Cingular apparently does not need our business

Hi Ric B.

I am having the same problem with Cingular.

I have been an ATT customer for 7 years and happen to have gotten an
outstanding plan for the money I am paying. Cingular wants me to
"upgrade" to one of there plans where I would have to pay much more
money for the same number of minutes. It makes me so mad that I am
paying Cingular my money every month (the taxes and fees have raised
since the merge, btw; and I think they are implementing late fees now)
yet they are giving me none of the benefits of being a Cingular
customer. I can't possibly buy a new phone because their phones will
not support my ATT SIM card and I cannot get any Cingular features;
yet it clearly says CINGULAR on my cell phone now when I turn it on,
and it clearly says CINGULAR on top of my bills!!! Yet, they are
telling us we are not 'CINGULAR' customers!! This makes me furious!!!
I am about ready to contact a lawyer. If I am giving them my business,
shouldn't I be entitled to their services? This is what I do not
understand. I have called them on numerous times asking them to work
with me- and they have refused to accommodate me- to this day.
I do not think this is good business practice.

I did not ask to become a Cingular customer and they have completely
ostracized their ATT customers while still taking their money. They
treat you horribly, then expect you to
join them! Does that sound right to you?

My friends have T-Mobile and they say that their customer service
agents go out of their way to keep there business by giving them
promotions such as extra minutes, free phones, etc. In fact, that is
how I had gotten such a great deal from ATT, because they CARED about
my business and added on additional minutes to my plan once my
contract had expired to keep my business.


I have not asked anything from Cingular. I do not want more minutes,
free phones, or even roll over minutes. All I want is to buy a new
phone. I do not want a discounted phone. I do not care. I just want to
be able to go to into Cingular store (since it says Cingular on my
phone and bills) and buy a phone without having to change my minutes.
I have been a customer for 7 years, after all shouldn't I be entitled
to buy a phone?

For the past two years, this has been impossible.

Please tell me what your experiences have been and what I can do to
get Cingular to change their attitude.

Cingular has left a terrible aftertaste in my mouth.


Thank you.
Sheryl Goldberg
Sunnyside, NY

It's all a moot point now anyway, Cingular was owned by SBC and
Bellsouth, AT&T merged with SBC about 2 years ago, and NOW they just
bought Bellsouth, and will start rebranding the Cingular name AT&T
beginning this monday, so now you all will be just one happy company
under the AT&T name again

I use cingular, too. And I am also an old AT&T customer that
switched. Though, I took them up on there offer for free stuff to
switch when they joined up. Though, I will say that every month I
have to call them for problems on my bill. Usually they send a bill
for about $300 and it's really only $150 for my service. But, when I
call them they make it right. Hell, I even got a $400 PDA phone outta
them for $50. Cause they made the mistake of telling me that was the
sale on it (when it actually wasn't.) All in all, they will try to
screw you as much as they can, but all ya have to do is call them on
it and they make it right, till next month.

I'm gonna stick my neck out for more flaming by offering some free and
unsolicited advice for would-be experts.

1. KNOW what the hell you're talking about. One poster "knew" from a
couple of previous letters and this one that I was just someone trying
to get out of a contract. A little bit of reading on that person's
part would have kept him/her from making a fool of him or herself
because I had clearly stated that our contract had expired *two years
ago*. Unfortunately, one of the problems with "experts" is that they
are so sure of their infallibility that they ASSUME that they can
understand a situation with cursory glance. I concede that, in some
cases, the problem was due to my lack of clarity. But there is no
excuse for the "expert" that 'knew' that I was someone just trying to
get out of a contract.

2. Understand the problem. This comes from careful and UNBIASED
reading. One person (who, as it turns out was just a troll with an axe
to grind) thought that I was complaining about the fact that Cingular
had bought AT&T. That's old news. Another person thought I was
complaining about a single dropped call. The dropped call was
mentioned in passing because it was ironic and because it was relevant
to my frustration and other things. But was far from the central
issue.

3. Avoid words like "never" and "always". When you use words like
that, your credibility as an "expert" takes a hit when the outcome
proves you wrong (e.g. when Cingular comes back and offers a better
deal). A good example to follow would be Dragonflygrrl's post. Note
that she gave examples of why she thought I was off-base. But she
didn't say that I was wrong or that a cell phone company would NEVER
offer a good deal to an existing customer. Since she took that
approach, the fact that Cingular changed its course only proved to be
an exception. But for those who said that Cingular NEVER gave good
deals to keep customers, it just proved them wrong.

4. Understand the purpose of the forum. One person suggested that I
just change companies and why was I complaining? (And I'm NOT saying
that person was setting him/herself up as an expert, nor was
Dragonflygrrl or a few other people.) Is letters of complaint not one
of the main reasons for the existence of PlanetFeedback?

Okay. I have donned my newest pair of asbestos underwear. Let the
flaming begin.

Tis the reason I have chosen to go with prepaid cell phones. At least
you don't have to deal with the monthly bills and contracts. THEY ARE
NOT WORTH IT! Prepaid all the way, man.

Hi papaspot, good to see you again. I give you credit for your
well-though out letter, and also some sympathy. As a one time
cellular provider employee, I have heard numerous horror stories
regarding the fall-out from the now infamous Cingular/AT&T merger, and
I'm sorry to hear you were caught in the middle like so many others.
I understand the feeling that a bit more could be done to keep
customers, and I have to say I got a chuckle out of the lovely irony
of the dropped call, in light of Cingular's recent ad campaign.

I just wanted to point out that you may be arguing from a false
premise. Generally, a cell provider will offer its best deals to new
customers, and a slightly (or not so slightly) less good deal to
existing customers. Basically, they are trying to get other
providers' customers to defect to their service, without taking into
account the fact that their own customers are getting the same pitch
from everyone else.

As an example, in the store where I worked, we would often offer a
given phone for free, with a new activation and contract. That same
phone, when sold as an upgrade to an existing customer, might perhaps
sell for say $20. So when Cingular offers you the same deal they
would offer a new customer off the street, they are actually doing
better than they could, by considering you a new activation and not an
upgrade. I have to agree, though, with all the headaches involved in
that merger they could do better still.

All that said, if you are unhappy with Cingular, do look at other
carriers. A good bet is to do some research first, maybe on a site
like howardforums.com, to see which carrier is offering the best deal
for you. Good luck, I hope they can help!

Trust me, you are better off without them. I had Cingular and the
stuff they tried to pull with me would curl your hair. I am now with
T-Mobile and love it.

After reading the two other letters to Cingular that this person has
wrote, I can see that he is one of those "complain because I can't
get out of my contract/service" people.

You know, the ones who get the cheaper phones because they don't want
to spend a lot of money, then turn around and complain because they
don't get good signal or the phone is crappy or they drop calls.

So, instead of just ending their contract and paying the ETF fee so
they can go to another carrier, they want to complain about every
little thing they can think of.

Oh yeah, because you complaining about all those things is really
going to hurt Cingulars feelings.

Guess what? I worked for them and had to buy my phones FULL PRICE. I
may not have had a contract but I also had to pay $150+ for any new
phones. (not counting ebay, of course)

Yes, that's right. Those phones that they offer. They can run $150 to
$500 bucks. By you agreeing to sign the contract, you get a REDUCED
price. There is nothing stopping you from buying the phone out right.


Oh, I worked for them for 4 years, so I guess that means I was a long
time employee. LOL. That still didn't get me any kind of discount.

To make the point of all this. If you don't like the service. GO
SOMEWHERE ELSE!! Pay the ETF fee, then go to T-Mobile, Sprint, etc and
pay the activation fees, the price of the phone after their discount
and then maybe you might be happier.

Cingular does not need your business.

No other wireless company is going to be any more "appreciative of
your patronage".

Two Cingular representatives have apparently quoted you the same
prices and also have told you that they will not offer you a special
deal because you are a former AT&T customer.

You need to get over yourself and either accept what Cingular is
offering or move to another carrier.

End of story.

If I understand correctly, you want the same deal as a new customer,
correct? It's just not going to happen, not with Cingular, not with
any wireless company.

I handle 2500 cell phones for my firm. When my users want to upgrade
at the end of their contract, I can get them a reduced price (off full
retail) but it is not the same price a new customer gets. It doesn't
matter how long they've had the service. The longer they reup the
contract for, the better the price I can get them but we usually only
allow them to sign a one year agreement.

I think all cell phone companies have horrible customer service. Good
luck finding a decent one. Let me know if you do.

To be sure I'm understanding correctly...

1) You started out as a Cingular customer but left them because of
their level of customer service.

2) You became an AT&T customer. You liked AT&T.

3) Cingular bought AT&T.

4) Even though you weren't fond of Cingular in the past you decided to
stay with them and give them another try.

5) So, as former AT&T customers and current AT&T/Cingular customers
you do not qualify for upgrade perks that the original Cingular
customers qualify for. The difference being those who came in with
the merge (you) and those who were already existing Cingular customers
(people who qualify for perks).

So, if my analysis of your problem is correct then I believe that
Cingular should offer you the same perks as the customers who were
Cingular before the merge. You are technically now a Cingular
customer regardless of which company you were with during the merge.

Good luck with your letter... I would rewrite it though... it's a bit
difficult to read and understand... somehow the problem needs to be
clarified because it is so involved that it become jumbled... you know
what I mean?

You have the internet, so you can get a free phone if you upgrade
online. Just log into your account and select "upgrade my phone" and
follow the prompts.

Yes, you will be charged an upgrade fee. I know ATT Wireless didn't do
that, but, there is no longer an ATT Wireless. Thats what people tend
to forget. They went out of business for a reason, and one of those
was giving away free stuff and credits ALL THE TIME. Reps themselves
had a $1000 credit limit. Managers $5000. A new customer has to pay a
$36.00 activation fee to start service, and $26.00 for each additional
line. You may also be eligible for a 200 minute bonus promotion since
you would be migrating.

Also, I hate to break it to you, but dropping a call doesn't mean
much. As an ATT Wireless user, you still have an ATT sim card if
you're on GSM. Which means your phone will seek out ATT towers first,
and then Cingular, T-mo, etc. So, its possible the ATT tower dropped
the call, even though your phone says "Cingular."

I'm not going to say Cingular dropped the ball in providing customer
service. I don't think you should be given something for free because
you held up your end of the bargain. I do think, however, you have the
ability to get a little bit different offer with Cingular than you
have been so far. Ask about the 200 promo minutes, and you can always
ask for the upgrade fee to be waived. The worst they can say is no.

I've been a cingular customer for years. If I want an upgrade I have
to pay for it. What makes you so special that you should pay less
than me? Or anyone else with Cingular?
Just because you were at&t, doesn't make you special, and it doesn't
warrant any special treatment.