../../../..//2008/01/23/att-broadband-subscribers-will-now/
AT&T broadband subscribers will now get free access to AT&T wifi hotspots. These are mainly found in Barnes & Noble, McDonald’s, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and airports. [AT&T via Gizmodo]
telephony
Cell Service For The Commitment Phobic: AT&T Offers SIM Card Without 2 Year Contract
By 1.23.08
After reports started surfacing that AT&T was offering a SIM-card only option that was tied to a 2 year contract, we contacted AT&T for more information. As far as we knew, AT&T allowed new customers to bring their own compatible equipment and did not require a 2 year contract.
Best Internet, TV, Phone Service Providers
By 1.23.08
Lots of companies are pushing deals for their bundled internet, tv and phone plans, but which are best? Consumer Reports surveyed its readers and here’s how they ranked the service providers:
When Telephone Companies Scam
By 1.22.08
“Competing by cheating has become a way of life for … many of these corporations, many of the most reputable of them. Because it’s done by AT&T, MCI, or Sprint, people are reluctant to use that word, but when all is said and done … these are scams.”
By 1.18.08
../../../..//2008/01/18/some-att-landline-long-distance-packages/
Some AT&T landline long-distance packages are going up a buck or two. [AT&T via TRACnotes]
Cancel T-Mobile With No ETF By Complaining To The FCC
By 1.18.08
…just wanted you to know that I am one of the many people who can’t seem to get T-Mobile service even though I live in New York City, a major market. All my calls to the regular customer service line got me no where and they did the standard runaround: $5 credit, work with their tech team to isolate the problem, etc. I read a user comment on one of the many T-Mobile threads on the Consumerist which said to file a complaint with the FCC and, by doing so, T-Mobile will have to address the problem and report back to the FCC a resolution. So I did. (There’s an online form so it’s easy.)
Man Escapes Verizon Contract Based On Text Message Rate Raises
By 1.16.08
Wayne writes:
I read one of your post last week concerning Verizon Wireless changing the terms of agreement concerning text messaging and my wife and I immediately contacted them to drop a very unneeded contract. It took two days to cancel, but everything in your post was accurate and made our case a slam dunk. To be fair, Verizon may have dragged it out a bit, but they didn’t fight it and their rep, Becky, called us back three times ( as promised ) to finish the request. A big thanks to The Consumerist!
Email Tmobile Executive Customer Service
By 1.12.08
ExecutiveResponse@T-Mobile.com is the email address for Tmobile’s team of high-echelon customer service specialists. One of our readers was able to use this email address to get Tmobile to give her a rebate she felt the cellphone company had unfairly denied.
Update: Reader Escapes Tmobile Without ETF Because He Has No Service
By 1.11.08
Victory has found the reader reader who couldn’t get any calls on his Tmobile phone, and yet they wouldn’t let him leave service without paying the dreaded Early Termination Fee. First he called the Retentions department number we gave him. They said they would cut the fee in half, but still charge him. “Considering the amount of time I spent on the phone, they should be paying me,” wrote Evan. Then one of Tmobile’s PR people stepped in, waved a magic wand, and now Tmobile is doing what they legally should have done all along, let Evan go without charging an ETF.
FiOS Installation Woes: 5 Attempts In Almost Two Months
By 1.9.08
David and Jenn were sick of Comcast’s unreliable service and decided to switch to Verizon FiOS. It only took 5 appointments and nearly two months.
Get Rid Of Telemarketers, Debt Collectors, And Other Vermin With Phone Tones
By 1.8.08
Chris recorded a little sound file onto his answering machine that stopped a debt collector robot that kept calling him, seeking people who didn’t live there. This .WAV is the U.S. Special Information Tone signal for “vacant circuit”, which signifies and out-of-service or nonexistant number. You know it better as “boo-boo-BOOP!” Chris recorded a new message on his answering machine with the tones at the beginning and the next time the robot called, it thought it was getting a dead line and dutifully erased the number from its system. Voila, automatons be gone. Some places have autodialers that don’t (or have been tweaked) to respond to SIT tones, but if you’ve got a persistent unwanted robot caller, it’s worth a shot.
Reach Verizon Wireless Executive Customer Service
By 1.8.08
910-794-6232 – Lisa Bennett, Executive Customer Relations
Silence Unwanted Callers Who Keep Calling Your Cellphone
By 1.7.08
Baby Toolkit has a great method for silencing people who keep calling your cellphone and can never seem to get it into their head that there is no “Maria” at this number and there never will be. Create a contact called “Wrong Number” and change its ring settings so the ringer is silenced. Whenever a wrong number calls, add it to the contact. Boom, saves you cellphone minutes, aggravation, and the time it takes to dig through everything to find the phone only to find out it’s for Maria, again.
Sprint: Please Keep Paying Your Dead Father's Cellphone Bill
By 1.5.08
Sprint wants Tracey Stewart to keep paying her dead father’s cellphone bill. Sprint is not completely heartless: they offered to cut his monthly rate to $10 until the contract expires in September.
FiOS Router Constantly Rebooting? Here's The Fix
By 1.4.08
Are you a a FiOS customer with your Verizon-supplied Actiontec MI424-WR router that keeps rebooting itself? Apparently a recent firmware upgrade, the software that runs the router, is buggy, but there is a solution. You can get it if you call and complain, that is, if you’re able to make it through the phone lines that are all bogged up from other customers calling about the same issue. Reader Jarrod writes, “My entire neighborhood is experiencing this issue and the only resolution I can find online says to call them and complain and then they will fix it. Too bad the support lines are jammed and after I did get through I have been on hold for over 1 1/2 hours.”
By 1.3.08
../../../..//2008/01/03/a-roundup-of-the-best/
A roundup of the best, basic, no-frills, low-cost cellphones. [Cnet]
Vonage Probably Owes AT&T $39 Million For Patent Infringement
By 12.24.07
Vonage has settled with AT&T over claims that the VOIP provider infringed on some patents held by the telecommunications giant.
