Home  ›  Carriers  ›

AT&T

Info & Phones News Forum  

all discussions

show all 62 replies

Need new phone, Old plan (ATTWS) does not exist.

Fauxmite

Apr 11, 2005, 12:00 PM
I've had AT&T for a few years and got a bunch or promo min when I signed on as a GSM subscriber for a shared national plan. My phone has now bit the dust 😢 . I went in to the Cingular store and was told that I had to sign up for a new plan to get a subsidized phone. Fair enough. However, the new plans stiff me on the minutes.
Do I now have go to ebay for a phone? Or another carrier for a plan? Is it impossible to sign up for for 2 years more on my old (ATTWS) plan in exchange for a new phone?
Thanks.
...
Shayby

Apr 11, 2005, 12:06 PM
You would have to migrate to Cingular with a new plan and new phone. You can no longer sign contracts for ATTWS since the company no longer exists.
...
Fauxmite

Apr 11, 2005, 12:15 PM
That's a bummer. I will lose about 30% of my minutes if I do that. I guess it is Ebay or Verizon for me.
Thanks
...
Shayby

Apr 11, 2005, 12:17 PM
No problem.
...
mamosley

Apr 11, 2005, 12:17 PM
buy a nokia cingular phone at retail cost and unlock it, pop in your att sim.
...
repCB

Apr 14, 2005, 12:34 PM
Just curious since i'm new to GSM, how to you unlock a phone?
...
Fauxmite

Apr 14, 2005, 1:29 PM
Go on the web, look for unlocking services, send them your make, model number and ESN (?) and 5-10 bucks. Some of them want you to ship the phone to them, others send you a series of codes that you have to punch into your keypad (correctly, or else the phone locks up after a couple of tries and you have to take it in to a shop). If you fish around even more you may get the codes for free.
Caveat Emptor. 😁
...
mamosley

Apr 14, 2005, 4:16 PM
for nokia phones, go to nokiafree.org
...
tyheon

Oct 14, 2005, 9:40 AM
call customer care. they have access to blue GSM equipment. It't not cheap, but you can definitely get it.
...
tadams

Apr 11, 2005, 12:17 PM
you can go to Verizon (obviously) but the plans will be the same, if not worse there then they would be with Cingular. We can offer you Rollover 😁 , you will wish that you had it being on a different plan than you are now. Hope you stay.
...
jramossteel

Apr 11, 2005, 12:31 PM
Let me ask you this... Why Verizon because they seem to be even stiffer on minutes in certain cases?
...
Cing_Cust_Care

Apr 11, 2005, 12:42 PM
yeah and their ETF's are like 270.00!
...
Fauxmite

Apr 11, 2005, 12:50 PM
I have no fondness for any particular company. Just my plan. Around here (DC) the 800 lb gorilla is Verizon. They also have the nifty trick of being the only functional service offered in the Metro (subway) system .
It seems that it would cost Cingular less, to just let me renew for 2 years, than force me to compare costs/coverage from different carriers just for a piddly phone.
...
kingfrog77

Apr 11, 2005, 1:06 PM
Fauxmite said:
I have no fondness for any particular company. Just my plan. Around here (DC) the 800 lb gorilla is Verizon. They also have the nifty trick of being the only functional service offered in the Metro (subway) system .
It seems that it would cost Cingular less, to just let me renew for 2 years, than force me to compare costs/coverage from different carriers just for a piddly phone.


I don't think so I was in the same situation as you and after checking out the other carriers and phones, and plans decided to migrate to Cingular. I lost 200 minutes a month from ATTWS but now have an extra 800 minutes due to roll over. Very content.
...
phonefriend

Oct 12, 2005, 4:13 PM
Just noticing the thread so my reply might be dated.
I currently have ATT wireless. I got a sharable plan with 950 minutes for 59.99 that includes early evenings and added 3 other lines. When some of the lines approached anniversary Cingular sent letter asking me to migrate all my lines. For the 90 + taxes I currently pay, I would only get 700 minutes, no early evenings, but I would get rollover. I have checked my usage, without early evenings starting at 7pm I would be using in excess of 1100 minutes per month. With the current plans from cingular I would have a total bill of 110 + (3 x 10)= 140 + taxes. That's $50 more than I need to pay. I really can't find a good reason to migrate. I already have a GSM plan, former ATTW customer ...
(continues)
...
phonefriend

Oct 13, 2005, 9:11 AM
Correction to new plan calculation above. For 90 (two lines and 1400 minutes) + 20 (2 additional lines) = $110 + taxes. $20 more for 450 more minutes, loss of early evenings, gain of rollover.

The major downside is that I couldn't use my existing phones unless they were unlocked. Cingular refuses to unlock them, and I am not willing to pay an average of $100 to get comparable phones or extend my contract by 2 more years.
...
texaswireless

Oct 13, 2005, 12:06 PM
You need to again qualify your statement. Cingular is not refusing to unlock your handsets. They can't unlock your handsets as they don't have the code. ATTWS never unlocked GSM handsets and codes (or access to them) was not given to customer service employees of ATTWS.

If you had a Cingular handset, locked by Cingular not ATTWS, then there is a simple procedure than can be followed to get said handset unlocked.
...
phonefriend

Oct 13, 2005, 3:31 PM
All my phones are from ATTWS. That's lame. If a company has the phones locked to their network, they should have the ability to unlock them. Cingular should have gotten the unlock codes during the acquisition. Conveniently forgetting works out for Cingular, since they force customers who want to migrate, to purchase new phones and agree to a contract extension.
...
jinx7676

Oct 13, 2005, 3:34 PM
phonefriend said:
All my phones are from ATTWS. That's lame. If a company has the phones locked to their network, they should have the ability to unlock them. Cingular should have gotten the unlock codes during the acquisition. Conveniently forgetting works out for Cingular, since they force customers who want to migrate, to purchase new phones and agree to a contract extension.


anyone can go to one of any thousands of websites and get they're phone unlocked for a couple of bucks. christ, if it's a Nokia, you can probobly do it for free yourself.
...
texaswireless

Oct 13, 2005, 3:35 PM
You sure love to throw that word force around.

ATTWS never had them, they didn't want to have them because they didn't want to have to give them out. Cingular did not get them because there were none to get.

Stop blaming Cingular for everything. Cingular has a policy for offering codes to customers, but they CAN'T offer them on phones they didn't lock.

Blame ATTWS since they are the cause of your problem.
...
jinx7676

Oct 13, 2005, 3:37 PM
wait a minute...

phonefriend said:
I am already using ebay to buy unlocked phones.


so what's the big deal?
...
tadams

Apr 11, 2005, 12:11 PM
You won't be able to get the same plan and a new phone. It's the same with every carrier. Plans update, and eventually are no longer available. You won't be able to sign a contract with AT&T. What was your plan?
...
Fauxmite

Apr 11, 2005, 12:18 PM
Family/National 39.99 plus 19.99 . 650 min anytime, Unlimited nights and weekends, 500 mobile to mobile min. It has worked for me for the past 3 (4?) years. Hence the reluctance to change.
...
jramossteel

Apr 11, 2005, 12:44 PM
410 more a month will give you only 50 less minutes BUT you get the rollover and unlimited mobile to mobile. 😁
...
jramossteel

Apr 11, 2005, 12:45 PM
$10 more is what I meant
...
Cing_Cust_Care

Apr 11, 2005, 12:47 PM
if it works then most people (like yourself) wouldn't want to change it. aye... tis true for 39.99+19.99 you would only be getting 450minutes BUT it 450minutes with ROLLOVER. and instead of getting 500MM you would get unlimited M2M. of course keep the 5kNW. but if those extra 200 minutes would be to people who were NOT AT&T or cingular customers I CAN see your dilemma. but it you HAVE to change (and you pretty much will) you might as well get the best for your $$ which is US 🙂
...
Grimkirk

Oct 12, 2005, 3:36 PM
Former AT&T (now Cingular Blue) customer, who *JUST* found out that 5KNW trumps M2M.

So, this is my first full month as a Cingular (Orange) customer. Got my bill, reviewed my calls, noticed that 896 minutes of calls to other Cingular users were coded as 5KNW, and not M2M.

Called Cust Svc. Was told Nights and Weekends supercedes the free Mobile-to-Mobile program. Upon advising him that I was never informed of this, verbally *OR* in writing, I then proceded to get the run around.

I was told it was documented in the Customer Care literature I was sent (*it is not*). Then told, "Well, we have the right to change the terms of the plan at any time without notice to the consumer, so long as we continue to provide service." I asked if my p...
(continues)
...
jramossteel

Oct 12, 2005, 3:44 PM
In the terms and conditions of your contract (I know in at the store level there is a packet that we give you with those, I would assume that with telesales or online ordering it is in the Customer Service Summary packet that you get about a week after your phone), it states that nights and weekends are the first to be used, then mobile to mobile, then anytime then rollover. But it still should have been explained to you if you asked the rep... If you did not, as a consumer it is also your responsibility to read the terms and conditions of contracts that you sign too. There is only so much that we can tell you at the store without taking three or four hours per person to make sure that everything is covered.
...
Grimkirk

Oct 12, 2005, 4:30 PM
This was a telesale. However; any marketing practice that packages a class of calling as FREE in conjunction with a general class of calling which is billable (which 5KNW is) would seem to make it incumbent upon the seller to clarify the distinction (upfront, READ: Pre-sale), especially where there's a potential financial impact. Free M2M is a major facet of your marketing strategy. Why hide the niggardly stuff in the minutia? And it doesn't have to take 3-4 hours per customer. It took as long as it took me to write this, to say it.

And just because there's a low degree of liklihood that anyone would consume all 5000 minutes doesn't mean that you can ignore the point. Why not just say 'FREE M2M only applies during regular anytime hours.'?...
(continues)
...
jramossteel

Oct 12, 2005, 4:49 PM
I understand your point and you are correct I work for Cingular... But it is true in this situation, customers do also need to take responsibility for their puchases. I mean you would no go to a car dealer and tell them to pick any car off the lot, you would do your research... You should do the same kind of research when you are going to sign a contract for a phone, in my opinion.
...
Grimkirk

Oct 12, 2005, 5:41 PM
Taking responsibility for asking every question that might address every contingency that every consumer might actually face isn't a reasonable burden to put upon the consumer, since it is the vendor who knows what the relevant issues are, not the consumer.

Or are you saying that corporate tobacco has no responsibility for the millions of consumers they *knowingly* sold a carcinogen to? That it's the dead and dyings' own fault for not asking the right questions before committing themselves to addiction and death?

Don't be so glib. I did my research. I already didn't want to leave AT&T for a litany of reasons, but was coerced into doing so in order to collect on contractual benefits (handset upgrade) I was already entitled to as a blue ...
(continues)
...
texaswireless

Oct 12, 2005, 5:53 PM
Don't be so dramatic.

Tobacco vs. Free MTM and Night and Weekends?

How about comparing something that causes CANCER to something that HASN'T EVEN CAUSED A PENNY OF OVERAGE.

Your statement insulted me and I am sure anyone else who has had a loved one die of cancer related to smoking.

What I am sure you forgot to ask any of those Cingular customers was whether or not that billing setup effected them at all.

It was disclosed, it wasn't deceptive. You need to waste time on something else.
...
PolarIce

Oct 12, 2005, 6:08 PM
LOL
🤣
tobacco VS cell phones...

we are not putting the cigarettes to the persons mouth and making them inhale the carcinogen...

nor are we putting the cell phone to your ear to make you go over your minutes.

Take responsiblity for your actions.

People like you are the reason I hang up on customers...

Oh, and chill out. Man, it's only a cell phone bill...sheesh.
...
MEETOO

Oct 12, 2005, 11:17 PM
it's ok....M+M works if you use all your night's and weekends first...
...
hot_md_guy

Oct 13, 2005, 8:41 AM
God, go to Verizon. You whine bag. You probably work for Verizon and are simply trolling. No one cares. Verizon just added an "administrative fee" to their bill. Even though they were already the most expensive service provider do you think any of their customers care as passionatly as you do about this?

Are they compairing it to cigs?

You are ignorant. You MUST work for VZW. Just go. Away. In my market Cingular reps treat people like you just like they should. In my store, when someone threatens to walk to VZW they wave goodbye. Especially blowhard former blue customers.

Just a tip.

YOUR COMPANY WENT OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE IT WAS DECEPTIVE AND UNPROFITIBLE.

You think Verizon will give you free incoming text? Ha. No. And no $...
(continues)
...
jinx7676

Oct 12, 2005, 6:15 PM
Grimkirk said:
Or are you saying that corporate tobacco has no responsibility for the millions of consumers they *knowingly* sold a carcinogen to? That it's the dead and dyings' own fault for not asking the right questions before committing themselves to addiction and death?


yes. it's called a big honkin label on the side of the package that says "this crap causes cancer." i smoked for 8 years, and quit cold turkey. anyone else can too, but they CHOOSE not to. and don't go with the addictive line on me. if anyone has enough self-contol, they can do it.

Grimkirk said:
I already didn't want to leave AT&T for a litany of reasons, but was coerced into doing so in order to collect on co
...
(continues)
...
jinx7676

Oct 12, 2005, 6:21 PM
Grimkirk said:
I did my research...

...It's deception, plain and simple.


if you had done your research, and the Terms and Conditions were this important, you would have known this BEFORE migrating over. the T&C's are readily available on the website for anyone to read. We also give people a 30 day return policy just in case they take home their T&C's and find something so atrocious that they need to go elsewhere.
...
texaswireless

Oct 12, 2005, 5:47 PM
You are way off base here. First you say it is not in your terms and conditions. Then when someone intelligent enough to confront you says they are you drop that and go to the "they should have told me" clause.

It isn't ignoring the point either. As for in the store (or on the phone) there are many DIFFERENT "fine print" items that could be covered. Covering ALL of the items WOULD take hours. How was the rep to know that was important to you? And if you try to say it is material, you are right. ALL of it is material, hence why we give you something in writing to answer any questions you may have or may think of later.

You are also arguing about something that 1/10th of 1% of customers MIGHT approach.

Argue all you want, but t...
(continues)
...
phonefriend

Oct 12, 2005, 4:34 PM
Luckily I'm still on the former ATTWS with UNWK. I'll have to make sure any new cingular orange plan I use has UNWK.

This is sleazy. Cingular loves marketing that its calling community is 46M > 48M > 50M so that customers should be saving on using their limited minutes. Obviously this really applies to anytime minutes. 5000 minutes of nights and weekends is the equivalent of 83.3 hours. Since nights go from 9pm to 6am and weekends are 48 hours, the typical month has 400 available night and weekend hours. If the typical person sleeps 8 hours a night, there are only 160 hours to be awake in the night and weekend window. So with 83 hours, one would have to be on the phone for half of the waking time to go over on a 5000 minute plan. ...
(continues)
...
craptacularwireless

Oct 14, 2005, 2:29 PM
Actually, if one person has IN and the other doesn't, the one who DOES have IN is not charged their minutes, just the person who DOESN'T have IN. Where'd you get your info? Did you just assume it or did some misinformed person give you that misinformation?
...
Hello Moto

Oct 12, 2005, 5:10 PM
Also, if you visit Cingular.com, under plan terms it says:
'Minutes will be depleted according to usage in the following order: night and weekend minutes, mobile to mobile minutes, anytime minutes and rollover minutes.'
...
jramossteel

Oct 12, 2005, 5:11 PM
That was my point entirely... Some customers do also need to take responsibility for researching things as well
...
Hello Moto

Oct 12, 2005, 5:12 PM
Yes they do... and when there is no monetary loss, why complain???
...
jramossteel

Oct 12, 2005, 5:14 PM
Have no clue 😕
...
Hello Moto

Oct 12, 2005, 5:18 PM
Oh... like the chick who has been escalating since MAY because her local land line provider (admittedly) will not query our cnam (caller id) database... so the name shows up as the last person who had that number... we do everything we can but her local land line won't do anything and says it won't until January or February... and wants credit for the inconvenience... grrrrrrr

All we can do is broadcast it correctly or put a blocl on the cnam, which she doesn't want. We can also put her city and state, she doesn't want that either... makes me angry.
...
Grimkirk

Oct 12, 2005, 5:44 PM
Why complain???

If this behavior is common Cingular business practice ("gee, sucker... Guess you should have read more closely"), then what else have they deceived their customers about? And how long will it take to find out?
...
Hello Moto

Oct 12, 2005, 6:44 PM
NO... actually as you put it 'Free m2m' is just that, ITS FREE... You pay nothing for it... you pay for 450 minutes that rollover... everything else is FREE... it comes with the plan...
...
Grimkirk

Oct 12, 2005, 7:21 PM
No: $39.95 pays for -
450 Anytime Minutes
5000 Nights and Weekends
(a paid for benefit)
Free M2M
(Maybe a freebie, but it's not
a 'freebie' if there's any condition
under which it isn't actually 'free')

The reason the 5KNW isn't 'FREE' is because there are other plans which have UNLIMITED Nights and Weekends, which are higher priced. And when the 'FREE M2M' cuts into a finite amount of time (5K vs Unlim.), then its not FREE, and neither are the 5K minutes.
...
Hello Moto

Oct 12, 2005, 8:12 PM
That's correct... and if you need more n&w, you may move up to the next plan... the only other company that I know of to off free m2m is Verizon and there are WAY to many stipulations with that... There is an old saying 'let the buyer beware'...

And yes, reading terms and conditions are important, not just for cell companies but with any contractual agreement you enter into. If you signed up with a credit card company that has 5 % interest and then after 12 months jumps to 12%, if that was in the t&c, you wouldn't be able to dispute that...

it's very simple, there was a technicality that you were not aware of and now you are... it did not cost you any money, and now that it has been pointed out to you and it was info that was readil...
(continues)
...
Grimkirk

Oct 12, 2005, 11:25 PM
Well, gee... I guess I ought to be grateful that another 'less obvious' 'technicality' isn't that my plan's 5KNW minutes are still available on the third Sunday of every month.

Whatever... Like I said, this is why number portability exists.
...
texaswireless

Oct 13, 2005, 10:36 AM
You are losing this argument buddy.

You are welcome to leave, and yes number portability exists for people who want to leave and keep their same number. Thanks for pointing out that fact to us all.

But you weren't deceived.
...
Grimkirk

Oct 13, 2005, 2:49 PM
A) It wasn't an argument, it was an observation. One which still holds water on its merits.

B) Your opinion on whether I was or was not deceived hardly alters the facts at hand.

It is my OPINION that Cingular engages in deceptive marketing practices. I've taken the liberty of publicising my OPINION by pointing out how I think that transpires.

If you (and anyone else) wish to subscribe to the opposing notion, by submitting to the concept that anything that isn't specifically illegal is, by virtue of its lack of illegality, is also moral, you're welcome to.

Just because the deception isn't specifically prohibited, doesn't make it any less deceptive. Obviscation is a form of deception. And legal minutae is designed specifically for ...
(continues)
...
texaswireless

Oct 13, 2005, 3:07 PM
What is funny is I have not taken a SINGLE pot shot (as you call it). I have argued on the merits you presented rather than resorting to name calling as other here have done with you (whether or not you deserve it is another story).

You just made your point very clear with that post. You have an anti-marketing approach to resolving problems when they in fact may have been caused by your lack of attention to detail. If it was such a concern why wait until after your 30 day out or purchase before reading said terms. They are available online and in store.

If you have a non-standard requirement of your service you should take responsibility for you needs and ask questions or read Terms and Conditions within any "out" period. You didn...
(continues)
...
guilty

Apr 14, 2005, 7:49 AM
To get another att phone you can resort to Ebay or try best buy or other thrid party dealers. If that don't work for you and you are on shearable plan you can get a hold of att phone for a hefty price from att customer care if you meet eligible requirements. don't hurt to call
...
Buckock

Oct 12, 2005, 5:57 PM
All you need to do is call Customer care, as for the Loyalty dept. we have 6 phones to choose from and CAN still sign contracts for phone discounts.
...
PolarIce

Oct 12, 2005, 6:09 PM
hey, Buckock..

what kinds of phones are there?

I may be interested.... 😁
...
Buckock

Oct 13, 2005, 10:48 PM
moto v180, v220, and v551
Nokia 3120, 3220, and the 6010
...
Amy55

Oct 12, 2005, 7:23 PM
You have a Shared Plan so you qualify for a blue upgrade. Any former AT&T Shared Plans can add a line and do blue to blue upgrades. If someone tells you no, ask for their supervisor.
...
Amy55

Oct 12, 2005, 7:36 PM
I typed this one thread up but I forgot to change the title:

You have a Shared Plan so you qualify for a blue upgrade. Any former AT&T Shared Plans can add a line and do blue to blue upgrades. If someone tells you no, ask for their supervisor.
...
phonefriend

Oct 14, 2005, 10:19 AM
I am curious about this. I have a family plan with 4 lines that I got last year. If I add a 5th line to the current 4 lines, will I be forced to choose one of the current packages or can I keep the 950 minutes, early evenings and UNWK that I get for the base line at 59.99?
...
Amy55

Oct 14, 2005, 8:52 PM
If you have a blue account you can add a new line. The policy states that the reps are to offer an Orange offer first. If that is declined then you can go ahead and add the other line onto your existing account and plan. Basically if they start to offer Orange just decline and tell them that you want your old plan and nothing can convince you otherwise. Then they will need to transfer you to New Account Services (NAS) or Credits and Activations as it is called now.
...
eltupac

Oct 13, 2005, 11:15 AM
DUDE, get an att gsm phone from ebay and put your sim in it and that's it. Screw cingular and their crappy plans and phones. I still have a ATT TDMA phone and if this one burns I will buy another ATT TDMA phone as long as I can. I get 600 mins plus 50 more from work for $39.99 plus unlimited nights & weekends, forget their rollover, who needs it. The TDMA and GSM technology is already paid for, they are just getting profit now and that's making them greedy. You would think that this money will be invested into WCDMA, but no. When WCDMA/UMTS comes out, you will pay double of what we pay now. 👿
...
texaswireless

Oct 13, 2005, 3:10 PM
You are a fool.

Cingular is investing billions this year alone into NEW GSM equipment, let alone maintaining existing equipment.

And I guess you completely failed to see that WCDMA is being tested for roll out AS WE SPEAK.

Facts are important, even in an anonymous online forum.
...

You must log in to reply.

Please log in to report a message to the moderator.


all discussions

Subscribe to Phone Scoop News with RSS Follow @phonescoop on Threads Follow @phonescoop on Mastodon Phone Scoop on Facebook Follow on Instagram

 

Playwire

All content Copyright 2001-2024 Phone Factor, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Content on this site may not be copied or republished without formal permission.