Having issues with your wireless provider? Look here for some tips!

I have recently gone through an awful battle with ATT regarding my upgrade status for a new phone. The very vague version of the story is that three months ago my online account showed me as eligible for an upgrade and I was going to get the Iphone 3GS. When I went to the store to buy it, I was told that I was not eligible because my account (on their end) said I was not eligible. After countless arguments and working my way through the 'ranks' of management I FINALLY came to learn that Apple's agreement with ATT does not allow them flexibility to correct customer concerns with the iphone and they are not allowed to do price overrides. The truth of that is questionable, but regardless they outright refused to give me the standard upgrade pricing on the Iphone. In the end I chose to go with the Captivate and from what Ive read, it was the right choice . I thought though that I would share with you all some free tools and services that are available to consumers that helped me and can help you get your complaints and concerns taken care of.

Most of you I hope already know about some of these, but if you dont they can be priceless.

1. The Better Business Bureau: (www.bbb.org) The BBB are the knights in shining armor for consumers. They basically will act as a mediator between you and a company who you are having difficulty getting through to or who you feel are giving you the run around. The best part is that since the BBB gives 'report cards' to millions of companies across the country, you can almost always get in touch with a very high up customer service worker who has more flexibility to help you. ATT in general has a department dedicated strictly only to addressing BBB complaints (Corporate Escalations Department Consumer Complaints Division) The only way you will ever have the privilege to speak with these individuals is to go this route. Theres never a guarantee with the BBB, but it will beat dealing with mindless call center drones who are unwilling or not allowed to take care of your issues appropriately. The complaint process is very easy and user friendly and in the best case scenario you will be contacted by the company within 7 days of filing. The BBB will stay in contact with you throughout the entire process and keep you updated with what the company is submitting to them as well.

2. The Federal Communications Commission: (www.fcc.gov) Did you know that the FCC oversees the doings of all wireless carriers in the country? If all else fails, an FCC complaint is the equivalent of calling in a customer service artillery attack against a wireless company. The company is REQUIRED to address any complaints submitted by consumers to the FCC and you WILL hear back about your complaint. Best yet, the FCC will fight for your side of things and encourage the carrier to work towards getting you a fair resolution. Again, there are no guarantees, but if your getting the run around continuously then go this route! One of the most common complaints to the FCC about carriers regard early termination fees and with the FCC on your side you can almost always get a clean break from a cell contract without having to pay any of those nasty fees that can add up very quickly.

I have some more tips to share if anyone is interested, but these two are by far the best.

Best of luck in resolving your Carrier issues!

Always ask for the name (first and last) of each person you talk to on the chain, and during the conversation, refer to the person by name a couple times so they know you will remember their name at the next step: "Thank you for taking my call, Bob. My main problem is ..." "Well Bob, that might be a suitable solution for some people but I want you to ..."

Also, remember that many of these calls are being recorded, and the call center people know this, so you can expect them to be courteous and profession as long as you are too.

I believe verizon is the worst. I have an internet card account with them that is going to expire next month (thank god  ) and i called them to try and pay everything off so I can get out of the contract and be done with them totally. They actually said they would have to charge me an early termination fee of 60 dollars  . I asked them if they were serious and she said yes.

As soon as my phone contract was up with them i gladly went straight to at&t and never looked back. Unfortunately I had to wait and finish the contract for the internet card account. I had to return and exchange the phone I had with them because it kept freezing or shutting off on me. Then shortly after that the battery would die really quick and when i went to them about it they said i had to buy a new one for 50 bucks!! I never had a phone that I had to replace the battery on within a year of owning the phone. I waited half a year later and asked for an upgrade, they told me my g/f could get an upgrade but i couldnt even though we got both our phones the same time and they are the same model. They said I couldntget an upgrade because I got a new phone. I told them I got replacement phones because the phones were not working properly and they told me that was there policy and they couldnt do anything about it

I waited until my contract had about 3 days left and tried upgrading again and they told me the same thing and I asked them why would I want to stay with verizon when my contract expires in 3 days after what they just did? They said hold on they were getting a manager and then came back on to say yes im eligible for a phone upgrade. I laughed and said no thanks.

Horrible company and customer service

Thats understandable,

The one thing I dont like about sprint is that they charge you 15 to 20 dollars a month for the 4G system that might not even be available in your area or mostly anywhere else, yet you still have to pay for it.

My daughter worked in the call center for AT&T several years ago. They have a department called the 'save team' it's their job to do most anything to stop you from moving your business to another carrier. I've gotten all kinds of freebies from them.

We switched to Verison for a whopping 2 days. After it became apparent that the service stunk we returned all the merchandise & were assured we would receive a full refund. (Both the retailer & Verison Customer Service said the 1st 30 days were 'worry free').

Yea, right.

The 1st bill was 942.00 after 8 months & hundreds of phone hours I finally paid them 36.00 bucks with the promise they would never contact me again. 

AT&T may not be perfect, but at least they are willing to work with me. We have a corporate account through my husbands employer, so we get a substantial discount on our monthly bill.
I really can't complain, we get good service in our area, heck, even when we're out on the boat I get good reception on the lake.

I have recently gone through an awful battle with ATT regarding my upgrade status for a new phone. The very vague version of the story is that three months ago my online account showed me as eligible for an upgrade and I was going to get the Iphone 3GS. When I went to the store to buy it, I was told that I was not eligible because my account (on their end) said I was not eligible. After countless arguments and working my way through the 'ranks' of management I FINALLY came to learn that Apple's agreement with ATT does not allow them flexibility to correct customer concerns with the iphone and they are not allowed to do price overrides. The truth of that is questionable, but regardless they outright refused to give me the standard upgrade pricing on the Iphone. In the end I chose to go with the Captivate and from what Ive read, it was the right choice . I thought though that I would share with you all some free tools and services that are available to consumers that helped me and can help you get your complaints and concerns taken care of.