Get out of your Cingular Contract w/o ETF

[njcoig]

Originally posted by: KuJoe
So the person I was quoting was incorrect? Guess that's what happens when I assume to much. Either way this whole thing sucks and Cingular is getting a bad rap over it for no reason, they did nothing wrong, plain and simple.

I respectfully disagree. Having been a Cingular customer for 10+ years now, they have a deserved bad rap, and I feel comfortable representing that. Is any company perfect? No, but those with captive customers are ALWAYS the worst - because they can be. Bravo to the customers in this forum with a legitimate gripe for sticking up for themselves and not taking unilateral price hikes lying down.

There's a reason that Cingular has some 8000+ unresolved complaints with the BBB.

-N

 

[Zangetsu]

i'd get a cell phone but as cheap as my sunrocket is for free long distance 24/7/365 (~$16.50) a month why bother? it would be nice if google does their wireless internet rollout plan and *somehow* comes out with a cell phone with free long distance 24/7/365 (i.e. unlimited daytime minutes) for $30-$50 a month . i'm game :thumbsup:

somehow i doubt though the major cell phone providers would let this happen

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: KuJoe

Originally posted by: njcoig

Originally posted by: KuJoe
Wow, because of a bunch of morons crying over 5 cents they had to change their policy that will most likely screw over a bunch of people who aren't trying to abuse the system. Bravo.

Actually, the morons are those who think this policy change has anything to do with that. It was a revision of the arbitration clause, the "change in fees" proviso was always there.

And 5 cents is a 50% increase in fees, and a coercive measure to induce customers to spend more. No need to crap all over others who have found value in this post.

-N

So the person I was quoting was incorrect? Guess that's what happens when I assume to much. Either way this whole thing sucks and Cingular is getting a bad rap over it for no reason, they did nothing wrong, plain and simple.

1. You're an idiot
2. You're a threadcrapper
3. If you had bothered to read the thread AT ALL, you'd notice that a lot of people are calling to cancel out of PRINCIPLE. I entered a contractual agreement at 10 cents, so it better damn well stay at 10 cents per text message.

If they can get away with this, what's next?

 

[KuJoe]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats

Originally posted by: KuJoe

Originally posted by: njcoig

Originally posted by: KuJoe
Wow, because of a bunch of morons crying over 5 cents they had to change their policy that will most likely screw over a bunch of people who aren't trying to abuse the system. Bravo.

Actually, the morons are those who think this policy change has anything to do with that. It was a revision of the arbitration clause, the "change in fees" proviso was always there.

And 5 cents is a 50% increase in fees, and a coercive measure to induce customers to spend more. No need to crap all over others who have found value in this post.

-N

So the person I was quoting was incorrect? Guess that's what happens when I assume to much. Either way this whole thing sucks and Cingular is getting a bad rap over it for no reason, they did nothing wrong, plain and simple.

1. You're an idiot
2. You're a threadcrapper
3. If you had bothered to read the thread AT ALL, you'd notice that a lot of people are calling to cancel out of PRINCIPLE. I entered a contractual agreement at 10 cents, so it better damn well stay at 10 cents per text message.

If they can get away with this, what's next?

LoL, you're not serious, you joined Cingular specifically because their text messages were 10 cents? So is everybody going to stop driving their cars out of principle because gas prices are going up for "no reason"? If you've had bad service in your area or something legitament to quit then that's fine, but to cancel your contract and then open complaints with the BBB against a company because they changed their rates (which last I checked businesses did once and a while) is moronic, plain and simple.

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: KuJoe

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats

Originally posted by: KuJoe

Originally posted by: njcoig

Originally posted by: KuJoe
Wow, because of a bunch of morons crying over 5 cents they had to change their policy that will most likely screw over a bunch of people who aren't trying to abuse the system. Bravo.

Actually, the morons are those who think this policy change has anything to do with that. It was a revision of the arbitration clause, the "change in fees" proviso was always there.

And 5 cents is a 50% increase in fees, and a coercive measure to induce customers to spend more. No need to crap all over others who have found value in this post.

-N

So the person I was quoting was incorrect? Guess that's what happens when I assume to much. Either way this whole thing sucks and Cingular is getting a bad rap over it for no reason, they did nothing wrong, plain and simple.

1. You're an idiot
2. You're a threadcrapper
3. If you had bothered to read the thread AT ALL, you'd notice that a lot of people are calling to cancel out of PRINCIPLE. I entered a contractual agreement at 10 cents, so it better damn well stay at 10 cents per text message.

If they can get away with this, what's next?

LoL, you're not serious, you joined Cingular specifically because their text messages were 10 cents? So is everybody going to stop driving their cars out of principle because gas prices are going up for "no reason"? If you've had bad service in your area or something legitament to quit then that's fine, but to cancel your contract and then open complaints with the BBB against a company because they changed their rates (which last I checked businesses did once and a while) is moronic, plain and simple.

That's a horrible comparison, considering obtaining gas is a PAY AS YOU GO service. This is a CONTRACT. Do you know what a contract is? Because I'm having serious doubts that you, in fact, do.

 

[KuJoe]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats

Originally posted by: KuJoe

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats

Originally posted by: KuJoe

Originally posted by: njcoig

Originally posted by: KuJoe
Wow, because of a bunch of morons crying over 5 cents they had to change their policy that will most likely screw over a bunch of people who aren't trying to abuse the system. Bravo.

Actually, the morons are those who think this policy change has anything to do with that. It was a revision of the arbitration clause, the "change in fees" proviso was always there.

And 5 cents is a 50% increase in fees, and a coercive measure to induce customers to spend more. No need to crap all over others who have found value in this post.

-N

So the person I was quoting was incorrect? Guess that's what happens when I assume to much. Either way this whole thing sucks and Cingular is getting a bad rap over it for no reason, they did nothing wrong, plain and simple.

1. You're an idiot
2. You're a threadcrapper
3. If you had bothered to read the thread AT ALL, you'd notice that a lot of people are calling to cancel out of PRINCIPLE. I entered a contractual agreement at 10 cents, so it better damn well stay at 10 cents per text message.

If they can get away with this, what's next?

LoL, you're not serious, you joined Cingular specifically because their text messages were 10 cents? So is everybody going to stop driving their cars out of principle because gas prices are going up for "no reason"? If you've had bad service in your area or something legitament to quit then that's fine, but to cancel your contract and then open complaints with the BBB against a company because they changed their rates (which last I checked businesses did once and a while) is moronic, plain and simple.

That's a horrible comparison, considering obtaining gas is a PAY AS YOU GO service. This is a CONTRACT. Do you know what a contract is? Because I'm having serious doubts that you, in fact, do.

So pay as you go and pay per use are different? That's where I'm getting confused then, thanks for enlightening me.

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: KuJoe

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats

Originally posted by: KuJoe

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats

Originally posted by: KuJoe

Originally posted by: njcoig

Originally posted by: KuJoe
Wow, because of a bunch of morons crying over 5 cents they had to change their policy that will most likely screw over a bunch of people who aren't trying to abuse the system. Bravo.

Actually, the morons are those who think this policy change has anything to do with that. It was a revision of the arbitration clause, the "change in fees" proviso was always there.

And 5 cents is a 50% increase in fees, and a coercive measure to induce customers to spend more. No need to crap all over others who have found value in this post.

-N

So the person I was quoting was incorrect? Guess that's what happens when I assume to much. Either way this whole thing sucks and Cingular is getting a bad rap over it for no reason, they did nothing wrong, plain and simple.

1. You're an idiot
2. You're a threadcrapper
3. If you had bothered to read the thread AT ALL, you'd notice that a lot of people are calling to cancel out of PRINCIPLE. I entered a contractual agreement at 10 cents, so it better damn well stay at 10 cents per text message.

If they can get away with this, what's next?

LoL, you're not serious, you joined Cingular specifically because their text messages were 10 cents? So is everybody going to stop driving their cars out of principle because gas prices are going up for "no reason"? If you've had bad service in your area or something legitament to quit then that's fine, but to cancel your contract and then open complaints with the BBB against a company because they changed their rates (which last I checked businesses did once and a while) is moronic, plain and simple.

That's a horrible comparison, considering obtaining gas is a PAY AS YOU GO service. This is a CONTRACT. Do you know what a contract is? Because I'm having serious doubts that you, in fact, do.

So pay as you go and pay per use are different? That's where I'm getting confused then, thanks for enlightening me.

Just to give you an example- Cingular considers Voicemail a "Feature" as well. If they begin charging $3 per voicemail retrieval, then under your logic the customer base should suck it up and pay the charge.

 

[KuJoe]

Removed. See next post.

 

[KuJoe]

Actually, this isn't an arguement of whether or not a person should be able to do this or that, the arguement is about whether or not it's ethical to file complaints against a company for no reason. Yes, I agree I took it off topic.

 

[iamme]

Originally posted by: tealk
Read through this thread...it sounds like no one got ther service cancelled due to the text messaging increase...Good Luck!

i got out of mine and my parents

but then again, i started with trying to cancel the contracts and found a "middle ground" by asking them to change the plans to pay-as-you-go phones (claiming that i still wanted to be a cingular customer).

my parents (who barely use their phones) are now pay as you go.

i switched from a contract, to pay-as-you-go to a new contract. and of course, a new phone i'm happy. thanks, OP.

 

[rocker68]

I'm a CSR at T-Mobile and I'll weigh in with my .02 cents. The ETF can be waived in only a very few select situations and raising the price of a feature is certainly not one of them. Which btw, we did raise our txt messaging from .05 to .10 cents at the beginning of the year.

Txt messaging is a feature. You can add and remove features at anytime without penalty. However, a rate plan is a requirement and most bound by a contract. If they were to raise the price of the rate plan that you and the provider agreed to in the contract, then you would certainly have the right to opt out of your contract without an ETF. But you did not agree to a contract for any optional features on your account. You agreed to a contract either by a phone purchase/upgrade or rate plan.

I can't really blame anyone for looking for a loophole to get you out of a contract, especially if you are unhappy with some aspect of your service (ex. coverage, rate plan, customer service, etc.) but this isn't one of them. I do feel sorry for those reps that cancelled the contracts over this. They will certainly get in some sort of trouble when its found out through the system of checks and balances I'm sure Cingular has in place...

Imagine from a business standpoint if customers could cancel over a feature price increase. We would lose tons of money over all those free phones we just gave out to customers that would cancel just a few months after getting the phones. We actually lose money initially anytime we get a customer to agree to a two or even a one year contract. That is one reason the ETF's are there, so we can stay in business! After all, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, etc. don't give us the phones for free. By you agreeing to stay with us for a set amount of time allows us to recoup our money over the course of the contract.

And for those calling Cingular greedy. I am not sure, I don't work there nor am I one of their customers. But I am aware of the tremendous overhead that is involved in being a wireless service provider. Just for the cost of running a single call center, the average cost per call in our call center is around $5. Figure in around 40,000 calls per day and you can see it's not cheap.

Anyways, that's my .02 cents! Happy new year all....

 

[Triggerhappy007]

I found out if you are in a Cingular 2-yr contract and want to turn it into a 1-yr, it will only cost you $50/line. My friend will probably do that and sign up for Sprint SERO.

 

[Jaxidian]

Originally posted by: Triggerhappy007
I found out if you are in a Cingular 2-yr contract and want to turn it into a 1-yr, it will only cost you $50/line. My friend will probably do that and sign up for Sprint SERO.

Can you provide more on this? How to do this or what says I can do this? This is awesome information!

 

[bradbowl]

Originally posted by: Triggerhappy007
I found out if you are in a Cingular 2-yr contract and want to turn it into a 1-yr, it will only cost you $50/line. My friend will probably do that and sign up for Sprint SERO.

I called Cingular twice and talked to two different reps who said they have never heard of this 2 to 1 year contract change. One even laughed at the thought of it.

 

[DigitalCancer]

Originally posted by: rocker68
I'm a CSR at T-Mobile and I'll weigh in with my .02 cents. The ETF can be waived in only a very few select situations and raising the price of a feature is certainly not one of them. Which btw, we did raise our txt messaging from .05 to .10 cents at the beginning of the year.

Txt messaging is a feature. You can add and remove features at anytime without penalty. However, a rate plan is a requirement and most bound by a contract. If they were to raise the price of the rate plan that you and the provider agreed to in the contract, then you would certainly have the right to opt out of your contract without an ETF. But you did not agree to a contract for any optional features on your account. You agreed to a contract either by a phone purchase/upgrade or rate plan.

I can't really blame anyone for looking for a loophole to get you out of a contract, especially if you are unhappy with some aspect of your service (ex. coverage, rate plan, customer service, etc.) but this isn't one of them. I do feel sorry for those reps that cancelled the contracts over this. They will certainly get in some sort of trouble when its found out through the system of checks and balances I'm sure Cingular has in place...

Imagine from a business standpoint if customers could cancel over a feature price increase. We would lose tons of money over all those free phones we just gave out to customers that would cancel just a few months after getting the phones. We actually lose money initially anytime we get a customer to agree to a two or even a one year contract. That is one reason the ETF's are there, so we can stay in business! After all, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, etc. don't give us the phones for free. By you agreeing to stay with us for a set amount of time allows us to recoup our money over the course of the contract.

And for those calling Cingular greedy. I am not sure, I don't work there nor am I one of their customers. But I am aware of the tremendous overhead that is involved in being a wireless service provider. Just for the cost of running a single call center, the average cost per call in our call center is around $5. Figure in around 40,000 calls per day and you can see it's not cheap.

Anyways, that's my .02 cents! Happy new year all....

Actually...i think Cingular is doing fine, lol.

"Atlanta-based Cingular reported a profit of $333 million on $34.43 billion in revenue, compared with a profit of $201 million on $19.57 billion in revenue in 2004."

LINK

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Originally posted by: bradbowl

Originally posted by: Triggerhappy007
I found out if you are in a Cingular 2-yr contract and want to turn it into a 1-yr, it will only cost you $50/line. My friend will probably do that and sign up for Sprint SERO.

I called Cingular twice and talked to two different reps who said they have never heard of this 2 to 1 year contract change. One even laughed at the thought of it.

I talked to a supervisor and that's what he told me. Hopefully he wasn't pulling my chain. But he said that was the difference in discounts between a 1 & 2 yr contract. Tell them that you don't want to cancel, you just want to change it to a 1 yr contract and go month to month after that.

 

[draganjr]

I wonder if this applies to Sprint. I just got a notice in the mail stating the Equipment Replacement Program is going up one dollar a month.

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: Triggerhappy007

Originally posted by: bradbowl

Originally posted by: Triggerhappy007
I found out if you are in a Cingular 2-yr contract and want to turn it into a 1-yr, it will only cost you $50/line. My friend will probably do that and sign up for Sprint SERO.

I called Cingular twice and talked to two different reps who said they have never heard of this 2 to 1 year contract change. One even laughed at the thought of it.

I talked to a supervisor and that's what he told me. Hopefully he wasn't pulling my chain. But he said that was the difference in discounts between a 1 & 2 yr contract. Tell them that you don't want to cancel, you just want to change it to a 1 yr contract and go month to month after that.

He probably meant the price difference of a new phone, signing a 1 or 2 year contract.