I have been an ATT customer since they bought out Cingular in 2001, and I was with Cingular since 1996 or so. I had a life issue (out of work due to special needs son needing attention) and was willing to pay half of my overdue bill today and the other half two days from now (ONLY TWO DAYS). I found today that my longevity means nothing to the company. I spoke with four people: Clayton, Randy W , Patricia S (who at least pretended she cared about my situation) and finally Michael B , who was very cold and unfeeling and just kept repeating himself, saying that he could not help me due to a transgression I had for one day last month. I explained that I have been out of work since January and that everything had been taken care of promptly. However "the system does not allow for any exceptions". I kept asking to speak to a decision maker, but I believe they just kept passing me to their peers, as they said there was no one else higher who would look at my account. Michael seems to be the god of wireless accounts, and either can't or will not (which I believe is the case) make exceptions for long-term customers. ATT seems to only look at the "account" and not the people behind them who may be having hardships. Too bad. They just epitomize what a huge conglomerate is. I will try to get the funds to terminate my very long relationship with them as soon as I can.
[edited for privacy – please do not post personal information]