I had an interesting chat with an AT&T customer service rep yesterday that I thought I would share with you, as you might find the information useful. See, my old phone contract expired shortly after the announcement of the iPhone 3G, so naturally I decided to make the switch to AT&T. However, there is still some dispute as to whether or not you’ll be able to snag one for $199 if you are already a customer who isn’t eligible for an upgrade.
Initially I posed this question to the person I bought my service off of, however, they seemed to have less knowledge on the subject than I did (they were still claiming that the old 2.5G iPhone plan would work for the 3G phone) so I wasn’t exactly trusting. However, I really didn’t want to be without a phone until July 11th. So since AT&T still hasn’t said exactly what they’re doing for customers that aren’t eligible for upgrades, I thought I’d give their customer service line a call.
When I got a rep on the line, I explained my situation to him, and he replied that I was the fourth or fifth person today he’d spoken to with a similar situation. Fortunately, the higher-ups had sent down an email with simple instructions for those of us that had recently purchased service with them. The solution? Just go back to the store and exchange my cheap-o phone for a 2.5G iPhone, and they’ll just exchange it (minus 10% restocking, of course). That seems simple enough, right?
I don’t now if any of you have attempted to purchase a 2.5G iPhone in the last few weeks, but it’s becoming nearly impossible to find one in stock. I explained this to the rep who seemed a bit surprised. He then read off the email which stated that the 2.5G iPhone had been discounted for this exact reason, and that customers should be directed to the store where they purchased service so that they can purchase one, and thus ensure that they won’t have to pay an unsubsidized price (it was also noted that they weren’t yet sure if they were going to be selling it unsubsidized, and they were still working out the details).
I decided to try a different route with the rep and asked exactly what the new discounted price was for the 2.5G iPhone. He spent roughly 10 minutes searching for this information and came up dry. I suggested that I could simply call my local branch and inquire, and he said he’d be kind enough to do that himself. I was put on hold for a few minutes, after which time he came back on the line and sounded rather surprised. Apparently my local branch had no 2.5G iPhones, and the manager had informed him that almost none of the stores nationwide would have stock on them due to the new version.
We already knew that AT&T was caught a big off guard with this whole iPhone 3G situation, but this shows just how bad it really is. It has been known that the iPhone has been out of stock nearly everywhere for a good while now, yet AT&T is telling new customers that they need to purchase one in order to be eligible for a 3G iPhone at the subsidized price. That’s terrible.
I don’t blame the rep which I was talking to, he was simply passing on what he had been told to say. He was kind enough to make a special note on my account that explicitly stated that I was to be given a 3G iPhone at the proper subsidized price, and the manager on duty was to override the upgrade eligibility requirement.
Here’s my suggestion to anyone who has recently purchased service (or plans on purchasing it before July 11th) and wishes to get an iPhone. Call the AT&T customer service line and have a conversation similar to the one I had. It may seem like a lot of trouble, but at least you should be ensured an iPhone for the proper price. If you don’t call, there’s a chance that you’ll be presented with a much higher price at the checkout. Hopefully AT&T will have a solution to this before launch day.
Sad thing is, CS reps are not ATT people directly, they are subcontractors that try to serve ATT customers, but answer to the call center boss who answers to ATT.
They upshot is, they don’t often have the access or experience that live people in the store do. Try to find the oldest and most established ATT/cingular store in your area. Hopefully it is staffed, or at least managed, by telecom professionals, not high-turn-over phone monkeys (and I say that lovingly, because I used to be one for another company).
Call centers are the new high-tech sweat shops. Most of them pay poverty wages and have terrible working conditions, yet we want good service from these folks and expect access and experience.
Just remember, when you call customer service, you are often talking to an underpaid and abused person, not the cellphone company, the credit card company, the bank, the store, whatever — just someone kept more in the dark and fed more BS than you are.
The sad thing is that the rep in the store was even less knowledgeable than the CSR on the phone.
I am an employee of a company that has a corporate discount with AT&T. I called through on the business line and got a very helpful AT&T rep. I referred to you as “my friend” telling the story about how you had the same struggles finding the original iPhone despite being instructed by ATT to just go buy one and that I would like a note placed in my account. She said it would be no problem to do that assuming she was able to in the system. She put me on hold for a little bit and came back and said they just got a memo saying there will not be a “no committment” price…meaning if you aren’t eligible for an upgrade or a new customer you are S.O.L. She did put a note in my account similar to yours but she is not guaranteeing it will work in the store. My backup is to add a new line to my account for an extra $9.99 a month, and then I can always cancel that after 30 days and get hit with a $175 charge, which of course makes the new phone that much more expensive. Let’s hope our note works!
I don’t get it…
Aren’t all the new phones $199 for the 8G and $299 for the 16G?
Aren’t we all paying the same price for the phones?
Pog
I have an iphone but I did the at&t gophone plan. I still have allot of money left (they roll over unused cash to the next month) and Im wondering what to do. Im not sure if AT&T can use this cash toward a new iphone or not. Im also not sure if I should switch my current Iphone to postpaid to get all the hassle out of the way (probably have to pay a deposit) before the 3G one goes on sale. Very hard to know if at&t would screw me since I didn’t get the phone threw them and had a pre paid plan. Think you could find out more info on this?
I actually went through this today, and hope this helps. I had an iPhone on the GoPhone plan and was told by AT&T customer service yesterday that I would need to be on a 2 year contract to get the iPhone 3G and qualify for the 2 year contract price. I was told I would need to go to an AT&T store to do this. I went to an AT&T store yesterday and explained that customer service told me to go to an AT&T store to activate my current iPhone and sign a 2 year contract. They ran my credit, let me pick a plan, and told me that I couldn’t port my GoPhone # over. They told me to bring my iPhone and USB cable into the store tomorrow and they would activate it with my new # and I would be eligible for the 2 year $199 or $299 price.
After reading this post I called AT&T to make sure what I did (what they told me to do) was correct. The rep had to get a supervisor because he didn’t know how to handle this. After a few minutes on hold the rep came back and said that I would qualify for the 2 year contract price of $199 or $299. He said that they noted my account to reflect I signed up for a new 2 year contract yesterday, was waiting for my GoPhone iphone to be activated with my new #, and was eligible for the $199 or $299 iPhone 3G 2 year contract price. He apologized for the inconvenience and he said it was a bit confusing (I couldn’t agree more). Make sure they note your account and you should be good to go with the 2 year contract price.
You know, just because your contract expired doesn’t mean you have to sign a new one immideately. Wait on your old carrier until the 3G iPhone comes out and then go in and switch over. That’s what I did when the original one came out.
If you don’t want to be without a phone till the IPhone comes out just purchase a no contract Go Phone from AT&T. Then when the IPhone comes out you can transfer that number to your IPhone and sign up with a 2 year contract. Problem solved! You can get a Go Phone for less than $30.
AT&T would not let me transfer my GoPhone # from my iPhone, they said GoPhone #’s can’t be ported (nor sure how true that is). I have to go to the AT&T store today with my USB cable for them to activate my GoPhone iPhone with my new #. I saw the salesperson put a new SIM card with my contract, I thought I would be able to activate it at home through iTunes, but I was told I can’t do that. Make sure you get your account noted
The main thing as of today is that originally there was speculation that ATT would charge a non-subsidized price for those mid-contract with ATT…current customers. This is similar to how things are now with any other of their phones -you see prices for $50 and then find out it is a $200 phone unless you are a new customer or your contract is about to expire.
As of yesterday, ATT employees got a memo saying they would not offer this iPhone to mid-contract people unless they add a new line to their account. Meaning, there will be no higher price that you can buy this phone regardless of contract timing. There are ways around this but it could be costly. Really annoying if you ask me. Apple made it look like this was the price for everyone but it is only for new customers or those due for upgrade….or those who can sneak an exception from ATT.
The AT&T wireless webs site says you have a 30 day return with no restocking fee.
If you bought it June 10th, take it back July 9th and use an old phone for two days.
It’s their policy
Flack
Looks like AT+T’s upgrade policy is determined on a “case by case” basis.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/iphone/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208700177&subSection=All+Stories
What a bunch of crap.
i just bought the 2.5G iphone at the end of april. i asked Apple and the Apple store reps about the rumors of the 3G. they all told me they were lies. they didnt tell me they didnt know, or went sure. they assured me they were lies and no new iphone was planned. so the store guy at Apple talked me into buying the 2.5G. When i called Apple to express to them i felt a bit decieved by their employees, they told me too bad. I paid 400 for a phone thats not as good as the one they are going to sell for 200. should have expected as much from Apple. I dont lay total blame on them, they didnt make me buy the phone. but they did lie to me about the availabilty of the 3G to get me to buy the 400 dollor 2.5G phone. Those magnificant bastards.
@ Ray:
You should of do your own research before you buy anything… No one could of tell you if 3G coming in july or some other time until Apple announced it!!! You should know by now the way Apple surprises all of us… Look around… NEW phones coming out almost every day so every one was expecting new iPhone release. I owned iPhone from day 1 and love every minute of it. July 11 I’ll be getting new one no meter how much it would be with or without 2 year contract with AT&T…
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