Once again, the FCC has put a wide range of Internet service providers to the test to see whether or not they are delivering on the speeds they advertise to customers. And while it the majority of ISPs are not far off, with a few actually over-delivering, some still have a way to go. [More]
If You Don’t Know A Storm Is Coming, You Might Be An AT&T Wireless Customer
By February 8, 2013
Yesterday my friend sent me a message reading: “OMG! I got an emergency text!” She’d gotten a text alert from the National Weather Service on her iPhone regarding the ginormous blizzard barreling down on the Northeast. I was put out because why hadn’t I gotten a message, too?!? What if I hadn’t been warned by the current media blitz?!?!? It’s all because she has Sprint and I’m an AT&T wireless customer. [More]
Here Is Every Piece Of Junk Mail AT&T U-Verse Sent Me In 2012
By February 6, 2013
It takes a while, but eventually the universe catches up with you and punishes you for your misdeeds. Maybe. In a previous job, Kevin designed direct mail for AT&T. Now he just gets an awful lot of it. [More]
AT&T E-Mails Me Stranger’s Account Statements, Shrugs
By January 22, 2013
Eric was most likely an early adopter of Gmail, meaning that he was able to nab the address “elastname@gmail.com.” If you substitute in Eric’s actual last name for “lastname”, that is. The problem, as many early Gmail adopters can tell you, is that every other “E. Lastname” in the world seems to give out Eric’s e-mail address as his own. This time, it was serious: an AT&T business account holder gave the company Eric’s e-mail address, and now he’s getting notifications that have way, way more personal information than he’s comfortable having about a stranger. AT&T’s response? He should contact their customer himself. [More]
U-Verse Outage Hits Some AT&T Customers In Southern States
By January 22, 2013
Since yesterday afternoon, some people in various parts of the southeastern U.S. — and as far west as Texas — have been without AT&T U-Verse service. [More]
AT&T To Buy Alltel — Wait, Didn’t Verizon Already Buy Alltel?
By January 22, 2013
Earlier today, it was announced that AT&T would buy up Alltel’s U.S. wireless service for $780 million, leading many to wonder how AT&T is buying a company that was already purchased by Verizon a few years back. [More]
Californians Paying 115% More For AT&T Landline Service Than They Did Before Deregulation
By January 18, 2013
Supporters of removing price caps on utility services claim that deregulation will ultimately result in lower prices and more competition. But a new report claims that when California ditched pricing regulations on landline phone service, it only led to huge bill increases for AT&T customers. [More]
Having An Unlocked iPhone On AT&T With No Data Plan Is Simply Not An Option
By January 16, 2013
David brought his own unlocked iPhone with him when he joined AT&T nine months ago. He doesn’t use mobile data, so he didn’t sign up for a plan. So he’s not paying AT&T for the privilege of simply owning a smartphone that they didn’t subsidize, and that simply won’t do. Even if he turns off mobile data entirely and restricts all of the “smart” features of his phone to wifi. How unfair. [More]
AT&T Wireless Rep Refunds My Phone Upgrade Fees Because I Didn’t Whine About Them
By January 9, 2013
Natalie called up AT&T Wireless yesterday to ask about a few relatively small charges on her bill. The customer service representative offered her a refund of two $36 activation fees due to phone upgrades, explaining that it was because Natalie was quite possibly the only person who had called AT&T that day who hadn’t complained about activation fees. (We’re paraphrasing and exaggerating slightly.) Then the representative gave her another credit, ostensibly for being a loyal customer of twelve years. Natalie was stunned, and couldn’t think of a way to repay the CSR…until she found our site. [More]
AT&T Uses My Front Yard As A Parking Lot
By January 8, 2013
For the past few weeks, AT&T workers have been installing a new U-Verse box next to Consumerist reader TJ’s house. And while the company does have an easement that allows for one truck to pull up on the grass, he says they are ruining his lawn and getting him in trouble with the city. [More]
AT&T Would Rather Upsell Me On A More Expensive Plan Than Investigate Where My Rollover Minutes Went
By December 26, 2012
Imagine you wake up one morning and find that your car has been stolen. Then you call to report the crime, but the police only try to sell you on a car with a better security system. That’s the sort of response David got when he contacted AT&T about a problem with his account. [More]
Galaxy S3 Does Everything Better Except Stay Out Of Toilet; AT&T Saves The Day
By December 26, 2012
April has always been pleased with AT&T’s customer service, but a recent experience delighted her so much that she just had to write to us and share the love. She upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy S3 from an iPhone 4S, and was very pleased with the new device, finding it vastly superior to the iPhone. One thing that the Galaxy isn’t better at, though, was staying out of her toilet. Her phone went “splash,” and she didn’t have $600 lying around to replace it. So she wrote to a selection of AT&T executives and made her case. [More]
New Report Says “Cash Cow” Data Caps Are About Pleasing Investors, Not Relieving Congestion
By December 18, 2012
Internet users have been complaining about data caps — and the costly penalties for going over said caps — for years, while both wireless and fixed broadband providers claimed these caps were an absolute necessity to curb runaway use. But a new report attempts to debunk many of the ISP industry’s claims. [More]
Former Asurion Staffer Shares Insider Tips On Making Cellphone Insurance Claims
By December 17, 2012
Anyone who has seen our numerous stories about readers dealing with Asurion, the insurance provider for an awful lot of wireless companies, knows that it might not always be the most pleasant experience. Now, a former front-line customer service rep at Asurion has written in to shed some light on what CSRs can and can’t do, and the best (and worst) ways to file your claim. [More]
Why Can’t AT&T Leave Me And My Mailbox Alone?
By December 12, 2012
Tonya has had it. She makes a habit of contacting companies that send her junk mail and asking them to stop, because she’d rather not have anyone kill trees to tell her about products she didn’t want in the first place. Most companies have been very good about this, but there’s one notable exception. She’s been fighting with AT&T to be removed from the U-Verse mailing list for a year and a half now. They won’t leave her alone. She wrote to the CEO, who passed her on to her very own executive customer service representative. This person hasn’t been able to stop the mail, either. [More]
Report: Cops Want Wireless Carriers To Save Text Messages, You Know, Just In Case
By December 4, 2012
That thing you texted to that person the other night which you deleted out of overwhelming shame the next day? Messages like that could be pored over in the future by cops if various law enforcement officials have their way. They’re reportedly asking Congress to make wireless carriers record and store customers’ private text messages for at least two years, in case police need that info for a future investigation. [More]
For Once, AT&T Being Incompetent Is Good News
By November 30, 2012
Do you remember reader Aaron? We published his story about a month ago. He was stuck between two mobile providers. He ditched AT&T when his iPhone 5 was devouring so much data that his data connection got throttled. Fine, he said–he switched to Sprint, which has unlimited data, but painfully slow data. He resolved the situation by going back to AT&T, but here’s the interesting part: he got unlimited data back because AT&T thought that he had never canceled his account. Well, um, that’s nice. [More]
‘Six Strikes’ Anti-Piracy Program Delayed To 2013, This Time Because Of Hurricane Sandy
By November 29, 2012
A long-in-the-works anti-piracy program from five major telecom players is probably not something you would think could be affected by a hurricane, but that’s apparently what is keeping the “Six Strikes” program from launching this week. [More]
