Just like we told you via exclusive insider leak last Tuesday, Comcast is indeed giving away a Wii to new triple–play subscribers. It says so right in their press release. You will have to sign a new 2-year contract with Comcast for “Triple Play” services. And you will have to sign up with Comcast. There is that.
telephony
Tmobile Adds Flimsy Restrictions For ETF-Free Cancelers
By 7.22.08
Tmobile is trying to impose certain new restrictions on people trying to cancel their contract without early termination fee (ETF) over the recent text message rate increase. Based on an email between a reader and Tmobile’s executive customer service team, to qualify for ETF-free cancellation a customer:
Reach Verizon Wireless West Coast Executive Customer Service
By 7.22.08
866-673-9561 is the number to reach Verizon Wireless executive customer service on the West Coast. Only use it when normal routes of customer service have repeatedly failed, be nice, be able to condense your story in about 2 sentences, and don’t forget these tips for dealing with executive customer service.
Upgrade FiOs Speeds From 5/2 To 10/2
By 7.21.08
Verizon FiOs recently doubled its download speed for consumer and small businesses from 5 to 10mb, but reader Lindsay says she wasn’t automatically upgraded. Luckily, if you’re in the same boat, you can upgrade by calling 800-688-2880, entering the phone number on your account, pressing 3, then 5, then 2. Lindsay writes, “I got to a rep very quickly and she got everything switched. It cost me $3 more due to a rate change since I signed up, but that’s not too much to ask for double the download speed.”
Dish Telemarketer Fined $75,000 For Hanging Up On Customers
By 7.16.08
The FTC fined a Dish Network telemarketing firm $75,000 for hanging up on customers, reports the Deseret News. The company used teleautobots to dial peoples’ homes, which were then supposed to connect to a live telemarketer when someone picked up. However, the system would sometimes get more live customers than there were telemarketers, leaving some customers with a silent line. Federal regulations stipulate that if you use teleautobots, you have to connect the customer to a person within two seconds. The FTC made this law because people, in particular women and old people, were worried they were being stalked when they answered the phone and no one was there.
Verizon Settles Early Termination Fee Lawsuit For $21 Million
By 7.10.08
Verizon has agreed to pay $21 million in a California class action lawsuit brought over early termination fees. The plaintiffs alleged that the fees violated California state laws. Next case: Sprint, which Californians are suing for the same reason.
Eforcity Bribes User To Remove Negative Amazon Feedback
By 7.8.08
Sarah bought some car chargers from Eforcity through Amazon, and was disappointed to find that the charger plug doesn’t stay in the phone unless you hold it in. She said as much in her Amazon feedback. In response, Eforcity said they would be happy to give her a refund, as long as she deleted her negative feedback. In other words, a bribe for self-censorship. Eforcity’s email, inside…
Leaks: Need ID And Social To Buy iPhone 3G?
By 7.7.08
An Apple store insider has leaked to us what they say will be some limitations and barriers on buying the iPhone Apple and AT&T stores will apply to the new iPhone 3g that goes on sale this Friday:
How To Cancel T-Mobile Without ETF
By 6.26.08
Want to get out of your T-mobile cellphone contract without paying a $200 early termination fee? Now you can. T-mobile is raising its text message rates August 29th to 20 cents per message. This counts as what is known as a “materially adverse change of contract.” Under standard contract law, if one party changes the terms of the agreement in a way that financially harms the other party, then the contract is void. If the contract is void, so is any stipulation that you be charged a fee for breaking it (especially as technically they broke it first). You will have much better success arguing its a materially adverse change of contract if you are not currently in an unlimited text message plan. You don’t have to wait until August to escape, members of the Slickdeals forums are already reporting success escaping without penalty. Stay tuned to The Consumerist for more information and tips on using this money-saving tactic.
T-Mobile Introduces Declining Early Termination Fees
By 6.23.08
Tmobile just announced that they will let early termination fees decline over the course of a contract. Previously, you had to pay the full monty whether canceled on the first day, or last day, of your contract. This chart shows you how the new fee breaks down over time:
The $26,000 "My Dior" Cellphone
By 6.16.08
For the idiot who has everything comes the latest in unbridled extravagance: fashion house Christian Dior is set this month to launch of line of luxury cellphones costing a ridiculous amount of money. The phone will come in two versions, a “basic” one for $5,000, and a “Lady Dior” one for $26,000. The latter’s pricetag is justified by 640 stones and 3,251 carats of Swarovski crystals embedded in a crocodile skin sheath. Both models will feature touchscreens, integrated media player, bluetooth, blah blah blah, but they do have one actual innovation. The phone comes with a “My Dior,” a USB key-sized version of the main cellphone that communicates with the mothership cellphone via Bluetooth and clips to the outside of a bag. Christian Dior says this way you don’t have to go digging through your purse to find your phone. We think it would also come in handy if you don’t have time to set up a full security perimeter every time you want to make a call.
ATT Settles Class Action Over Fraudulent Ringtone Charges
By 6.4.08
Thanks to AT&T settling a recent class-action, the era of third-party scammers cramming consumers with fraudulent subscriptions to ringtone, hookup text and other stupid content services may soon be over. AT&T Customers can claim refunds for wrongful charges from up to 3 of their bills between 1/1/04 and 5/30/08. The lawyers will get $4.3 million. AT&T will now require subscriptions to 3rd party-services with recurring fees to be confirmed by responding to a text message. 3rd party services will also have to send a monthly reminder with unsubscribe info. The firm has filed similar suits against Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. Claim forms and more info at thirdpartycontentrefund.com.
Updated: Reach T-mobile Executive Customer Service
By 6.2.08
Here is a new number to reach T-mobile Executive Customer Service:
How To Fight Phone Bill Cramming
By 5.29.08
ArsTechnica writer Nate Anderson was a recent “cramming” victim, and he wrote about his experience tracking down who was behind it. Cramming is a scam where third-party groups tell your phone company to bill you for “services,” services you never signed up for, and the phone company happily obliges, taking a cut of the fee. The phone company does no verification and all the scammer needs is your phone number. In Nate’s case, he was signed up for three different voicemail services and email-forwarding service, three at $14.95 per month, and one at $12.95, doubling his telephone bill. Snooping around, he found the companies behind it were ILD and ESBI, and scores of cramming complaints about these “companies” littered the internet. Luckily he was able to get refunds without difficulty (crammers often make it easy to cancel so you don’t go complaining to any law enforcement bodies) only providing just as much information as these con-artists used to flimflam him in the first place: his phone number. So how can you fight a crammer? [More]
Updated: Reach Verizon Wireless Executive Customer Service
By 5.28.08
Here are a several direct lines for Verizon Wireless executive customer service reps, good for when lower level customer service reps and their supervisors fail you. These are the folks imbued with godly powers to fix customer service problems at all levels. It’s like playing Super Mario Brothers using Game Shark.
