AT&T Wireless has done this in the past with customers who roam too much. The problem is buried in the language of the contract. I bet their is a termination option "for any reason" by the company. Yet, the individual has to pay penalties.

Go to the state attorney general and plead your case. Get ahold of your local State Delegates and since it is an Election Year, make a Big Deal.

I can just about guarantee you that in the contract she signed it says if you make more than a certain percentage of calls out of your calling area, they have the right to assign you a local number for another area or terminate your service altogether if they don't offer service in that area.

I know Sprint and T-Mobile do it (or at least they reserve the right to) so I can't imagine it's different for Cingular.

I'm sure there's some nice weasel clause in the contract that gives Cingular the right to do this very thing. Even so, it's ridiculous behavior.

I'm generally a laissez faire kind of guy, but I'd really love to see a few attorneys general give the wireless industry a fantastic reaming for these and other crimes.

You can probably get a third party to unlock your phones, in any case. Often this is accomplished with a simple code you punch into the device. Sometimes it can be a little more involved, though, so it depends on your phone. Google your phone model and the word "unlock" and see what the scoop is. Might cost a few bucks, but certainly cheaper than a new phone.

Actually, Cingular should offer to unlock the phones for you. They can (and do under some circumstances) provide the "subsidy codes" which unlock the phones. At least push them to do that, it is completely in their power.
If they won't, there are plenty of little mom-and-pop cell shops that will.

It's outrageous how telecom companies buying one another out feel absolutely no urge to honor prior contracts. I'm getting screwed by AT&T having bought out my local telco and not only refusing to honor my prior yellowpages ad contract, but I got to have a CSR call me a liar for claiming to HAVE a contract that pre-dates the buyout. (She was apparently blissfully unaware of the buyout.) I'm not sure she even believed me that AT&T existed in my state.

As I've said before, though -- unfortunately, it'll cost me more to bring the suit than I'd be likely to recover if I sued them (and that's with me being a lawyer so not having to PAY a lawyer). What we need are an aggregation of several of the same types of cases for a class action suit, which would be a helluva a lot more affordable for consumers to take to court and/or economically feasible for lawyers to take on contingency.

Otherwise, my suggestion is, contact local media. Even if bad press for the Cingular doesn't get you anything, it'll feel so good.

Well I don't have a solution to getting Cingular to do right by you, but if you cannot get it rectified then a cheaper alternative would be to get your current phones unlocked.

Pretty cheap, I have seen stores do it for $15 per phone. Once this is done you can go to Cingular's GSM network competition (T-Mobile) and get a contract with them.

What's the legality of unlocking phones like that?

It's against the law Greg, just like Jaywalking and masterbating in public libraries. But I am sure it can be done.

I agree - a few lawyers should take the companies to task.

It's no wonder people love TracPhones.

Actually, Cingular has every right to do this. I'm not saying they should, but if you read Cingular's Plan Terms (http://onlinestorez.cingular.com/cell-phone-service/common/legal/pop-planterms.jsp) that every Cingular user has to agree to, it states:
"Cingular reserves the right to terminate your service if less than 50% of your usage over three consecutive billing cycles is on Cingular-owned systems. Customer must (1) use a Cingular GSM dual-band handset programmed with Cingular Wireless' preferred roaming database; (2) have a mailing address and live in the immediate geographic area in which subscription is made."

I had the same thing happen to me in July. I called Cingular's 888 number and talked to someone explaining that I had just upgraded phones for myself and my wife and I didn't expect to be stuck with equipment I could not use nor did I expect to have to pay for activation fees for a new provider. They asked what I paid for my equipment and noted on my account to credit me for that and credited me for 60 dollars activation fees. When my account ended I got some final statements and then the check for the money (less my last phone bill because I didn't want to give them money when I had the credit already).

I switched to Verizon all on Cingular's tab.

Just get the phones unlocked. Go into a Cingular store and ask them to unlock your phone, or just get it done. Check howardforums.com for more info.

Greg, Cingular terminated her contract, so she's not under any binding agreement with them. They've effectively broken her previous contracts with other providers as well.

In fact, in some countries, it is mandatory for them to provide your unlock code. The US, unfortunately, isn't one of them.

There are some forums out there where people will unlock your phone for free. The sob story might motivate some rogue Cingular tech to offer the codes. I would begin with Howardforums, though the employees at Cingular may be able to unlock your phones for you.

Does the same thing go for customers that move to a dramatically different area code than the one from where they originally subscribed? I have done so, although it appears nearly all of my calls are handled on the Cingular network.

If you move to another area code, they do have a percentage rule but if your calls are handled on the Cingular network, they probably won't hassle you. Where the problem comes in is during Roaming because those roaming calls cost carriers an arm and a leg but they eat the cost knowing they'll get it back from another roamer on their own network.

Unlocking a phone or having an unlocked phone is 100% legal. It's up to your carrier as to whether they will unlock the phone for you. But if you have one, you are absolutely within your rights as a consumer to use it. And as a bonus, if you travel to Europe or Asia, you can use prepaid SIM cards with an unlocked GSM phone. I bought an unlocked phone from eBay last year and I've had no problems using it on Cingular. I bought it because I couldn't get a new phone through Cingular due to some contract issue, and the rep I spoke to basically told me to get an unlocked phone if I wanted a new one.

I have had a lot of problems with phone companies over the years, and found that writing the FCC is the best way to get their attention. Therefore, I would suggest writing them an e-mail like the one above to the FCC (http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints_general.html). My guess is that you will get a response in a couple weeks from Cingular.

The question here is whether or not we're talking about call completion - as in who the person is calling on the other end - or whether the person making the calls is making said calls from areas serviced by Cingular, i.e. not "roaming" or whatever it really is these days.

Presumably, it's the latter.

Putting aside Cingular's crappy behavior for a moment, it's worth pointing out that unlocking cell phones is relatively easy to do yourself. There are how-tos and unlock codes regularly posted in the forums at http://www.mobiledia.com, and I've also seen Craigslist ads in NY and SF from people offering to unlock phones for $10 or so - though I'm not sure if that would be useful for someone living in Alabama ;)

Pay. As. You. Go. = no contracts, no company telling expecting thanks for their abuse.

Well, this is now on FARK.COM, and getting national attention. So, simply call Verizon or another wireless company, explain the problem, and I'm sure they will give you free phones, maybe even free service for a year. In exchange they will issue a press release about how Cingular may not value their customers, but company X sure does, and when they heard about your problem they rushed right in to help. Maybe this can even make the talk show circuit, like the guy who tried to cancel his AOL account and got the run around. Try it, I bet it'll work.

Go into a Cingular Store, the sales representatives in the store are generally MUCH more helpful than at the 800 number. I have had many problems with Cingular's customer service 800 number that were fixed immediately at no cost when I went into the store. Good Luck Beckie!

I have worked for several different wireless service providers; and while unfortunate, all of them have 50% usage clauses in their contract. At least the ones that don't charge roaming charges...other companies will just charge that exhorbitant $.79 per minute fee for that. As an employee of Cingular, I feel terrible that Beckie has lost her service; however, I have worked for companies that don't even give notice that they are terminating their service..they just do it. The customer is not required to pay an early termination fee for this. I also want to squash the rumor that Cingular employees know how to unlock phones...we don't, so please don't come into the store asking for it.

Cingular did the same thing to me. I was on the road a lot, and got the Cingular service due to their nationwide coverage. I was getting ready to drive from NY to NC thru the West VA mountains when they cut off my contract.

I will never have another Cingular account for anything, ever.

hey Consumerists, you've been Farked!
http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=2302553...

If you weren't aware of a certain clause in the contract, and had no reason to expect it to be there, it doesn't exist. It's like the marriage contract from "The Princess Bride". You may have signed on the dotted line, but no one could reasonably expect you to read through 30 pages of fine print to find everything you (nominally) agreed to. And a reasonable person would expect that, if one party is penalized for early termination of the contract, the other party should be penalized also. Only a few people are aware of the assymmetry that has been written into the contract.

This won't be an open-and-shut case, of course, and IANAL, but it's worth a try if they refuse to unlock your phones.

The other benefit of being able to unlock a phone is if you see a cool phone in Europe/Asia that isn't available here you can still get it and be able to use it here.

Whatever Cingular's contract, Becky is pretty clear she didn't sign a contract with Cingular. The contract she actually signed is the one that applies, whatever the terms of that are. It's a bad mistake to assume the contract is always going to come down in favour of the company; if that were true, you wouldn't need contracts because there would never be a dispute. Pre-emptive futility has no place in a consumer culture.

The contract you sign can be amended at any time -- don't you read those credit card "Cardholder Agreement Updates" that say: Here are the terms of the new contract. You agree to these terms if you make another charge after the end of the current cycle. blah blah blah

They can change the terms any way they like and you hafve to suck it up. You try to change the contract on them and WHOA THERE! You can't do that!

This is why consumer protection laws exists -- es those same laws decikmated by the current "business friendly" legislature. Yes the ones who want to build a wall across our SOuthern Border to protect us from "Illegals" but when asked about the "illegal employers" who pay them and why aren't they cracked down on the scurry away like the cockroaches they are as that would be "bad for business".

Level playing field my a$$.

Frankly, being a consumerist means being well informed. Every major cell carrier has this clause. All of you that are ranting about companies not honoring contracts are ridiculous. Major companies not honoring contracts get sued. If your cell market got bought out, they have to honor the contract. If you pull your terms and conditions of what you actually signed you will find something like this, which I found on your original carrier's website:

On regional plans, at least half of your minutes must be used on the SunCom Network. If most of your minutes are not used on the SunCom Network, we may choose to end your agreement. This does not apply to SunCom America plans.

They were very upfront about it on the website. It is in your original contract. Basically, if they are losing money with you they reserve a right to end the agreement. Your daughter-in-law was roaming all the time and they were paying for it. You were in violation of the agreement as a result.

So here is my advice. Read and keep your cell phone contract. Make sure you comply with it. Be an informed consumer. Make sure you understand what it takes to get out of it before you sign it, all the carriers have break fees for early termination.

And...It is not illegal to use competitior equipment on other networks, they just don't do it because in most cases the phones won't perform as well or simply are not compatible. Some use CDMA technology, in your case GSM. There are others out there. It is not illegal to unlock them either. Good luck finding someone to do it, if you find a compatible network.

Cingular may let you back if you agree to not reactivate the offending line or agree to change habits. You are likely better off this way, however, as they are rated first in most consumer complaints to the FCC out of all the major carriers.

Oh, and yes. You have been farked. See above.

Rules change lets AT&T avoid disclosure requirements
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/20/BU...

I have had suncom and that was part of the agreement that you must use 50% of the minutes in a home area.

It's all in the contract, people. Yes, there's a lot in there, and yes, you didn't read it. That doesn't excuse you from it. Lesson learned: Read the contract, at least ONCE, and if not when you sign up, at least read it on the crapper over a couple "trips" because you will be held to every word.

raincoaster, stupid mistakes are made, but I'm sure when they acquired her company, they sent her a new contract and said that continued use was consent, or something along those lines. Hordes of lawyers rarely miss such a simple step.

Everyone who has responded has spoken to the problem specifically. Yes probably everything the company is doing is legal and so they are not required to do anything. Are they doing the right thing, NO, but probably legally accurate.
Citizens need to wakeup and take back the power that they have given up on their Government at every level.
The State Public Service Commissions have allowed carriers and utilities to get away with all sorts of plans that do not benefit the citizens.
If you run a business and are able to create the rules by which you wish to play and the monitors of the rules are those you picked through proxy then you endup with such situations as we have.
Very few business do the right thing, they always do everything legally, and thats where the discord is.
Let this be publsihed everywhere and maybe the citizens shall be awakened before it is too late.
I hope that there is a outcome that meets the needs of this person but I would guess this is not unique to her only.
It is not just with Carriers but every business you deal with is loosing integrity and the value of that is next to nothing.

How about this?

Cingular didn't tell her they were cancelling the contract due to a violation of terms, they asked her to volunatrily withdraw from the contract, effectively they were reopening the terms of the contract for renegotiation.

Don't most states have laws saying that if you end a contract due to a violation in terms you must first notify the violating party of their transgressions and cite the relevant portion of the contract?

@AxeRoxor: You'd be surprised at the kinds of mistakes "hordes" of lawyers can make. Do a Google search for "Cignular class-action lawsuit" and see what kind of mistakes Cimgular's lawyer hordes didn't steer them clear of.

Does it matter what the Cingular contract says? Her contract is with SUN and AT&T. Isn't Cingular obligated to live up to the contracts that they bought out?

Actually, she was, most likely, not "really" roaming and that is what makes this so bad. You see, what Cingular did, as part of their "More Bars in More Places" ad campaign, was to let their phones access any compatible carrier's network, if their signal was stronger. What this means is that she could have been in her "Home" coverage area (and her e-mail reads as though that is the case) but Cingular did not have very good signal coverage there. Her phone would, then, "Roam" on another GSM carrier in the area which has better signal. This is known in the cellular industry (in which I work) as "Home-on-Home Roaming".

So, you see, Cingular caused this problem themselves by allowing unrestricted (Home-on-Home) roaming. They are, basically, saying to her "Our coverage is not good where you live and you are roaming on other carriers, even though you are in your home area, because our coverage stinks in this area. We have no plans to add towers, so you're going to continue to cost us money, thanks to our own policies. So, bye-bye."

Doesn't sound right to me....

One thing that Beckie should be aware of: Cingular, unlike other phone companies, alters their network tags so that you *cannot tell if you are roaming*. They do this for marketing purposes--they have the "Allover Network" ya know. So even if you were able to see the different networks, the "Aplha Tags" (the name you see on your phone) all would say "Cingular". They also disable the roaming indicator. So customers think they are using Cingular when they are not. This is, of course, very deceptive. Your family member had no idea they were roaming.

I think a big fat lawsuit is in order--go for it!

Cingular, less dropped calls; more dropped customers.

Actually, over the past several decades the courts have consistently begun to deviate from the some basic principles of contract law, namely, that there must be negotiation and a meeting of minds by all parties to a contract. In the past adhesion contracts (where one party dictated the terms of the contract) were often struck down.

Case law does change as the courts bend to public opinion. One prime example is case law on warrantless wiretaps--early cases, when the technology, was in its infancy ruled that taps didn't constitute a search and seizure under the 4th Amendment so no warrent was required [see Olmstead v. US, 277 US 438 (1928)]. Once more people began subscribing to telephone service and the public mood reflected a belief in the privacy of phone conversations, the courts shifted in their opinions and began to requre warrants. Congress didn't legislate in this area until the 1960s.

The cellular companies may find themselves in a pickle as more and more young people opt for a cellular phone only. They may find the courts bending to shift in public opinion. Imagine the public's reaction today to the telephone companies dropping subscribers because they didn't run up a high enough bill on a monthly basis. In another 5-10 years, if enough people have cellular service only, this type of behavior may be viewed much differntly than it is now. I think most big companies in the US (and the world) have lost sight of the fact that public/customer goodwill is critical for their business to survive. Blatently engaging in behavior that the public views as outrageous may have a significant economic impact and result in the passage of legislation regulating their industries (at least in an election year).

"AyeRoxor says:
It's all in the contract, people. Yes, there's a lot in there, and yes, you didn't read it. That doesn't excuse you from it. Lesson learned: Read the contract, at least ONCE, and if not when you sign up, at least read it on the crapper over a couple "trips" because you will be held to every word."

Any first year law student can tell you that a signed contract clause is not necessarily binding. Of course most people believe they are bound and would rather acquiesce then fight back. My advice, find a local attorney and have him draft a complaint alleging cingular breached their contract, alternatively that the "economic" clause is unconscionable. They might have big guns and plenty in the war chest, but believe me when it comes to "economical decisions" it is a lot cheaper to provide you service or settle on agreeable terms than it is litigate this case. Even if it's a bluff, show your teeth and see what those corporate fuckers do. Even if you spend some money you'll be able to sleep without that awful "I've been corporate ass raped and am powerless to do anything" feeling...but, that's just what I'd do.

Go get each of the phones unlocked at Cingular. Around $20-$30 to do so, then sell them on eBay. Move on to a better company. Be grateful you were able to be set free. :)

Hello I Used to Work for Cingular wireless till about a week or so ago! if anyone has service with them and want the inside scoop or would like to know more about this please email me I could explain

I have a friend who had this same issue with Cingular several months ago. He informed Cingular via their call center that he always used the phone within the area that the official Cingular store sold him the phone and service. Also, he was never notified by the phone or service that he was on a competing network.

Finally, if Cingular cancelled his service, he informed the call center manager would sue the company in local small-claims court for $2,000 (the maximum small-claims amount). It would cost Cingular much more than their off-network expenses to come defend the case.

My friend is very skilled at making an argument. He still has his Cingular service today.

I left Cingular due to extremely poor service. I too had AT&T and was living in Baltimore. Suddenly my service started to degrade. After about 1 month there were only 2 places where i could go to make a call with my phone. Both were over 10 miles from my house. After 5 months of continuous calls to Cingular I was told that they stopped supporting the network that my phone used. No notice. No options given. Just an ever increasing bill due to roaming charges. When I cancelled my service they immediately turned me over to collection even though there were 15 days left in the billing cycle.

I highly recommend you file a better business bureau complaint with as much documentation and detail as possible at www.bbb.org.

It's free, it's quick and it's easy and also surprisingly effective. I would do that in conjection with filing every other written complaint you can possibly think of, state
attorney general, etc. etc.

Write some nasty letters to upper management and write some more letters to as many media outlets as possible. You already got this posted on fark so you're getting alot of publicity.

I don't know what you'll get back in real terms - I don't know about you but I get a deep sense of satisfaction in screwing someone over when they screw me over. I think you stand a good chance of getting media coverage of such an egregious transgression on their part. Good luck!

I hope you have a copy of the original contract.

Before I would get wired about all this, I'd just go into a Cingular or representative's office and ask to sign up for a new plan with my current phones. If as I read this post, the activity causing the cancellation has ceased, she may be able to sign on again and not get dumped. She may even be able to get new phones for free. It's a cheap solution and worth a shot! The trick may be getting her old numbers back, it she wants them.

I used to work for cingular and it is in the terms and conditoions of service that if mor e than 1/2 of your airtime is roaming they can shut off your service. I'm not sayingg its right, I'm jusst saying that they do in fact say it in the contract that you sign. Its because they don't (or arent supposed to) charge you for roaming. They give you the no roaming charges, so they look at it as if you spend all your time in roaming they aren't charging you for all the minutes your actually using. My suggestion would be that you check into whoeveder you go with before you sign up that your whole area you'll be calling in is covered. Its a lot easier than trying to go through all this over again!!!