I bit the bullet and knew I had to surrender my reliable iPhone 4 that was in mint condition to AT&T because Apple is not offering IOS support so it would be a matter of time when it became obsolete.
I wanted to upgrade to the 5S and also since the 5Cs were .99 (although Apple advertised in their launch they would be free), I wanted to get my two kids each an iphone. I came into the store with a AT&T plan of currently two phones (mine and LG that we just purchased last month with the Next plan). My current bill was about $150. I knew adding more lines it would go up but I saw the 4 lines for $160. After patiently waiting for 1.5 hours, Amber at the Kalamazoo store helped me. She said the best way to go was to pay $99 for the 5S and the .99 for the two 5Cs. I received $200 for my iPhone 4. The walkaway cost was going to be a little more than $100 for the night and we could take our phones and go home. When I asked to see what my monthly bill would be, I blew a gasket. The next bill was going to be almost $500! No way. The assistant manager, Spencer, stepped in and explained that I had to pay for the line charges and the activation fees, and also the pro-rated charges since I was still in my billing cycle.
That explanation was not satisfactory, especially with a huge orange sign saying 4 lines for $160! I asked him to find his manager and to get this reduced. I was willing to walk away and leave everything. His manager was not available via cellphone since it was close to closing time. Spencer called Customer Retention who said they would not do anything. I was frustrated and furious that my loyalty of staying with AT&T did not mean anything and they were willing to let me walk away.
Spencer explained the Next program, which I began to realize that there is no such thing as a 99 cent phone (from my own deduction). You pay in essence through the line fees and activation fees that would eventually be more expensive than paying for the phone through the NEXT program. For the 5C, 24 installments of $18.75 = $450 while 2 years of $40 line charges plus all the other fees = more than $960. That is very misleading!!
I agreed to use my $200 credit for the taxes and phone cases and we would do the NEXT program. I am still unhappy because my next bill is still too high.
I am still perplexed at the ridiculous fees on my bill. I would like an explanation as to the purpose of an activation fee. I would like the one-time activation charge of $40 removed. I would also like an explanation as to how a 4 line for $160 still is showing
phone 1: $124.99
phone 2: $15.00
phone 3: $15.00
phone 4: $15.00
ipad: $10 (added after all the promotional credits to get the ipad offer)
I believe that AT&T is falsely advertising its plans and phones just to get customers in the doors and then to be slapped with the reality that it is not true. With the competition between the phone companies, why wouldn't AT&T want to retain its customer and find a way to lower the unncessary fees tacked on to an already expensive contract?
Has anyone else had a similar experience?