AT&T: Worse than New Jersey?
Kasia April 22nd, 2008
I alluded in my last post to the fact that New Jersey charges you a toll to leave the state. Which I happen to think is both obnoxious and funny (the latter probably at least in part because at least the toll is less than a dollar. It’s easier to laugh at cheap extortion than expensive extortion).
However, I called AT&T today to downgrade my service. I had had a comprehensive package that gave me unlimited domestic long distance, which I didn’t really need except that it was required for the Canada Plus package that gave me unlimited calling to Canada (and thus my beloved) for six dollars a month. I also have DSL service through them.
But I’ve decided to try SkypeOut. I ordered a phone from Amazon today that can work with both my land line (so I keep 911 access) and Skype. The particular model is more expensive than I would normally go with, but my current phone battery was giving me trouble anyway, and this one has a better type of battery than my current one.
So then I call AT&T to downgrade my service. The DSL part was pretty painless; I wanted them to knock me down to the cheaper, basic service instead of charging me an extra five bucks per month; they offered me my current download speed at the price I’d been paying guaranteed for two years. OK. I’m happy.
But would you believe that my decision to knock long-distance service off of my plan is costing me almost ten dollars?! They can CHARGE YOU MONEY for deciding NOT to do business with them any more!!
I’m still doing it. (In fact, after I heard that, I considered cancelling ALL of my service. Then I came to my senses and realized that I needed to find a different provider before I could do that.) But how ridiculous is that?! It’s like charging someone a toll to leave the state!
I asked the (very nice) woman what AT&T’s justification was for that fee. Her reply? A somewhat embarrassed “They…don’t give us a justification.” I translate that as “I have no idea why they do it; I think it’s stupid too, but I will lose my job if I say that.” What do y’all think?
So I thanked her and said I’d like to discuss the fee with a supervisor. I’m still waiting for a call back from the supervisor (I will be shocked if I get one).
Trouble is, I rely on DSL to give me my Internet service. Cable’s too expensive for me right now. I can find another phone carrier, I suppose, but it’s unlikely that I’ll find another phone carrier that can provide DSL to my area. And if you take that out of the equation, I may as well stick with AT&T anyway, because I can’t use Skype without internet access.
I’m so not amused.
So, the List of Badness goes something like this?
1. AT&T
2. New Jersey
3. Ohio
?
Can you get WOW! in your area? They are much cheaper than Comcast for cable. And you can get package things.
haven’t you learned, utility companies are evil. they’ll charge you for everything. hee, hee.
You might want to see about C2 since that gives phone and internet. I don’t think you need or really want cable TV. too expensive even now. I’d say for the Canada thing just switch to a pre-paid phone and use that for calling Canada. Yup, I’m trying to convert you to pre-paid phones. It’s my little mission, get everyone on pre-paid.
A. What Jaibee said – Wow seems to be muuuch cheaper than Comcast. Plus, they don’t appear to have General Tarkin as their CEO, so there’s that. It may be a coikidink, but it seems that lots of Christian/Catholic types have Wow. I haven’t looked into them too closely, so they haven’t actually flashed me the fish, but maybe. It’s like Tropicana. When I buy juice, I try to buy Tropicana, because the guy who runs it built a community in Florida for retired missionaries (who clearly made a “bad” career choice and have nothing in their 401K to show for it). So I support him. But I could be way off on Wow. It’s an interesting subject for some hardcore googling.
B. Julia is also correct. Utility companies by definition all seem to have offices in Hell, Purgatory and the Death Star.
TBS
If it weren’t for DSL, I’d have canceled my AT&T service a long time ago. I wish I could just cancel it all and replace the landline with a cellphone. MetroPCS has excellent rates with unlimited minutes, but their calling area is limited. On the other hand, Verizon has ridiculous rates, but covers the areas to which I travel.
We canceled our satellite TV service a few weeks ago. We miss EWTN, but other than that, we’ve not regretted this decision. It’s saving us nearly $60/month, which will serve us well as gas prices continue to increase.
Julia, what type of prepaid service do you mean – cellular phones, or prepaid phone cards? I’ve been toying with the idea of using prepaid instead of postpaid for cellular, but it’s a challenge to figure out which plan offers the best deals. Any suggestions?
djrakowski, i meant pre-paid phones. calling cards are a hassle. I’m leading a small crusade against Verizon. I had a terrible experience with them even though I didn’t pay the bill. Pre-paid phones just make sense and there’s more than Trac-Phone now.
Julia, that’s about what happened when I called AT&T to report that I was getting harrassing calls and could I PLEASE get an unlisted number. Well, not only would I pay MONTHLY to get an unlisted number, but I’d have to pay an additional fee to keep it out of the directory services…
I keep it for the DSL, too. I tried getting a cellphone with monthly service, but that was a nightmare… yep, Verizon. When I sent the phone back and cancelled after less than a month of shabby service, I got billed with a cancellation fee (because they counted the 30 days from the time I called to request a phone, not when I actually got the phone) and huge roaming charges because the %&*$# tower in Ontario had a better signal.
I have a T-Mobile phone now when I’m traveling. It worked well when I was in the U.P. last year, so I’ve been pretty happy with it.
The one thing Verizon doesn’t tell you is that when you travel up north your phone will cut out. That’s why your T-Mobile phone works. I had a Verizon phone when I lived in Traverse and that thing cut out every time I made a call. Sometimes 5 times in a call. So I beat up the phone and broke the speaker.
I did a little searching and I think I found another possible provider. it’s that C2 thing from Cavalier. You can get internet and calling for $50 a month. Seems like a good deal. Comcast and AT&T will rip you off. Or try to force you into cable.