have asked my husband to cut my service from AT&T. Since he thinks in time it will be resolved, he has decided to ignore my request.  On the meantime I have left a message on the voice mail stating to call me at home since I will not be available via mobile phone in the foreseeable future. 

[JustMeEdda]

I agree to disagree with you.  Because like you mentioned I could have bought my I-Phone in either AT&T or Apple store.  Because of an AT&T mistake -- by their own admission-- the choice of Apple Store was removed from the table.  So since there are plenty of fishes in the sea... and the I-Phone is not the last Coke on the desert...  AT&T does not get any business on my tab.  That is how we as consumers relay our message to corporations... affecting their bottom line.  And to many of you it might seem pointless, but since when your hard earned money became worthless?

And yes some of my 'quandaries' are or my own making.  They used to be called beliefs and rights... and people used to stand up for them, and even chose to exercise them.

So... enjoy your I-Phones... it IS really a cool device.  I will wait until AT&T is not the sole provider to get my own.  Or perhaps I will wait until the next new thing in the block comes around.... something probably even cooler than the I-Phone.  After all... it is JUST a phone.

[cousintim]

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JustMeEdda wrote:
IAnd yes some of my 'quandaries' are or my own making.  They used to be called beliefs and rights... and people used to stand up for them, and even chose to exercise them.

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In this case, "they" are more accurately called choices.

Message Edited by cousintim on 08-17-2008 03:22:08 PM

[JustMeEdda]

Again.  Agree to disagree. :-)

[Jldnr77]

Ok, look....it's simple.  Apple stores cannot help you because they don't have the authority to do what you need.  Why would you want to do business with someone who cant give you what you need anyway?

I understand there may be a principle to the matter....but there's no point in trying to do business with people who actually can't help you.

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JustMeEdda wrote:
I agree to disagree with you.  Because like you mentioned I could have bought my I-Phone in either AT&T or Apple store.  Because of an AT&T mistake -- by their own admission-- the choice of Apple Store was removed from the table.  So since there are plenty of fishes in the sea... and the I-Phone is not the last Coke on the desert...  AT&T does not get any business on my tab.  That is how we as consumers relay our message to corporations... affecting their bottom line.  And to many of you it might seem pointless, but since when your hard earned money became worthless?

And yes some of my 'quandaries' are or my own making.  They used to be called beliefs and rights... and people used to stand up for them, and even chose to exercise them.

So... enjoy your I-Phones... it IS really a cool device.  I will wait until AT&T is not the sole provider to get my own.  Or perhaps I will wait until the next new thing in the block comes around.... something probably even cooler than the I-Phone.  After all... it is JUST a phone.

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[JustMeEdda]

I completely agree with you.  Which is why in all likelihood I will go with a blackberry or whatever other device AT&T competition can provide.  After they re-imburse me for the $600 I spent in order to switch providers. :-) 

[The Sweet Love]

Reimburse you for what? What did you spend $600 for? You got free phones from AT&T that you returned and you didn't pay them any money to sign the contract so I don't understand where you paid $600..unless you are talking about $600 to break your contract with T-Mobile. If that is what you are talking about..why would AT&T reimburse you for that?

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JustMeEdda wrote:
I completely agree with you.  Which is why in all likelihood I will go with a blackberry or whatever other device AT&T competition can provide.  After they re-imburse me for the $600 I spent in order to switch providers. :-) 

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[JustMeEdda]

Because the only reason I switch networks was to get an I-Phone. Under no other circumstances I would have changed providers.  And I am not particularly worried about it, because they just volunteered to do so.  Hope everyone has a great day!

[Jldnr77]

I don't believe that.  Unless you spent $600 on iPhones (which would be 3 iPhone 3G's at the $199 price point, or 2 of them at the $299 price point) NO CARRIER will reimburse any fees you incurred with a previous carrier as a result of cancelling service with them.

Now I do remember hearing of one rural carrier that ran a limited time offer where they would pay your ETF to switch, but it's never been done AFAIK by any of the nationwide carriers.  Not even T-Mobile or Sprint.

And if they DID "volunteer" to do so, I suggest you get it in writing.  And also, the fact that you seem to be so eager to exit the thread after saying something like that is a sure sign your bluffing.

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JustMeEdda wrote:
Because the only reason I switch networks was to get an I-Phone. Under no other circumstances I would have changed providers.  And I am not particularly worried about it, because they just volunteered to do so.  Hope everyone has a great day!

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Message Edited by Jldnr77 on 08-17-2008 05:12:04 PM

[cousintim]

It's becoming very clear that AT&T is not the the source of the problem.

[The Sweet Love]

AT&T would never volunteer to pay your ETF for T-Mobile. Especially not after all the new customers coming to AT&T for the iPhone that have no problems paying their carriers ETFs. AT&T would lose more money than they would gain by paying for your $600 ETF for T-Mobile. They have no reason to..you are stuck in contract with them for two years unless you pay them $175 per line..so they have no reason to pay your $600 ETF.

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JustMeEdda wrote:
Because the only reason I switch networks was to get an I-Phone. Under no other circumstances I would have changed providers.  And I am not particularly worried about it, because they just volunteered to do so.  Hope everyone has a great day!

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[VerbaKim83]

not surprise...

[JustMeEdda]

I really had no idea so many people read this.  It is my first time.  Yes I am still here. :-)  No AT&T is not going to send me a check.  They did issue a credit to my combined house-internet-mobile bill for $102.50 today for I quote 'my inconvenience'.  I do not know for certain that they will issue the remaining payment, but I am positive my message was heard.  And as I keep saying... it is only a phone... :-).  And for now, I am positive AT&T heard. :-)  Good luck to whysoserious in getting her phone. :-)

[JustMeEdda]

And by the way.  There is a way around getting stuck for two years to a contract... Because I have no free equipment, and I made sure my plan was not a discounted plan, --after all in the moment I had just paid 600 for my three lines and was NOT happy about it...--  I AM NOT tied to a contract.   So no, I am not stuck to AT&T for two years, so I am feeling quite pleased right now.  Have a great day everyone!

[Jldnr77]

Retail value of the iPhone 3G as I've mentioned before is $599/$699.  So if you bought 3 iPhones for $199 each (totalling $600) then you DID receive a discounted phone, which means you ARE on a contract.  Also, even beyond that, currently AT&T's policy states that if you buy an iPhone, discounted or not, you HAVE to sign a contract to buy the phone.  And for strike 3....AT&T does not have different rate plans based on if you got an equipment discount or not.  (no carrier does as far as I know)

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JustMeEdda wrote:
And by the way.  There is a way around getting stuck for two years to a contract... Because I have no free equipment, and I made sure my plan was not a discounted plan, --after all in the moment I had just paid 600 for my three lines and was NOT happy about it...--  I AM NOT tied to a contract.   So no, I am not stuck to AT&T for two years, so I am feeling quite pleased right now.  Have a great day everyone!

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[tsdtitan]

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JustMeEdda wrote:
And by the way.  There is a way around getting stuck for two years to a contract... Because I have no free equipment, and I made sure my plan was not a discounted plan, --after all in the moment I had just paid 600 for my three lines and was NOT happy about it...--  I AM NOT tied to a contract.   So no, I am not stuck to AT&T for two years, so I am feeling quite pleased right now.  Have a great day everyone!

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You might want to make sure of that. I've seen A LOT of contracts with at&t and no matter if I brought my own equipment or not, I've still started a new contract.    Not arguing here, just advising you to check on that.

[JustMeEdda]

I am having so much fun.... did I mention I did not ever got the I-Phone?  Which is the reason of the whole thread?  Inability to get an I-Phone?   So I have no phone and no contract... actually I am exactly in that point that you are after your contract has expired and you are not buying a new phone yet.  What I do have is an AT&T SIM card that I is installed in the phone that I use to travel abroad that is unlocked... with the downside that it used to be a T-Mobile phone, and I had never had access to all those cool features like texting and data access because is programed for a different network.  Again.  I hope you all are having as much fun today as I am. :::laughter in voice:::  Ciao for now! 

[JustMeEdda]

Since it is not the I-Phone..... this applies.

http://www.lockergnome.com/forsythe/2007/12/06/att-opens-policy-and-no-contract/

[Jldnr77]

My fault.....I'd forgotten what all your original post said....so I have it here again for anyone who wants to refresh.  So my last post, altho it has correct information, does not relate to you.  However, I now have to wonder where you get your $600 from.  You state in this post that you bought cheap phones, AND that you returned them within the first 30 days, so any money you spent on the phones should have been refunded to you THEN.  So if the $600 in question is from your T-Mobile bill....then no, AT&T will not reimburse that.  Altho they seem to have given you a rather large credit to your account, it's still nowhere near $600.  And I doubt that it will be.

Either way, my previous replies DO relate to you.  Obviously the contract wasn't removed from your account, OR your upgrade eligibility wasn't reset.  So in your situation, as I've stated before, you DO have to go to an AT&T store to get your issue taken care of.

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JustMeEdda wrote:
You are not alone in your distress.... here is my story.  With a very similar ending to yours.  The only thing... is that I do have the authorization from the regional manager already.... and I do not want to buy from AT& T anymore....

I am an old  and faithful Apple customer. I had a Macintosh, when all the kids around the block had Tandy’s, and I kept pretty loyal to Apple until I entered the work force and was forced to enter PC World.  As the new generation of Apple products emerged I found myself wishing to be in the new cool wave of innovation that seemed to be defined by owning an apple product.  Not long after that I had my first I-Pod.  And so did my husband.  And my Mom.  And my secretary.  Courtesy of ‘Edda’ – the coolest wife, daughter and boss around the block.

A year later, when my Old PC was ready for an upgrade– which was only 19 months old and it certainly did NOT need an upgrade– I convinced my husband that a McBook Pro would make me SOOOO happy.  So he got it for me.  A year later it was time to upgrade tmy husbands I-Pod.  I believe he needed a new fourth generation I-Pod … an 80G one of course!.  Then mine broke.,. and I needed an 80G…you get my drift. As cosumed techies, we tend to be in the bleeding edge of innovation. 

Unfortunately when the I-Phone came out I had just moved to Georgia and was a bit reluctant to invest in phone that would not support my business needs.  But I kept dreaming and drooling everytime I saw an I-Phone.  I was actually green with envy when my neighbor that can barely type, got an I-Phone.  But I had to be practical.  I really did not need an I-Phone.  (BTW… I still do not). 


And then  a MIRACLE!  Apple announced the generation of I-Pods that would fit the enterprise… and to top it… it was a 3G – which my husband assured me was the coolest thing in speed and usability.  But excitement lasted very shortly, when it suddenly dawn on my that I had a contract with T-Mobile and AT&T was the sole service provider for my dream phone.

But hope is the last thing to die in my family.  So there I drag my husband to the AT&T store, so we could just check.  No commitments. MISTAKE… HUGE MISTAKE (As Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman).  Because I fell in LUST.  I wanted that phone so badly…  It took all of 15 minutes for my husband to read my face of happiness, and he was willing to pay the $600, it took to break the contract with ATT.  He just loves to make me happy.

So we go ahead and inquire about the phone, and Sy, a young man in the Mall of Georgia AT&T store, informed us that unfortunately they did not have I-Phone since the launch was very close for the 3G version.  But we could go ahead and port the phones that day, because if discount rates were available we would be able to buy the I-Phone at the discounted price when it came out.  So we went ahead and ported my phone with the certainty that we would be able to buy the phone when it came out.  As we walked out of the store my husband told me… you are one step away from getting your phone.  And I was happy.  What I did not realize then, was that happiness has a price.  And I have come to realize one I am not willing to pay this time.

Almost four months later I still do not have an I-Phone.  You see… when we ported our phones from T-Mobile, AT&T in their wonderful computers, tied us to a two year contract.

They insisted we take this ‘free’ phones, even though we did not need them.  And in their computers that made us ineligible for equipment upgrade until 2010.  Although we realized before thirty days had passed and returned the phones on time.

And even though we had not taken any equipment we can not get an I-Phone at the discounted price, although every client that joins AT&T gets a free phone, or a discounted price on a phone and we got neither. 

After many conversations with AT&T they are willing to sell me a phone at a discounted price, with the caveat that I must buy it from them.  And to buy it from them I need to pay for it before I get my phone since they have to order it. It seems that the field where the information for equipment upgrade eligibility is stored can not be edited, unless I buy the phone from an AT&T store. But the reality is that I do not care for relinquishing my right to choose who to buy from.  I do not want to buy a phone from AT&T anymore.  I went to AT&T because I wanted an I-Phone. Since I cannot buy it from Apple at the reduced ADVERTISED price, for which I meet all criteria, because of AT&T, then I am not sure I care to be client for any of the two.

So no, I do not care to relinquish the right to choose where to buy.  I do not care to be sold products under false pretenses.  I do not care to patronize a company that can not own up to the responsibility of the mistakes they make to meet their sales quota.  I do choose to raise my voice to every forum I can reach as a consumer to make sure other people are not discouraged when similar things happened to them as it just happen to me today.

I have asked my husband to cut my service from AT&T. Since he thinks in time it will be resolved, he has decided to ignore my request.  On the meantime I have left a message on the voice mail stating to call me at home since I will not be available via mobile phone in the foreseeable future. 

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[JustMeEdda]

I agree with you about the never reaching the 600.... but I got them to hear.... they got me a credit.... and hopefully I the near future --- smile in voice... it will take a couple of days and probably nights to convince my husband to change networks again--- I will no longer be a AT&T Mobility client.  So I am happy enough for now.  Probably until I remember how in LUST I was with the I-Phone...  Ciao for now.  Now I really have to go... Parents Dinner at kids school.  And I 'do not' have a phone to call in late!!!!  :::laughter::::

[whysoserious]

Wow my thread got completely hijacked. Thanks

[cousintim]

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whysoserious wrote:

Wow my thread got completely hijacked.

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There are some posters who put the "I" in iPhone.