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]
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AT&T Wireless Rep Refunds My Phone Upgrade Fees Because I Didn’t Whine About Them
By 1.9.13
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 1.8.13 — Updated: 1.9.13
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 12.26.12
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 12.26.12
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 12.18.12 — Updated: 9.30.14
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 12.17.12
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 12.12.12
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 12.4.12
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 11.30.12
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 11.29.12
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]
AT&T’s Billing Dept. Refuses To Let My Canceled DSL Account Die
By 11.13.12
You know how awkward it is when you bid farewell to someone you think you’ll never see again, only to then keep bumping into them and having to say goodbye all over again? Well, imagine how much more it would suck if your bank account was being charged each time your old pal popped up again. [More]
AT&T Overnights New U-Verse Receiver To Us On Friday, Can’t Turn It On Until Tuesday Night
By 11.12.12
AT&T U-Verse demonstrated great customer service when Trey needed a new receiver. They zipped a wireless one right out to him using UPS Next Day Air. It arrived on a Saturday. and Trey was quite impressed. He didn’t stay impressed, though. AT&T went to the expense of using Next Day Air while neglecting to notice that doing so was kind of useless, because AT&T wouldn’t be able to activate the new receiver until 8 P.M. on Tuesday. Oh, well, at least it was all installed three days early. [More]
AT&T Decides To Open Up FaceTime Over Cellular To More iPhone Users
By 11.9.12
Facing criticism — and consumer complaints to the FCC — over its decision to limit the non-WiFi use of Apple’s FaceTime video chat app to customers who have shared data plans, AT&T announced yesterday that it will allow folks with the iPhone 5 (but without unlimited data plans) to use the app over its network. [More]
Verizon Wireless Waiving Domestic Text & Voice Charges For Sandy Victims
By 11.9.12
Hurricane Sandy uprooted the lives of many people on the East Coast last week, making even simple things like paying a cell phone bill a hardship. Verizon Wireless announced this week that in order to help ease the burden for is East Coast customers left without power, cell service, Internet or even landlines, it will waive fees for all domestic voice and text usage. [More]
AT&T To Refund Cash To Customers Forced Into Monthly Data Plans
By 11.7.12
Back in Sept. 2009, AT&T began requiring new smartphone customers to have monthly data plans, but existing customers with pay-as-you-go data plans were supposed to have been able to have their plans grandfathered in. Yet a number of customers who had their devices replaced either through insurance or warranty were mistakenly forced into monthly plans. Now AT&T has agreed to let these people change their accounts back and receive refunds for the error. [More]
AT&T Accidentally Cancels My Account, Takes 16 Days & $18 Fee To Fix
By 10.31.12
Mistakes happen, and they sometimes require a little time to fix. But Consumerist reader Clay says that AT&T took its good old time getting around to fixing its mistake, and even then it still managed to screw up the fix — and charge Clay for the hassle. [More]
AT&T And T-Mobile Briefly Reuniting In New York, New Jersey To Help Storm Victims
By 10.31.12
It’s been almost a year since the FCC and Justice Dept. ripped AT&T and T-Mobile apart, ending the lovers’ foolish hopes of a life of marital bliss. But regulators can only keep true love down for so long, as the two telecoms have announced they will share their networks in storm-damaged areas of New York and New Jersey where customers have been left without bars on their phone. [More]
