AT&T tried to rip me off today.

RyanKennedy

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So as some of you may have read before, I'm looking for a new WP because both of the cameras on my 920 no longer work. Aside from that, I love the phone, love the platform, etc. etc. So we go into AT&T looking to upgrade my 920, and the guy says no problem, and quickly does the math for me. Having done some research online, I knew there was a $25 discount by using AT&T Next per line, so I was banking on that offsetting a large part of the monthly cost. No dice. Having recently switched over from a family plan to the new mobile share plans, I was informed that my current price per line is $15. So far so good, right?

If I had upgraded today, which I did not, they would have raised the price of the line by $25 to $40, then taken the $25 off, putting me back at $15, then added $29.25 to my bill every month for this line alone. Which brings me to a grand total of.... $44.25 for that line. Almost $30 more than what I am paying now. Disillusioned, but okay with waiting, I asked the rep what happens if I wait until November to get a new phone, and just get the standard 2-year contract. He informed me the price would STILL go up $25 a line to $40 a line. So if I had upgraded today, it would have been $29.25/month X 12 months... adding a full $351 to my bill over the year. Considering we have three lines, when we are forced to upgrade phones due to breaking them or malfunctioning (phones won't last forever, but I sure as heck won't upgrade before necessary now), it will cost us at least $1,053 more every year on my bill, no matter what.

I actually went home and did the math on breaking the contract and adding a line to my corporate account at Verizon, and it ended up being cheaper to break my contract with AT&T on that line, pay $145 in ETFs, and buy the Icon for $200 on Verizon than it would be to pay for Next. The worst part about the whole ordeal though, is how shady AT&T was with the switch to Mobile Share plans. I came in under the assumption that I would be able to keep the $15 a line price, and they pulled the rug out from underneath us by not informing us that price would go up SIGNIFICANTLY every month when we are forced to buy new phones.

Sorry for the rant, but I was extremely disappointed with how AT&T attempted to take almost $1,100 more from my wallet by changing to these mobile share plans without telling me how it would work. If this is in the wrong thread, mods, I'm sorry, but I wasn't sure where to put it, and as the original story pertains to an attempted upgrade to the 1520, I figured this worked.
 
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paulxxwall

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Did they also mention data upgrade ! Ended Up going with next but 2 new phones, I kept both old ones 10gb of data ! That to me is unlimited data and gonna sell my old ones for some $. But since my girls not much for switching phones she loves here's as well as I love mine!
 

RyanKennedy

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Sounds like you're trying to play the system and they didn't fall for it to me.

My goal wasn't to play the system– the system was misrepresented to me. If I had known that any sort of upgrade whatsoever would have brought the price of the line up by $25, I would have stayed with the regular family plan, and paid $25 more a month so I would not have to pay that much more per line.
 

BobLobIaw

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but the $29.25 is the monthly cost of the phone under ATT Next. It sounds like the math is correct to me based on the quote I got to upgrade my 920 to a 1520. You are still paying $15/mo. for the service per month under mobile share, but now you are paying $29.25/month for the phone instead of paying for it up front or paying $199 on contract with a $40/mo. service charge.
 

RyanKennedy

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but the $29.25 is the monthly cost of the phone under ATT Next. It sounds like the math is correct to me based on the quote I got to upgrade my 920 to a 1520. You are still paying $15/mo. for the service per month under mobile share, but now you are paying $29.25/month for the phone instead of paying for it up front or paying $199 on contract with a $40/mo. service charge.

You're right. When I found out that was the price, I was disappointed, but thought I could wait for a normal upgrade and keep my $15/month price, which I could have kept had I not switched to the Mobile Share plan. That's the part that really bugs me. Nowhere was I told that the price would automatically go up after I got a new phone, and there was nothing I could do about it, save switch back to the old plan.
 

DaT Franchise

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^^^^^ this, its whatever a month for your phone plus 15 per line plus the data package you pick plus insurance and taxes, it all adds up. So 2 phones will hit you for almost 60 a month alone. Tax is roughly 28.
 

BobLobIaw

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Next is a total ripoff.

I thought that as well, until someone pointed out that if you pay off the phone under Next you are just paying the new cost of the phone over 20 months. In that scenario, you get the value of the time cost of money for 20 months. I think the best solution is to buy a discounted phone from a 3rd party if available--for instance the MS store has the 1520 for $449 right now. Otherwise, I don't really see Next as a rip-off.
 

BobLobIaw

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You're right. When I found out that was the price, I was disappointed, but thought I could wait for a normal upgrade and keep my $15/month price, which I could have kept had I not switched to the Mobile Share plan. That's the part that really bugs me. Nowhere was I told that the price would automatically go up after I got a new phone, and there was nothing I could do about it, save switch back to the old plan.

From what I understand, they just decided to give a perk to on-contract users by allowing them to reduce their monthly cost to $15 for the remainder of their existing contract only. It was nice for those of us that bought 920s because my overall cost dropped dramatically when I switched to mobile share. It's pretty clear from their pricing structure, though, that they are trying to get people to move from 2-year contracts to ATT Next.
 

oditius

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Don't forget, there are also condition's for that Next12 plan you may not have read in the fine print. That $29.25 is for 20 months, but after 12 you can trade it in for an upgraded phone for the same price. But, and here is the fine print, your phone has to be in perfect condition for them to accept it as a trade. It would be a lot cheaper to just pay full cash for the phone, go to Square Trade or someone else for insurance. You want to use the system, the only successful way to do that is pay cash up front. And you can get the 1520 cheaper from MS than AT&T.
 

trandz

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If you do Next you are paying the full amount for the phone literally. It equals to the full off-contract price. I did this with the Moto X. Also, if you pay all the months up front your account is eligible for a full upgrade right away which is cool
 

DaT Franchise

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In the end it doesn't matter what you do because you will pay one way or the other and you gotta pay to play.

Theres a way around having to return your phone in like new condition 😏
 

BobLobIaw

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Lol... You guys need to learn how to work the system. I got my 1520 completely for $0.01. Had the upgrade fee waved, free over night shipping and also had my previous 2 year wait time waved. (got an S4 7 months ago for $0.01 as well). Now the plan I have is the 2gb share plan. Phones are $25 that are off contract and phones on contract are $40 a month. Just a few days ago AT&T brought out there new plans and since I got my new phone before last month it made my contract phone to $25. I'm only paying AT&T $84 a month after military discount and before taxes. So it will roughly come out to $95 after taxes for two smart phones(S4 and 1520). I love AT&T and it just keeps getting cheaper and cheaper and I keep getting high end expensive phones for only a cent. You just need to be firm with them and tell them what you want. Don't be afraid to talk to the supervisor, once you mention that the sale's rep will do whatever you want.

How did you get the 1520 for $0.01?
 

psychotron

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I thought that as well, until someone pointed out that if you pay off the phone under Next you are just paying the new cost of the phone over 20 months. In that scenario, you get the value of the time cost of money for 20 months. I think the best solution is to buy a discounted phone from a 3rd party if available--for instance the MS store has the 1520 for $449 right now. Otherwise, I don't really see Next as a rip-off.


Since I'm too lazy to go over the math myself: http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/7/16/4528404/att-next-phone-upgrade-plans-a-huge-ripoff
 

oditius

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Lol... You guys need to learn how to work the system. I got my 1520 completely for $0.01. Had the upgrade fee waved, free over night shipping and also had my previous 2 year wait time waved. (got an S4 7 months ago for $0.01 as well). Now the plan I have is the 2gb share plan. Phones are $25 that are off contract and phones on contract are $40 a month. Just a few days ago AT&T brought out there new plans and since I got my new phone before last month it made my contract phone to $25. I'm only paying AT&T $84 a month after military discount and before taxes. So it will roughly come out to $95 after taxes for two smart phones(S4 and 1520). I love AT&T and it just keeps getting cheaper and cheaper and I keep getting high end expensive phones for only a cent. You just need to be firm with them and tell them what you want. Don't be afraid to talk to the supervisor, once you mention that the sale's rep will do whatever you want.

Got mine for $0.00.... No hit on the upgrade and no Next plan. I did sign up for the Next plan, but the order got messed up, took a week to get it approved, when I got the phone, it crapped out in less than 3 hours. Called AT&T to get it fixed, the told me to go in the nearest AT&T store and they will exchange it for me. Well after 3 hours, they exchanged it for a 16GB one. Opps wrong phone... I want the 32GB, then the saleslady said "All the black ones are 32GB" LoL I showed her the error of her ways, then the manager got involved, and we went back and forth with the corporate people on the phones. After the 3 hours, I said I had enough, reactivate my dumbphone and order me a new one, I will wait for it. Well 20 minutes later, their poor ipads running out of juice, the end of the day, they said they will get it accomplished. Next morning I got a call from AT&T asking if I gave the store manager permission to order a phone. I said yes. So now the store manager calls and says says I have 2 choices, wait the 10 days for the exchange or pay the tax again, then get credit when they get the phone. I said I will pay the taxes.. she put me on hold to get the info, well needless to say, we got disconnected. About 20 minutes later she called back, said "I got good news for you. I talked corporate into giving you the phone for free, no taxes, no shipping cost, no next plan and no ding on your upgrade" I said thanks for all your help. In 2 days I got my Brand new Black 32GB Nokia Lumia 1520, 5 days later there was a $40 credit on my charge card. (Refund for the first phone) I signed up for the 10GB family share plan, told the guy on the chat screen I really didn't want to start it till my new month starts. He said that he will make notes not to charge me for the prorated parts. (I printed the chat) I seen my whopping bill and called, the after telling her what the guy said about the prorated charges, she looked and <surprise> it was there, she credited me all the fees... 10GB is a lot for me, I have 3 lines, but 2 are dumbphones, so I get to enjoy the 10GB to myself and including tethering, unlimited text and calls..... I could tell you how I not only got my 920 for free, but they actually gave me enough credit to pay my bill for almost 2 months. But that would be in another book.... I love AT&T... And those nice understanding people in India that always seem to get my calls. (If I reach an American, I know I am getting nothing, so I hang up and try again) LoL
 

superlawyer15

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Next isn't a rip off anymore ...would you rather pay $15 for your line + the monthly next fee with the option of trading in every year for a new phone
or
would you rather pay $40 for your line + hundreds of dollars up front and be stuck with that device for 2 years unless u can sell it then spring the difference for the full retail price of the other device you want

it was only a rip off back when you had to pay $40 for the line + the next monthly fee for the device

Honestly, the way the system is set up now its better to be on next than the standard 2 year contract (this obv. doesnt apply to pre feb. 2nd customers, only new people)

I bought the 1520 in november, got my plan changed to the cheaper 10gb plan so now each of my lines are only $15, sold the 1520 for $400 and then got a note 3 on next for $35 ..so the money from the sale of the 1520 more than covers the 12 monthly payments for the note 3 and then in 12 months i can just stroll in and get a brand new device for $0
 

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