No surprise

[mizarchivist]

We hates Cingular, precious, yes, we hates them. (Not that surprising) News to me: you cannot upgrade your phone without nixing your old agreement if you were an AT&T customer. The new phone requires a new contract or something. And that means spending a lot of unnecessary money on top of buying the new phone. Let us hope that we can make it on the current hardware til the contract is up in the spring. Hah. This whole Cingular/AT&T setup is definitely a cross between a loveless marriage and jail gang rape.

Comments

[sweetmmeblue.livejournal.com]

No you don't, I knoew a work around. Give me a call.

Ahh, cellular phone carrier woes

[motlei.livejournal.com]

It seems the renewal contract has become a staple of a cellular carrier nowadays. I had a Sprint PCS phone for nine months before I went off to Japan in 2003. Sprint has a "deployment suspension clause" to cover my bill ing and service while I was away and unable to use my phone. When I returned in October, I discovered that the only method for me to restart my service was to sign up for a new 2-year contract. That done (and with the old phone to boot) I had to wait until the original (pre-Japan) contract had matured to 18 months before I could get any sort of rebate for a better phone. Guess how you qualify for that rebate? Another 2-year contract. Then I move to Arizona. Need to get a local phone number since I've already got two phones, but one's Somerville and the other is Havelock. It's off to Sprint I go for a Yuma phone number, that takes another 2-year contract.

I sympathize though. Good thing that there seems to be a workaround.

Re: Ahh, cellular phone carrier woes

[mizarchivist]

We may have determined that there's only a work around if you've fulfilled your original contract. Or somethin'

Re: Ahh, cellular phone carrier woes

[motlei.livejournal.com]

Well, sometimes it all depends on how high you climb up the food chain. Certain things are, after all, waiverable, just not by customer assistance representatives. Especially if you're looking to give them money for a better phone and renewing or extending a service contract.

[docorion.livejournal.com]

Yes, we does, in fact, hate them. I found the same thing when I was looking for a new phone. I went with Sprint not because Sprint is OMG better (because they are so not), but because I declined to pay AT&T/Cingular a new 2-year contract *and* an *activation fee* just to continue my service. I advised them they sucked like something that sucks a really lot, and went next door to Sprint.

Not that much happier with Sprint, mind. Although the plan they have me on now doesn't suck for me; it basically expands to meet my phone usage with cheap, 100 minute blocks.