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Cingular must really like me

After suffering through a year of terrible service and living with a broken phone for months while I waited for number portability, I finally switched from Cingular to AT&T Wireless last November, the day that number portability took effect. Cingular did a brief bit of marketing to me to try and convince me to stay with them. They offered new phones and touted their infrastructure upgrades but I could not be swayed. I still switched.

Now they’ve taken extreme measures to get me back as a customer. They bought AT&T Wireless for $41 billion dollars.

Brian Williamson
April 6, 2004 8:26 PM

I just called to reduce the number of minutes on my wife and mother-in-law’s plan. I have 700 anytime minutes for $50. Plus $10 for the second phone on family plan. She told me she could get me 450 anytime for $40, and $20 for second phone. My heart beat with rage at this stupidity and greed. I’m done with Cingular.

Maria
April 14, 2004 7:52 AM

Dear All

I have stumbled on your website by accident while doing a research on Cingular for my University thesis. After reading all the complaints regarding the service provided by the customer care service I am curious to find out if in the United States you do have a service called “pay as you go” which is the same as a normal service with the exception if you are not satisfied you can switch your sim card to another provider only costing here in the United Kingdom £4 pound sterling with no need to go through the harassement of cancelling your contract and limiting your contact with any accounts or customer services…bliss…

Pam
April 26, 2004 12:45 PM

I, too have stumbled on this site.

I am fighting with Cingular right now over reconnect fees. I have been a customer for three years and have no history of delinquency. I usually pay my bill on-line, but stopped as I was getting so much spam from the company. As my bill was due on the 6th of this month, I sent it via US Mail on the 9th. Yes, it was three days late. I did include the late fee. They claim the payment was never received, disconnected the phones and are currently assessing me $108.00 in reconnect fees. My bill was only for $82 for Pete’s sake!

Now I have paid the $5.00 late fee and would even agree to paying one of the $36.00 reconnects in assuming some part of the responsibilty. But to pay $36.00 each for the other two phones…one of which has zero minutes on it since February!!!!

I have contacted their office of the president…his secretary..Debra…doesn’t care. Fees stand…thank you for calling Cingular…have a nice day.

I intend to write to the president, (Debra assures me the mail will come to her), file with the BBB and Consumer Advocacy in SC. I will also write a letter to the editor of our state newspaper, every one on my email list, and post it with my own technologies chat forum of 4,000 member of which I am a moderator.

I will continue to stir the pot and advise all that consider Cingular…DON’T DO IT.

My new service is with Verizon.

Mark McHugh
April 26, 2004 3:44 PM

I have had the most amazingly bad customer service experiences of my life. I have been overcharged nearly $1000 for international calls made on a Cingular Phone in Dec/Jan. I called Cingular several times to try and resolve this issue. In mid January they said they would get back to me and that I was due a refund. They did not get back except send me a new bill and a cancellation notice, in Febuary they said they had referred my rebate to higher authority and that I should wait, I received another cancellation notice. I called and paid the minumum charge to have my phone re-activated. In March we went through a similar exercise. Now in April, I was advised that the basis of the refund was probably not valid, as I was not entitled to the international call rates, which were my reason for signing with Cingular in the first place?!

I asked what I should do? Was this Cingular customer service? Should I wait 4 months for an answer? “I’ll send an e-mail to higher authority was the response.” “Who is dealing with this?” I naturally asked and was told “It is beyond the authority of our management, it needs to go to the board of directors !!” I imagine that my mobile refund was going to be sandwiched between a discussion of whether to by AT&T for $41 billion.….somehow this did not sound right?! Please give me a name who I can write to. We don’t know the names of the directors came the reply, you can write to me.…..but you just said you had no authority to resolve this issue, I want to write to somebody who can solve my problem.…..I was put on to hold with those nauseous Cingular ads. Cut off in full flow, I decided that I would get even and advise to anyone who is thinking of signing with Cingularto beware.… this company hasn’t got a clue about customer service

Adam Kalsey
April 26, 2004 3:47 PM

While all these stories of customer service problems are fascinating, it was not my intent to become a dumping ground for venting your complaints.

I’m closing comments on this page.

These are the last 15 comments. Read all 19 comments here.

This discussion has been closed.

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