This is very true. I would have preferred to have the price of the feature stay the same ($7/mo), but since they were unable to grandfather me, I asked to be released from my contract.
Good for you, but that was an exception and not the rule.
If I'm annoyed and you're annoyed, does that make us a paranoid ??
Sarcasm is a fine art...
"Don't believe everything you think"
It's not a matter of if you win or lose, it's how you assign the blame
I will repeat, THERE IS NOTHING IN YOUR CONTRACT THAT STATES THAT TEXT MESSAGING IS GUARANTEED @ $.10/MSG WITH THE PPU FEATURE. Your contract may show text ppu but there is nothing in your contract that states the price per message. I don't know why you folks think otherwise. A product brochure is not a contract.
Stop changing the subject. You said "that feature cannot be grandfathered". I replied stating that I think it can. I never said ANYTHING about contracts. Maybe the system is not capable of charging different rates to different accounts for 411 calls, but given what they do for overages on plans, the same is probably not true for SMS. Cingular being, at this point, too stubborn or unwilling to grandfather the rates is not the same them being unable to get it done.
The key word you used was cannot. This isn't a cannot problem, it's a will not problem. If it were a cannot problem there wouldn't be any point in trying to get the policy changed by filing for arbitration unless Cingular also was going to replace its billing software. Had you said "they refuse to grandfather that feature" then I agree. That's what this discussion is all about. I think we all know that doing this is against current policy, and against what reps have been told to do, but why you feel a need to come in here and repeat the company line like you have some sort of personal connection to these policies is something I don't understand. Whatever your job description is I doubt it includes "go to the hofo main forum and counter-attack anyone attacking Cingular's policies". You might have better luck repeating the company line in the Employees & Agents forum instead. Even so, there are probably some employees who are charged with enforcing this policy even though they don't personally agree with it, or have any strange personal connections to it.
I will repeat, THERE IS NOTHING IN YOUR CONTRACT THAT STATES THAT TEXT MESSAGING IS GUARANTEED @ $.10/MSG WITH THE PPU FEATURE. Your contract may show text ppu but there is nothing in your contract that states the price per message. I don't know why you folks think otherwise. A product brochure is not a contract.
My OLAM shows:
Under my RATE PLAN there are 2 sections -- INCLUDED Features and Additional Features.
The INLCUDED are listed as:
CALL FORWARDING N/C $0.00
CALL WAITING N/C $0.00
DIRECT BILL CHARGES N/C $0.00
DETAILED BILLING N/C $0.00
CALLER ID N/C $0.00
THREE PARTY CALL N/C $0.00
DATA VOLUME DETAILED BILLING $0.00 TEXT MSG PAY PER USE $0.0
Therefore, I assume TXT PPU is part of my RATE PLAN.
From my SERVICE SUMMARY:
Your rate plan brochure/contract controls if
inconsistent with this document. Cingular,
the graphic icon and Cingular Nation are
Registered Trademarks of Cingular Wireless,
LLC. Rollover Minutes and Raising the Bar are
Service Marks of Cingular Wireless, LLC.
Copyright 2006 Cingular Wireless, LLC. All
rights reserved.
Both my SERVICE SUMMARY, and my Brochure list TXT as 10c/Minute.
From my Service Summary:
Standard Charges
Additional Minutes: 45˘/min
411: Airtime Minutes + $1.75
Text Messages: 10˘/msg. ( 20˘ Intl.)
Multimedia Messages:25˘/msg
MEdia Net: 1˘/KB
(I have already discussed the brochures previously where the pricing of 10˘ was inlcuded in the Rate Plan Block on the brochure.)
So, this is a gray area and not as cut and dry as the Cingular Parrots like to state. For those that are still under contract, and kept a copy of their contract AND stapled to that a copy of the brochure, you MAY have a chance...BUT, you will have to follow the formal processes as Cingular has circled the wagons as far as the CS scripts.
Look, let me say that my only dispute in this increase (Since I don't currently use TXT, and now will likely not ever try it)...is how Cingular is handling communications to their employees, and to their customers. To me, the Cellular business is much like the Oil/Gas business....
I will not be filing for arbitration, and am not convinced that it would come down in my favor. I AM calling Cingular to be sure TXT messaging is blocked except administrative TXTs, and if I ever get spammed, I will expect a credit...and you can bet that one will go to the State AG if denied.
I am off contract and if Cingular's next move is to get rid of R/O (which these days I wouldn't put past them)...I am gone. This from someone that recommended Cingular even when others were putting Cingular down and saying go with VZ or TMB. Obviously, being off contract, my month to month applies only for the month at with appropriate notice, my terms can change or I can leave. Typically, however a M2M contract is considered "grandfathered" for most changes (they don't make you get the newest plan every month).
Sorry you feel that way but Cingular reps have a policy they have to adhere to and arbitration might be your only option to get it through to corporate. I enforce policies, I don't write them. I do not agree with the change but then again, nobody asked for my opinion before it was mandated.
Ummm, I never said I had a problem with Cingular reps following POLICY. I have a problem when Cingular has not communicated to the REPS and inconsistent policy is followed. I have problems with Cingular reps that do not understand that there may be some exceptions that need to be resolved by someone higher. I have problems with Cingular reps that do not follow notes on the account by managers that have handled the account previously and understand the specifics of that account. I have a problem with attitudes of Cingular reps that seem to feel that they have to be in the customer's face everytime a customer complains of a change Cingular makes. And, I have problem with Cingular Reps (which many in the Employee forum admitted) that they have NO PROBLEM changing a feature on a customer's account without the permission and request and notification of the customer. FLIPPING features threads. I also have a problem with REPS that state that they work for CINGULAR and so THEY KNOW, when often they just think they know [Before you consider this personal flaming, I am talking about an over all perception I am getting of Cingular Employees, not specific employees that post on this forum....those who fit the shoe, know who they are.]
I have had a Cingular Rep tell me that my GAIT 6340i phone is is GSM only...and she knew because SHE WORKED FOR Cingular and had that phone. She also did not know ANALOG from TDMA from GSM and said that TDMA was not digital. I have had REPS out and out lie to me to try and get a sale. I have had REPS remove my ESN from my GAIT account [While I was living in a GSM hole that only got TDMA] because they felt that was the problem with my phone...this when I went to get a NEW SIM because I had one of the bad GEMPLUS SIMS... and this REP would not put the ESN back on the account...even though I warned him before he removed it what would happen. I had to call CS from that store and have them correct it and tell the sales rep what he needed to do to make me whole [Which was to go to the back room and get me a 2G SIM and leave my ESN on the account].
Good for you, but that was an exception and not the rule.
WRONG.
Do not insult my intelligence; I am tiring of your continually doing so. I am capable of interpreting something written in English -- maybe this is a skill you have yet to perfect. Nevertheless, what is written in BLACK AND WHITE IN A CONTRACT is not one way. i.e., if the contract states that A PRICE INCREASE = AURORA CAN GET OUT OF HIS CONTRACT, then it's NOT AN EXCEPTION for me to get out of the contract.
I want to make something very clear to you and the fanboys in this thread who keep insulting my intelligent: I don't care if you graduated summa cum laude from Harvard, DO NOT make the erroneous assumption that just because you work at Cingular YOU ARE RIGHT AND I AM WRONG.
From what I gather you are simply a CSR that is intent on "protecting the company" by reading your scripts and acting as a buffer for higher levels of customer service. This is PRECISELY why I called ready for a fight. I spoke to three different individuals -- each one escalated from the previous, until I finally spoke to a customer service manager (4th tier) who, unlike you, was able to read the contract and understood that my interpretation of the contract was ACCURATE. In fact, this customer service manager spoke with the legal department; my 7pm n/w for $7was in fact a feature I subscribed to (there was no gray area in my situation, unlike the SMS price increase) and therefore I was legally entitled to get out of my contract.
cingtd, you are either (a) unreasonably stubborn, (b) unwilling to admit that you are wrong, or (c) sincerely incapable of reading and comprehending basic English phrases. Either way I feel sorry for you as these are not good qualities/traits. I do, however, recommend that you sharpen your debating skills before you draft a rebuttal with a simple "you're right and I'm wrong because I work at Cingular" argument. It's not helping your credibility and I'm definitely tired of reading the same feeble argument.
"My downfall raises me to infinite heights." -Napoleon Bonaparte
Do not insult my intelligence; I am tiring of your continually doing so. I am capable of interpreting something written in English -- maybe this is a skill you have yet to perfect. Nevertheless, what is written in BLACK AND WHITE IN A CONTRACT is not one way. i.e., if the contract states that A PRICE INCREASE = AURORA CAN GET OUT OF HIS CONTRACT, then it's NOT AN EXCEPTION for me to get out of the contract.
I want to make something very clear to you and the fanboys in this thread who keep insulting my intelligent: I don't care if you graduated summa cum laude from Harvard, DO NOT make the erroneous assumption that just because you work at Cingular YOU ARE RIGHT AND I AM WRONG.
From what I gather you are simply a CSR that is intent on "protecting the company" by reading your scripts and acting as a buffer for higher levels of customer service. This is PRECISELY why I called ready for a fight. I spoke to three different individuals -- each one escalated from the previous, until I finally spoke to a customer service manager (4th tier) who, unlike you, was able to read the contract and understood that my interpretation of the contract was ACCURATE. In fact, this customer service manager spoke with the legal department; my 7pm n/w for $7was in fact a feature I subscribed to (there was no gray area in my situation, unlike the SMS price increase) and therefore I was legally entitled to get out of my contract.
cingtd, you are either (a) unreasonably stubborn, (b) unwilling to admit that you are wrong, or (c) sincerely incapable of reading and comprehending basic English phrases. Either way I feel sorry for you as these are not good qualities/traits. I do, however, recommend that you sharpen your debating skills before you draft a rebuttal with a simple "you're right and I'm wrong because I work at Cingular" argument. It's not helping your credibility and I'm definitely tired of reading the same feeble argument.
RIGHT
If big words make you feel better so be it .
We can argue till we are blue in the face, but neither one of us will ever change eachother's opinion and so be it. Frankly I don't care what you or anybody thinks about me. We are all entitled to our opinions and I will respect yours as I would expect the same from you.
Yes, I do work for Cingular and no, I am not going to violate a policy to make you or anyone else happy. You seem to think of yourself as right no matter what I or anyone else says and I simply don't care anymore. I have not violated any forum policies nor do I wish to offend.
RIGHT
If big words make you feel better so be it .
We can argue till we are blue in the face, but neither one of us will ever change eachother's opinion and so be it. Frankly I don't care what you or anybody thinks about me. We are all entitled to our opinions and I will respect yours as I would expect the same from you.
Yes, I do work for Cingular and no, I am not going to violate a policy to make you or anyone else happy. You seem to think of yourself as right no matter what I or anyone else says and I simply don't care anymore. I have not violated any forum policies nor do I wish to offend.
Like I said, you are simply incapable of comprehending simple English phrases, and that's what it boils down to. You can keep answering your phone and, like another member mentioned above, reading your scripts like a parrot.
In the meantime, I'd simply like to point out that you are incapable of really substantiating your argument; your belief that "Cingular is right and you're wrong" is flawed, as is evident in the contract you CLAIM you are enforcing. I don't really expect you to understand that, however; it's clear that your ability to comprehend is limited to simple matters. When you can read and make up your own mind (instead of being fed information from some structured hierarchy that claims it's out to protect the customer's best interest), then we'll talk. Until then, you're simply trolling in a thread by spewing out feeble, inconsistent, and inaccurate arguments.
... I think we all know that doing this is against current policy, and against what reps have been told to do, but why you feel a need to come in here and repeat the company line like you have some sort of personal connection to these policies is something I don't understand. Whatever your job description is I doubt it includes "go to the hofo main forum and counter-attack anyone attacking Cingular's policies". You might have better luck repeating the company line in the Employees & Agents forum instead. Even so, there are probably some employees who are charged with enforcing this policy even though they don't personally agree with it, or have any strange personal connections to it.
awj223, if you or I would go to the Employee/Agent forum where they might discuss a change at Cingular and were in their faces like cingtd and other Cingular employess are by repeating the same old stuff with NO NEW information and countering every comment we make as a personal attack on the Employees of Cingular, we would be told to leave and go back to the MAIN forum. I suggest that it is time for cingtd to leave this thread and go back to the Employee/Agent Forum [http://207.210.82.131/showthread.php?t=1070596] if she insists on stating her OPINION as FACT. [Yes, some of what she posts is fact, but much is just her opinion or interpretation stated as fact]
The facts are this: SMS is a data service that you subscribed to when you started your contract, no choice was given in this matter so it cannot be considered an optional feature like ring tones, etc...
It's in the contract that any service to which you subscribe must be held at the same price for the duration of the contract.
I just need to find the part of my contract where it says 0.10$ per message and with these facts, I don't see how you can lose.
But yet Cingular shuts us lowly customers down time & again . . .
I just need to find the part of my contract where it says 0.10$ per message and with these facts, I don't see how you can lose.
No sweat. It is in your Service Summary. Pretty sure you can find it in OLAM under your profile or some such. It is a 2 page pdf document bearing your name and phone number and all the details of your so-called contract. Your rate plan, plan details, plan duration, etc. On page 2 top right under Standard Charges is Text Messages 10 cents/message (20 cents/message Int'l), Media net 1 cent/kb, and other items as well.
Now any fanboys (and cingtd of course) might like to riddle me this: If this pricing is NOT a part of the contract, why has Cingular been careful to issue a notification?
I will tell you: Because it is and customers have the right to exercise in accordance with Cingular's own Terms of Service! Notice was given so you know you can exit. If it were not required, Cingular could up the price by a nickel (or a dollar) every week without any notice and you could do nothing.
why is it that carriers have rasied the rate on a feature that has a consistant cost??? SMS traffic hasn't become more expensive since the dawn of it... At least i don't see how it could be.. So why raise the rate??? Every carrier is guilty....
Jeff
Its called, marketing.. so you get the Media Packages which you wont have to worry about the pay per use rate.
Face it, relatively all cellular carriers see the potential in what and where people spend their money.. i think most of us shell out more for just cable tv/internet.. talk about a ripoff.
The facts are this: SMS is a data service that you subscribed to when you started your contract, no choice was given in this matter so it cannot be considered an optional feature like ring tones, etc...
It's in the contract that any service to which you subscribe must be held at the same price for the duration of the contract.
I just need to find the part of my contract where it says 0.10$ per message and with these facts, I don't see how you can lose.
But yet Cingular shuts us lowly customers down time & again . . .
If Im not mistakened, the rates are up to par if not lower than other competitors (Tmobile, Verizon, Sprint.. )
Now any fanboys (and cingtd of course) might like to riddle me this: If this pricing is NOT a part of the contract, why has Cingular been careful to issue a notification?
I will tell you: Because it is and customers have the right to exercise in accordance with Cingular's own Terms of Service! Notice was given so you know you can exit. If it were not required, Cingular could up the price by a nickel (or a dollar) every week without notification.
This seems to be the issue here, $0.10 cents is barely competative I used to (a long time ago) pay $10 for txt messages, internet, and M2M and unlimited of each! (It was with T-Mo but now they just give you 2x the mesages for $5)
THE REAL ISSUE IS THE RAISE IN PRICE! Online it doesn't include PPU TXT's only the PPU Internet as your 'Included Features'. I can't find it online and threw away my contract so I suppose they got me. Damn Cingular!!
Sprint raised txt's from .10 to .20$ but at least let people out of the year or 2 contract!
Originally Posted by Aurora
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