Thanks MSNBC.
Read this article... Pretty standard ignorant assessment of the wireless industry.
Then read the comments.
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2006/08/sneaky_fee_aler.htm ... »
People will never understand why things are the way they are.
One particular comment intrigued me, it won't let me copy it, but it was from B Hollis, St. Louis MO.
He claims he had Cingular, cancelled, paid $175 per line, then switched to AT&T, which then got bought by Cingular, and then cancelled again.
Now if I'm not mistaken, Cingular's ETF's have always been $150, up until a few months ago.
People...
Then read the comments.
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2006/08/sneaky_fee_aler.htm ... »
People will never understand why things are the way they are.
One particular comment intrigued me, it won't let me copy it, but it was from B Hollis, St. Louis MO.
He claims he had Cingular, cancelled, paid $175 per line, then switched to AT&T, which then got bought by Cingular, and then cancelled again.
Now if I'm not mistaken, Cingular's ETF's have always been $150, up until a few months ago.
People...
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i still have old manual contracts to verify this. I beleive it changed in april.
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I thought so, I was fairly certain of that.
One thing that bothers me about all of this is that they're blaming "cingular" for these "surprise fees", when they ARE on the contract.
Furthermore, if they aren't explained, and for some reason aren't on the contract, then their beef isn't with cingular, it's with the sales rep/location that sold them the device!
One thing that bothers me about all of this is that they're blaming "cingular" for these "surprise fees", when they ARE on the contract.
Furthermore, if they aren't explained, and for some reason aren't on the contract, then their beef isn't with cingular, it's with the sales rep/location that sold them the device!
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Thats the problem with any sales industry. Lousy salesmen giving a legitament buisness a poor name. Followed by customers who think they are always right.
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yep, the 2 make a bad scenarior. thats why a clause in the contract is that they are not responsible for what the sales rep told you. it eliminates liability and dishonest customers.
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did you read all the comments?
i love the guy who said he thought taxes should be included in the 39.99 (example). how the hell could cell companies include tax in that amount, when the tax is a percentage of your total bill? what if you go over minutes? the company has to include those taxes for you too? we, as comsumers should be used to adding 7-10% to all purchases automatically. this is for our government. we pay these taxes to live in a free society. granted, our govt isnt perfect, but its about as good as it gets.
GET OVER PAYING TAXES
i love the guy who said he thought taxes should be included in the 39.99 (example). how the hell could cell companies include tax in that amount, when the tax is a percentage of your total bill? what if you go over minutes? the company has to include those taxes for you too? we, as comsumers should be used to adding 7-10% to all purchases automatically. this is for our government. we pay these taxes to live in a free society. granted, our govt isnt perfect, but its about as good as it gets.
GET OVER PAYING TAXES
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Not only that But Cingular headed the battle with the IRS to drop the federal tax. These people dont appreciate that? Thats like $30 a month in taxes on some family plans. The IRS' argument was "We still have to pay for the Spanish-American war". Most of us are tought by our ignorant parents that all fees and taxes are BS. If any one of them actually knew what it costs to keep this network going they might be completely content with what they are paying for. Fees and Taxes serve a purpose. Like the TDMA Fee. Cingular has lost soooo much money honoring these plans for its customers for so long. Now that its time to dismantle it We're the bad guy not AT&T wireless for not changing it sooner. Unfortunately Because of these customers who wrongfu...
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gosh so many consumers just have no logical idea of a cell phone bill and how it works. when u go to buy a new car the price u pay after negotiations is "oh my gosh" so much higher becuase of $1,000(+/-) in taxes you think they woudl be smart and think first...
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I'll have to agree many of your comments. Although they say VZW doesn't charge upgrade fees, I would love them to explain why I HAVE seen something called "ESN Swap Fee" show up on some of my customers' VZW bills.
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This guy is an idiot. He is totally biased. T-Mobile and Vzw "don't have upgrade fees" Well, Vzw charges you a $10 to "transfer your phonebook" to your new phone. That sounds like an upgrade fee to me... 🙄
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sounded kinda biased to me too. but its true. the transfer fee is a service. you dont have to do it and a lot of customers dont. there is no upgrade fee whatsoever with vzw. not sure about tmob.
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the transfer fee is a service.
!@#$%
You and I both know switching GSM phones merely requires removing the SIM from phone A and inserting it in phone B. If I can handle that myself, will you waive the "transfer fee"?
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i always just move the sim card. ive never had an upgrade fee with cingular.
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i should have been more clear maybe. i was referring to the phone book transfer service fee that verizon has not beng an upgrade fee. we do not use sim cards. and yes i feel that cingy should not charge an upgrade fee knowing all u need to do is pop in a sim card. just my opinion though. i am sure there is a reason for it just like the reason behind activation fees most likely. there is always a reason.
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i hate the upg fee, i always call it the unjustifiable upgrade fee, cuz thats what it is(from a non-executive person) anyway
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Upgrade fees are there because they can get away with it. Before 2002, there were no billed upgrade fees. The store charged them per line. Then Cingular realized they could pocket the money instead of the stores, and started charging it on your bill. I'm sure they justify it with some sort of paperwork fee, and if it wasn't tacked on to the end it would just be worked into the price of the phone.
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The upgrade fee is there for signing the two year contract and Cindualr extending your contract. It is true that you can just swap sims, but when you upgrade you are getting the two-year discount price on the phone. You can just swap your sim if you want to, but your gonna pay retail price for the phone. So I think paying 18 dollars is way better than paying 150+ for a new phone. huh???
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what pepole need to understand is that we need to get paid too. just because we have an hourly pay plus commission, does not mean we make alot of money. there are your pple who come in and only want a basic plan with no extras. therefore the only comm. we made was off the new 2yr contract they signed. 5 bucks. and there are your days when you wont get anything at all. we resign them in the new contract, set them with new equipment and ect. so how is that not fair to charge a measly $18 processing fee? sh@t or get off the pot!
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Yay, I finally started a topic that people are responding to! I am so proud of myself. This is 20 months in the making.
🙂
Anyways, I think it's ridiculous how ignorant the entire article is, comments and all.
The taxes and fees, on a day to day basis, I have to explain to customers that they're GOVERNMENT MANDATED, and still, it's "cingular is the bad guy, they take all the money they can from anyone."
EVERY provider charges fees and taxes, not just cingular. And they vary from state to state.
I work in Pennsylvania, and anytime anyone starts complaining about the taxes, I say, "My sister used to live in Washington, and the taxes were 3x higher on cellular products out there than they are here."
And from what she's told ...
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🙂
Anyways, I think it's ridiculous how ignorant the entire article is, comments and all.
The taxes and fees, on a day to day basis, I have to explain to customers that they're GOVERNMENT MANDATED, and still, it's "cingular is the bad guy, they take all the money they can from anyone."
EVERY provider charges fees and taxes, not just cingular. And they vary from state to state.
I work in Pennsylvania, and anytime anyone starts complaining about the taxes, I say, "My sister used to live in Washington, and the taxes were 3x higher on cellular products out there than they are here."
And from what she's told ...
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Amen on that. Everyone should work retail once in their life, it is a learning experience.
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I actually had a customer the other day who wanted to return her phone because of Cingular's upgrade fee and this lady had a tdma service before the upgrade so you know she mentioned the $5 tdma fee. I explained to her the way cell phone companies stay in business and how they need to expand to improve their service for the future. She kept the phone but was still upset that Cingular is "screwing" her over. Yet she doesnt like any service but Cingular. Strange how people's minds work.
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I love all the comments from people who say you need a phD or MBA to calculate all the hidden fees. I didn't know you needed a graduate degree to grab a calculator and add numbers together. wow.
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