Time to bail the 2 year upgrade carousel. Given all the wifi availability, I'll keep my iPhone 4 (and iPad 3) for the simple convenience of contacts, emails, reading, video, browsing, ad infinitum, and buy a dumb-phone family plan with no forced data and unending charges. Unless you're compensated by your company, a dumb-phone is pretty smart.
Why isn't the DOJ investigating this insane business practice?
Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.
(No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
What the article doesn't seem to include is that AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile have been charging this fee for quite awhile now. AT&T was charging $18 and it sounds like they are going to raise it to $30 to match Verizon.
That's an $12 for, let's say, 10M - 20M customers that might upgrade this year. I.e., $120M - $240M more that they are "raising" to "match Verizon."
As a comparison, even the low end of that range is higher than the (supposed) $100M that DoJ claims iBooks has screwed customers over, cumulatively, since the time the "agency" model was introduced.
Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.
(No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
Not to make it political, but the problem is, the other guys think that more regulation and higher taxes will solve everything. I am paying a lot already.
Both sides are messed-up, and we, as consumers and voters, are caught in the middle.
This is an Upgrade fee. In addition to the ETF, it's for the privilege of being able to buy a new phone and lock yourself into a new 2 year contract.
I don't understand where the fee is warranted. No one at AT&T has to do anything. The Apple store rep did all the work selling and activating my last phone. Is this charge to everyone or just people who buy their phone through the carrier?
I'm planning to buy the unlocked version next time so I'm wondering if they will charge me to activate it, not that $30 is that big of a deal.
Not to make it political, but the problem is, the other guys think that more regulation and higher taxes will solve everything. I am paying a lot already.
Both sides are messed-up, and we, as consumers and voters, are caught in the middle.
Exactly. Neither side is perfectly right and both sides hold blame. Any other belief is fallacy.
Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.
(No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
You may not be trolling, but that just means you don't understand that your favorite politicians do the exact same things as the ones you hate, they just put a friendly face on for you.
Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.
(No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
You may be well intentioned, but I believe it doesn't matter who you elect. Congress with majority democrats passed bank reform legislation in 2009 to protect against all the evil things banks were doing to steal money from poor people. Now banks just find different ways to nickel and dime people, mostly the same poor people that the legislation was supposed to help. (eg. no more free checking accounts, but if you carry a high enough balance you still get free checking)
The same would be the case with phone companies if legislation was passed. They're going to get their money one way or another. If you close this hole they'll just go the other direction. You can't legislate business into a corner, there's always another way.
Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.
(No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
I'm not taking one side or the other, but I have a question. Do you genuinely believe that conservative politicians are the only politicians that will screw you over for their own interests?
I'm not taking one side or the other, but I have a question. Do you genuinely believe that conservative politicians are the only politicians that will screw you over for their own interests?
they certainly aren't the only politicians that will screw over the electorate, but conservative politicians seem to be the only ones who vocally make it their stated mandate.
You may not be trolling, but that just means you don't understand that your favorite politicians do the exact same things as the ones you hate, they just put a friendly face on for you.
Agreed. I think it will remain that way until we have term limits on Senators and Representatives. No more career politicians. If you want to make a career out of politics you have to move, and get elected, in a new state every 2 terms.
Agreed. I think it will remain that way until we have term limits on Senators and Representatives. No more career politicians. If you want to make a career out of politics you have to move, and get elected, in a new state every 2 terms.
I approve of the term limit idea (would require a constitutional amendment, and it would have to be brought up by a convention, as Congress would NEVER do that on their own), but that's not enough.
Make it illegal for politicians to hold office, or at least make it logistically (within the mindset of the people) impossible to get elected if you're a politician.
If you want to hold office, have an actual career in an actual field first. Sure, USE politicians to handle the process of you BEING elected, but if you're a politician, you should NOT be allowed to hold office.
We need accountants in Congress. We need businessmen. We need regular people who have shown through actual work in their field that they are successful and can improve said field (or others) by your being in power.
Oh, look at me; this is a Verizon idiocy thread, not politics! Heavens.
To be back on topic, I reiterate my belief that the telecoms need shut down and investigated for their highway robbery.
Why isn't the DOJ investigating this insane business practice? Charing users a start up fee is bad enough (I still don't understand why a provider needs money to start my service) but charging users a fee when they stay with their carrier and upgrade is outrageous.
glad i have the phone i want for a few years. am sick of these gouging ba$turds.
Comments
Sprint, ATT, Tmobile, charge around 30 for new line activation, but they don't charge for upgrades.
AT&T certainly does. It's been $18 to upgrade to a new iPhone ever since the original.
Sprint, ATT, Tmobile, charge around 30 for new line activation, but they don't charge for upgrades.
Yes they do
ATT is now charging $36. I received the info this morning when I check my contract status by dialing *NEW#
Looks like they raised it. It was $18 when I upgraded in October. Now it's the same as the new customer activation fee.
AT&T certainly does. It's been $18 to upgrade to a new iPhone ever since the original.
I am confused by this article. Where exactly does the $30 fit in?
If someone has an iPhone 4S (16 GB) and they upgrade to the new iPhone one year into their contract, how much do they pay?
(assuming the price remains the same $199)
I thought that I paid $75 ETF last time but after checking AT&T website it says:
Early Termination Fee
$325 minus $10 for each full month of your Service Commitment that you complete
That would calculate to $205 if you were 12 months into your contract.
What am I missing?
Looks like they raised it. It was $18 when I upgraded in October. Now it's the same as the new customer activation fee.
Wow, that's F*cked
I am confused by this article. Where exactly does the $30 fit in?
If someone has an iPhone 4S (16 GB) and they upgrade to the new iPhone one year into their contract, how much do they pay?
(assuming the price remains the same $199)
I thought that I paid $75 ETF last time but after checking AT&T website it says:
Early Termination Fee
$325 minus $10 for each full month of your Service Commitment that you complete
That would calculate to $205 if you were 12 months into your contract.
What am I missing?
This is an Upgrade fee. In addition to the ETF, it's for the privilege of being able to buy a new phone and lock yourself into a new 2 year contract.
Why isn't the DOJ investigating this insane business practice?
Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.
(No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
What the article doesn't seem to include is that AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile have been charging this fee for quite awhile now. AT&T was charging $18 and it sounds like they are going to raise it to $30 to match Verizon.
That's an $12 for, let's say, 10M - 20M customers that might upgrade this year. I.e., $120M - $240M more that they are "raising" to "match Verizon."
As a comparison, even the low end of that range is higher than the (supposed) $100M that DoJ claims iBooks has screwed customers over, cumulatively, since the time the "agency" model was introduced.
Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.
(No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
Not to make it political, but the problem is, the other guys think that more regulation and higher taxes will solve everything. I am paying a lot already.
Both sides are messed-up, and we, as consumers and voters, are caught in the middle.
This is an Upgrade fee. In addition to the ETF, it's for the privilege of being able to buy a new phone and lock yourself into a new 2 year contract.
I don't understand where the fee is warranted. No one at AT&T has to do anything. The Apple store rep did all the work selling and activating my last phone. Is this charge to everyone or just people who buy their phone through the carrier?
I'm planning to buy the unlocked version next time so I'm wondering if they will charge me to activate it, not that $30 is that big of a deal.
Not to make it political, but the problem is, the other guys think that more regulation and higher taxes will solve everything. I am paying a lot already.
Both sides are messed-up, and we, as consumers and voters, are caught in the middle.
Exactly. Neither side is perfectly right and both sides hold blame. Any other belief is fallacy.
Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.
(No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
You may not be trolling, but that just means you don't understand that your favorite politicians do the exact same things as the ones you hate, they just put a friendly face on for you.
Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.
(No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
You may be well intentioned, but I believe it doesn't matter who you elect. Congress with majority democrats passed bank reform legislation in 2009 to protect against all the evil things banks were doing to steal money from poor people. Now banks just find different ways to nickel and dime people, mostly the same poor people that the legislation was supposed to help. (eg. no more free checking accounts, but if you carry a high enough balance you still get free checking)
The same would be the case with phone companies if legislation was passed. They're going to get their money one way or another. If you close this hole they'll just go the other direction. You can't legislate business into a corner, there's always another way.
Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.
(No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
I'm not taking one side or the other, but I have a question. Do you genuinely believe that conservative politicians are the only politicians that will screw you over for their own interests?
I'm not taking one side or the other, but I have a question. Do you genuinely believe that conservative politicians are the only politicians that will screw you over for their own interests?
they certainly aren't the only politicians that will screw over the electorate, but conservative politicians seem to be the only ones who vocally make it their stated mandate.
You may not be trolling, but that just means you don't understand that your favorite politicians do the exact same things as the ones you hate, they just put a friendly face on for you.
Agreed. I think it will remain that way until we have term limits on Senators and Representatives. No more career politicians. If you want to make a career out of politics you have to move, and get elected, in a new state every 2 terms.
Agreed. I think it will remain that way until we have term limits on Senators and Representatives. No more career politicians. If you want to make a career out of politics you have to move, and get elected, in a new state every 2 terms.
I approve of the term limit idea (would require a constitutional amendment, and it would have to be brought up by a convention, as Congress would NEVER do that on their own), but that's not enough.
Make it illegal for politicians to hold office, or at least make it logistically (within the mindset of the people) impossible to get elected if you're a politician.
If you want to hold office, have an actual career in an actual field first. Sure, USE politicians to handle the process of you BEING elected, but if you're a politician, you should NOT be allowed to hold office.
We need accountants in Congress. We need businessmen. We need regular people who have shown through actual work in their field that they are successful and can improve said field (or others) by your being in power.
Oh, look at me; this is a Verizon idiocy thread, not politics! Heavens.
To be back on topic, I reiterate my belief that the telecoms need shut down and investigated for their highway robbery.
Why isn't the DOJ investigating this insane business practice? Charing users a start up fee is bad enough (I still don't understand why a provider needs money to start my service) but charging users a fee when they stay with their carrier and upgrade is outrageous.
glad i have the phone i want for a few years. am sick of these gouging ba$turds.