More thoughts on AT&T

[Cudedog]

Thanks to all who posted replies on my other thread.

Since I left out some information that might be useful (and which I began to think about once I calmed down), am starting a new one.

First of all, thanks to those who suggested going to an AT&T store. I'm not sure why, but I didn't think that there was an AT&T nearby to where I live - but, in checking, I found that there is one.

Big Duh. . Had I not lost my temper, perhaps I would have thought of this. Oh well. I will try to return my AT&T equipment to the store tomorrow, rather than shipping it back via UPS. I am DONE with AT&T, and signed up with ComCast yesterday, for half the price at twice the data speed. ComCast had me up and running almost immediately.

Anyway, the way that all this got started was that my AT&T modem, that was about a couple of years or so old, suddenly quit - with no warning, for no discernible reason. The power light was on, but the data lights (indicating internet connection) were not. Tried all of the usual trick to get it to boot, no luck.

So I called AT&T to request a replacement for my two-year-old modem. First mistake. The person I was speaking to admitted that they were in the Phillipines (barely understandable English). And they also said something that I didn't think too much about until later: "Your modem is obsolete. When the modem stops working, it stops working, there is nothing you can do about it and you have to get a new one".

Remember those prophetic words about the "obsolete modem", as you read on.

I'm not going to go over again the many many additional telephone calls I made to AT&T on Saturday, how bad the English was on all of them, how many times I was transferred, and how many times my call was "accidentally" dropped by AT&T, causing me to need call back, yet again, to get back in the telephone line queue in order to be jerked around. I started the phone calls with AT&T at about 8:30 a.m., after about two hours on the phone getting nowhere, went to chat (transcript of which I posted previously) for a few more hours. Still got nowhere.

About five hours out of my life that I will never get back.

Ok, I'm gonna cut to the chase here.

Here's the deal:

1. This modem that I had, the power light would come on - but the lights showing the broadband connection were. . . um. . . let me just say this: they were turned off. The data lights were not lit.

2. AT&T recently purchased Directv, the satellite tv provider. AT&T has been losing money hand over fist on this deal, so they are hurting financially. Big time.

3. Modems, and their configuration, need to be "registered" (recognized) on the AT&T network in order for them to work. Therefore: AT&T knows what kind of modems, and where they are located (they know where you live) on their network.

4. If (not saying this is true - this is pure speculation on my part) but, IF AT&T wished to disable a modem on their network. . . they could disable the data stream to that modem. They could not turn off the power to the modem, which is plugged into the electricity in one's house. . . but they could, theoretically, cause the data stream to quit. Look at it this way: if they need all of your information, including your modem information (you know, the modem that was supplied to you by AT&T in the first place) in order to get your data stream to start. . . how hard could it be to get your data stream to quit? ALSO: watch how fast your data stream quits if you don't pay your bill.

5. Once my new modem was on it's way I received a "Thank you for your new account" email. What?!?!? I hadn't asked for a new account, just a replacement modem. I called AT&T again (call #2 to another barely understandable English speaker) to be informed that my former account ($57.00/mo) was being "upgraded" with the new modem to $70/mo. So my old account no longer existed, and I had absolutely no options whatsoever but to be billed an extra $12/mo for "modem rent". This $12/mo additional modem rent was not mentioned in my original telephone call to request a new modem

Following me so far?

Time to do some speculative math.

According to AT&T's own information:

https://www.att.com/Common/about_us/pdf/att_btn.pdf

AT&T has (and I quote), "15.6 million Internet Connections In Service".

Just for fun, lets think that maybe just a bare 1% of all of these AT&T "internet connections" had a modem like mine, that suddenly, unexpectedly, and unexplainably stopped working.

1% x 15.6 million = 156,000

Ok, 156,000 customers. Now, lets take 156,000 times $12/mo.

156,000 x $12/mo = $1,872,000.

Nice immediate chunk of change, that. An additional one million, eight-hundred seventy-two thousand dollars more for AT&T.

A month.

Two final questions:

1. Do you have your internet service through AT&T?

2. How old is your current AT&T modem?

Let me know what you think.

Thanks.

Anne

[Birdie]

Anne, motion has been started and AT&T is going to attempt to screw you really bad! If I were in your shoes, about Super Bowl time, I would be entering the AT&T store with their old modem and other necessary goodies and I would very nicely say cancel and give me a receipt right now, please and Thank You! I would attempt to keep quiet about all the aforementioned hassle and just get my receipt and get out. They have copies of ALL of your conversations. I wouldn't go into it again just in case you put a word out of synch with what was said earlier. I would allow them the opportunity to communicate with me by email which allows you to simmer before responding. Good luck! Keep your Cool hat on like you usually do! I have walked down the thorny AT&T path and I am now with Verizon.

[MandysMom]

I wonder if you can contact FCC with a complaint?
Velda

[BirdbyBird]

Interesting.....cause and effect or just a coincident.......makes one go hummmmmm......

[JudyJB]

(Deleted old message because off-topic.)

I also think they can adjust your data usage as they please. It is easy to know how many minutes you use on a cell phone because your phone records that, but on a mobile hotspot, there is no way of proving your usage. All you have is their records of it on their online site.

[MandysMom]

Judy there is a place in my phone that tells me data used. I bet you can monitor it on computer too.
Velda

[JudyJB]

Yes, but the Jetpacks those of use for a lot of data only tell us the data from the Verizon website. In otherwise it is not measured by the Jetpacks.

[MandysMom]

But of the laptop is the only item using e data, it should give you a close idea!

[gingerK]

A while back I was considering going with AT&T for my internet as the company I'm with was not being very helpful with my modem problems (at that time-things have since straightened out). A friend warned me away from them; after hearing your problems Anne, I'm sure glad I listened to my friend.

[Acadianmom]

AT & T will flat out lie to your face. I got so mad I told one of the mangers I would never buy another phone from them. When we had to upgrade our phones my son gave me one and I bought my husband a $13 phone at Walmart and put the sim card in it.

We have the middle speed DSL and it was working fine for years. Recently it works and doesn't work. They have been laying cables from town for the last six months so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. We will probably never get anything any better because we live on a side road. My neighbor and I are the only ones with internet so they are not going to upgrade the line just for us.

I have a Version tablet and my son wanted me to move it to A T & T. I told him no. In some places one service is better than the other. A T & T is usually the best but last weekend the Version signal was the best.

Martha

[Cudedog]

As suggested, I took my equipment into my local AT&T store yesterday, and told the first person I saw that I wanted to turn in my equipment and cancel my account. This person, a nice young woman, said that they could not take my equipment, and that I needed to take it to UPS to ship it back to AT&T.

She also said that, in order to cancel my account, that I would need to call [Dear God] the "800" number to cancel. I immediately put on my hurt old lady face, let my lower lip quiver a bit, and said that I was hearing impaired (actually true - I often need to read lips to be able to hold a conversation) and that I could never get anyone on the phone on the AT&T line that spoke English well enough for me to be able to understand what they were saying (also true).

Well, she nodded in agreement, whipped out her cell phone, and made the call. I was cancelled, in less time that it takes to say "Jack Robinson". WooHoo! When I got home there was an email waiting for me telling me that my account had been cancelled. [Since I had been with AT&T for well over six years, there was not an "Early Cancellation Fee". At least there better not be. I'll post if things turn out differently]

This morning, I took my equipment into my local UPS store, the cute young guy there scanned the numbers for the package to be sent. I have the receipt clutched in my hot little hands even as we speak (actually not - I am sitting on the couch typing with one very large dog snoring on the couch beside me) - but I put it in my "special place" so that it wouldn't get lost.

I am terrible about losing things. I would worry about this, except I have always been terrible about losing things. So nothing in that department has changed.

In closing, I will say that AT&T internet worked almost flawlessly for the six years that I had it. Unfortunately, whenever there was some problem (generally minor) it would literally take me hours on the telephone attempting to get the problem resolved. Hours of transfers from this department to that department, dropped calls, lengthy "on hold" times (during which one is bombarded with advertising), to the point I was actually ready to scream. Actually. . . I did scream a time or two.
..
To me AT&T is a case in point of why monopolies are bad. AT&T''s "Customer No-Service" was, and is, often rude, insulting, evasive, and inflexible (that is, those that you need to telephone or chat with - the "live body" store employees are nice). And the almost complete lack of telephone "Service Representative" people who are able to speak understandable English. I don't know how many times I have said "Sorry, I don't understand what you are saying. Could you please transfer me to someone who has better English skills?" Only to be transferred to someone whose English was as bad or, usually, worse, than the original speaker.

I mean, what is the point?

I guess AT&T doesn't have to worry about alienating their customers, because they are half of the only game in town (the other half being ComCast). It seems to me to be purely good logic, and good business practice besides, not to alienate a customer who is paying them upwards of $700 a year or more (sometimes much more) for their "service".

If any other business - any! - treated their customers the way AT&T treats their customers, they would soon be out of business.

Oh well. Enough ranting for one day.

JudyJB: I have often scratched my head when you would say that you were using 18 Gigs a month to do what you do. I couldn't understand it either. For myself (at home), I am on the internet generally a few hours a day, and I stream television shows for a few hours every night. LOL! Mostly YouTube videos and PBS shows - how's that for a combination! Actually YouTube - for those not on the road - has lots of good stuff, not just puppy videos (although I like those too!).

One of my favorite things is the Swan Lake ballet. There are at least ten full-length versions of this ballet posted on YouTube, from the Kirov Ballet Company to the American Ballet Theatre Company. There is one there from the Vienna State Opera ballet that is absolutely fabulous. I can't find the link at the moment, PM me if you are interested. Gorgeous, muscular guys in tights (which, on men, hide practically nothing, if you get my drift), dancing and jumping beautifully. What's not to like?

I am on the internet a LOT. But, generally, my monthly useage is 50 gigabytes. Sounds like a lot, but I have 1,000 gigs with my home plan, so compared to some I guess I don't use very much at all).

I'm off now to use up some of that ComCast bandwidth.

Life is good.

Thanks for listening.

Anne

[Bethers]

Just a comment... I think you are unhappy with AT&T the way I am with Verizon. I could easily fill pages with my customer service problems with Verizon... On the phone, at retail shops and at a corporate shop. I pretty much expect such things these days from the big companies.

That said, you switched to a company that in my internet searches has worse reviews than either of the above. I hope you'll find Comcast satisfactory. Personally, for on the road, unless other carriers get better coverage, I'll stick with AT&T. Heaven forbid, if necessary, I'd return to Verizon. There's a better chance I'll go with someone like Smart Talk who use both of their lines.

Just saying... I hope the switch works out for you.

[monik7]

I've had Comcast for Internet and cable in my home since I moved in when the house was new 18 1/2 years ago. Maybe I've been lucky, but no problems. So I have little experience with problem customer service with Comcast. Last summer I called and told them I needed a cheaper plan and they eventually came up with one that worked for me. I hope Comcast works out for you Anne. In a way I wish we didn't have to deal with these big conglomerates, but that's just not going to happen. Good luck.

As far as my cell, I'm unhappy with AT&T. Can you believe I live only about 25 miles from Silicon Valley (home of just about everything technological) and I cannot use my cell inside my house on AT&T because I only get 1 out of 5 bubbles (used to be bars). I have to go outside and people still tell me I'm "breaking up" and they can't understand what I'm saying. When traveling it seems so many places I go I have no service and the other ladies from the forum who are in the same area have no problem with their Verizon service. My iPhone is a "dinosaur" now, 4S, and I'm hoping to upgrade with the 10th anniversary edition coming in September. Right now I'm leaning to Verizon. Also, since I have AT&T for my iPad, seems like it would be good to have them on different carriers. That way, hopefully at least one would have service wherever I am.
Sandi

[Redetotry]

Doesn't AT&T own Comcast?


https://transition.fcc.gov/transaction/ ... ership.pdf

[gingerK]

Far as I know, they own Direct TV.