Login:
Password:
Lost Password?
Print this article  |  E-mail this article  |  Comment on this article

Former AT&T Customers Sue Cingular

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

July 7, 2006, 1:30 PM

Cingular has been sued by former AT&T Wireless customers who accused the company of breaching contracts and violating the law in the way it handled subscribers after the merger. Cingular purchased AT&T Wireless in 2004.

The suit was filed by several groups, including the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR), and the law firms of Cotchett, Pitre, Simon and McCarthy, of Burlingame, California, and Stritmatter, Kessler, Whelan, Withey and Coluccio, based in Seattle.

Seeking class action status, the suit claims Cingular intentionally degraded service and charged extraneous fees to switch from an AT&T to Cingular plan. As well as the $18 "transfer fee," users also had to purchase new phones and pay other fees to Cingular to complete the process.

"Cingular has displayed an arrogance which sends the message that their market share is more important than their customers," said Bruce Simon of Cotchett, Pitre, Simon & McCarthy.

Attorneys for the plaintiff accuse the nation's largest cellular provider of reneging on promises to give uninterrupted and improved service as part of the merger. Instead, lawyers claim in the lawsuit that Cingular stopped maintaining AT&T facilities after the settlement, which would have been a breach of contract.

AT&T Wireless used a network standard called TDMA, which it had begun phasing out in favor of GSM prior to the merger. Cingular also had been following the same route, although was much further along at the time the two companies merged.

Those who confronted the company about the degradation in service were told they either had to upgrade, live with the service, or cancel their contract and pay a$175 early termination fee.

"AT&T promised customers the moon but delivered nothing," said Mike Withey of Stritmatter, Kessler, Whelan, Withey and Coluccio. "This suit seeks to hold them accountable to their loyal customers who have been forced to pay added fees just to get the service they were promised. It's not fair."

Cingular declined to comment on the lawsuit as it had not yet reviewed it. However, the company did acknowledge its plans to eventually shut down the TDMA network, as most phone manufacturers have decided to drop support for the aging standard.

Add a Comment (118 Comments)

BetaNews reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Foul language and personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Name (required):

E-mail (required):

Enter Your Comment:

By Lanouette

edited Sep 22, 2007 - 6:21 PM

i have been a cingular/att customer for over four years these past fours years have been hell i have been charged for everything under the sun i call up every month to have them make corrections because something is screwy this month its a 330 dollar overage charge they are charging me to call other att customers now they are insane.. i need help in finding out about this law suit i would like to be apart of it i want out of this contract! i spent 40 minutes with them on the phone today its a Saturday yes but when 6pm hit my phone dropped the call i call back they are closed a little suspicious don't you think please help me1

Score: 0

By b2d327

edited Jun 30, 2007 - 12:51 PM

How do I become a part of this class action suit? I was an AT&T customer during the merger and my service was interrupted twice. When I asked about why my bill didn't show the charges I was told it was because AT&T/Cingular were two different companies yet when I asked why Cingular would interrupt my service for something that pertained to AT&T, they were now "conveniently" the same company. I regret staying with them now as I have to find a lawyer because one of their own cs reps used my personal information to order phones (blackberries) and services under my account. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Score: 0

By lmika1

edited Jan 19, 2007 - 1:10 PM

I signed up for service with AT&T in June of 02 with the unlimited everything plan for $49.00 a month, now since the merge with Cingular I am forced to upgrade my plan to a Cingular plan if I want a newer model phone. I refuse to "upgrade" from an unlimited plan for $49.00 to a plan with with a higher monthly fee with few minutes. I am out of options, I can only buy phones at cost on Ebay. I am looking into switching to Cricket for the unlimited plans, and doing away with Cingular all together. It is just frustrating because I have had these cell phones since June of 2002, I thought I was a loyal customer.

Score: 0

By Tony Rathe

edited Jan 10, 2007 - 11:27 AM

I am paying almost $19 a month for no minutes at all with Cingular. They charge for TDMA. It is an old emergency telephone plan.
It is $3 a minute.
They are gestapo.

Score: 0

By llbrookins

posted Nov 27, 2006 - 9:43 PM

Oh yes, those of you who are interested in being a part of the class action lawsuit just sit still. As with all class action lawsuits, everyone who had AT&T at the time it was bought by Cingular should receive a letter informing them of the lawsuit. I read that there were 19 million subscribers at that time! So it may take a while for the letters to reach us. In a nutshell the letter should say if you want to be a part of the lawsuit, do nothing. If you want to opt out of the lawsuit it will tell how to do that. It's a pity, but over the years I have been involved in several of these types of lawsuits. The last payment received in August was from the MicroSoft lawsuit. And there is another one out there before Cingular. This goes to show you that Cingular is not the only business with unfair tactics!

Score: 0

By llbrookins

edited Nov 22, 2006 - 10:14 PM

Today is 11/22/06 and I just cancelled last week an AT&T phone I have had for about three years. I refused to upgrade to Cingular and pay a higher fee for a phone I hardly ever used. I'm not a cell phone person, I only had it for emergency road service calls. I wanted to see just how long Cingular would continue to charge me for a service that didn't work half the time. I paid $23 a month on average for 20 minutes per month. Over the past 6 months I could only get on the service every once in a blue moon! And I could not get on at all for the past two months. Cingular also started charging me a $5 fee for the AT&T phone when I know they knew the service was not being provided. That's simply greed in a nutshell. I now have a used cingular pay as you go phone that was given to me by a friend who didn't want it. It's not a top of the line phone but until I decide on another wireless provider it will serve my purpose.

Score: 0

By Fiji

edited Nov 13, 2006 - 6:13 PM

I was so upset when Cingular bought ATT. In fact I switched from Cingular to ATT because of the pathetic service from Cingular. Plus I got a great deal with a national discount. Now I want to change phones and Cingular wants me to pay extra for the monthly subscription. This is daylight robbery! Why should I pay extra for the same service. All I want are two new phones and the same service. Cingular is discriminating against ATT customers by forcing them to pay extra subscription fees if they want phone upgrades. Why should we pay more? I called Cingular and got a manager who offered the same rates for one year and new phones. I told them to shove it. We should not allow this company to treat old ATT customers in this discriminatory manner. We should be able to get the same discounted upgrades for new phones. And be able to keep the same rate. How do I join this laws suit?

Score: 0

By bherr

edited Aug 24, 2006 - 3:05 PM

AFter this merger, phone service has went down to tubes within days. I get a discount being a former At&t Wireless customer/employee. Now that I want to get new phones because service stinks, I have to sign another contract which I am contractless at last, I lose 80% of my discount, lose my 7 pm nights which i don't pay extra for, have less minutes, and pay more money. I feel like I am starting from scratch. They should honor the plan I have and be able to just let me by a new phone within signing a contract.

Score: 0

By CingularHater

edited Aug 21, 2006 - 4:25 AM

My life has been hell since my account with ATT ended on June 28 and I rolled over to Cingular. Since I switched over, they have repeatedly charged me overage charges--because for some reason my plan is not showing on their system--and two months and many phone calls later, they still have not fixed the problem. They promised me that my new phone would have global coverage--and when I specifically asked if Japan is included, they emphatically said yes. Once I was on the plan, they informed me that Japan is the only country NOT covered by the global network. They downgraded my 1000 anytime minutes with ATT to 450. But they promised me 200 extra minutes, as an internet promotion or something, and two months later and many phone calls later, I still don't have the extra 200 minutes. So my rollover minutes are lower than they should be. My two months with Cingular has been absolute hell. The only good thing is that I mentioned that I would join the class action lawsuit against Cingular, and they agreed to cut my plan from 2 years to 1 year. I can't wait to get out of the plan. 10 more months to go, I guess. This is the worst company EVER.

Score: 0

By robertbmitchell

posted Aug 8, 2006 - 1:19 PM

Let's add insult to injury, I have lately been called by Cingular or their agent trying to have me change my account over to Cingular. This is an Cingular sells call - to my amazement, they are charging me for the minutes that they use to sell me something - I have attempted to reach them and have them reapply the minutes to my account.

Score: 0

By robertbmitchell

edited Aug 7, 2006 - 2:47 PM

It seems; If I read the comments below correctly, if I have an unlocked phone I have nothing to concern myself about with the changeover, is this correct? Former AT&T account holder with an AT&T unlocked phone.

Score: 0

By vgirlprincess

edited Nov 6, 2007 - 12:37 AM

http://www.gsmliberty.net/shop/nokia_unlock.php

Check out this site, many Nokia phones unlocked for free and lots of others brands unlocked for very reasonable prices!

Yes I've had my own beef with ATT&T/Cingular or whoever the heck they're gonna be down the road! I was with AT&T when they started their "Cingular Branding Campaign" and was forced to change over to Cingular!! I know its pathetic but I never did through out those older phones, they stayed in my junk drawer (making me irritated everytime I saw them)
One of the phones was purchased from Best Buy shortly before the change was made (thanks for the heads up BEST BUY!!) so you can imagine I was thrilled to know that even though Cingular was still selling the very same make and model of the phones "ours" were no longer compatible with their system! So yes we did conform to their demands and "joined them" and their fabulous service TISK! Well you can imagine my genuine excitment (growl) when I found out that AT&T was magically coming out from the rock they should have stayed under!! Um yay does this mean more new phones and charges with the same familiar old BS? I'm not going through it this time I am prepared with unlocked phones!! Take that!!! "Cingular is now AT&T's evil twin"................... "Your World is Dramatic. AT&T is Drama." LOL

Score: 0

By sauer

edited Aug 5, 2006 - 1:02 PM

After the merger , my service started to decline.It was very inconsistent.
After speaking to Cingular, they informed me that I should "upgrade to a new Cingular plan" , to rectify my problem.
I found there plans were not even close to the amount of service per $ that I had with ATT.(family plan)
So I said NO and continued with my spotty service.
Then our phones were giving us problems, so I inquired about purchasing new phones, at my expense of course.
Again I was informed that I MUST "upgrade to a Cingular plan" because they don't sell phones for my plan.
But I'm using the new GSM technology, not the old TDMA. There response , does not matter upgrade to a Cingular plan.
So now my family has old ,dying phones and inconsistent service. (But a good AT&T plan that they would like to eliminate)
Not what they agreed to when the merger took place.
"continue to enjoy the benefits of their current phones, rate plans and features, without any service interruption" and "it's only going to get better from here." Cingular's chief marketing executive said.
Not true .
And why do I need to search the Internet for an "unlocked phone" , what kind of monopolistic tactic is that ?
Paul Sauer

Score: 0

By shakaz808

edited Aug 6, 2006 - 3:24 PM

We're currently on the AT&T GSM Family Plan with DOD discount on 5 phones. My Moto V180 died. Cingular told me that they no longer had AT&T phones. I would have to convert to a Cingular plan w/ DOD discount on only 1 phone, pay a $18 conversion fee per phone and pay $30 more per month. Besides the degradation in phone service, Cingular just changed its billing statement for former AT&T customers about 2 months ago and in doing so, my monthly has increased from $76 to $84. Cingular has not answered my complaint about this sly increase. This could be the grounds for a 2nd lawsuit.

Score: 0

By robertbmitchell

edited Aug 7, 2006 - 2:40 PM

I too am dismayed at recent events. I purchased an ATT plan with a good rate and have had my account in good standing for 3 years. I recently have been told by Cingular that my ATT plan that they took over is no longer supported and that I will have to take a higher plan with less benefits from them or my service and phone is defunct. Oh, they did offer me a free phone if I switched. Is this legal and allowable -- someone help with any information possible.

Score: 0

By shakaz808

posted Aug 5, 2006 - 4:11 AM

Your AT&T plan should be grandfathered in and still supported. You can never go back to your old plan once you switch to Cingular. I'm not switching even though it means I have to look for unlocked phones when my phones die.

Score: 0

By TxPeachz

edited Aug 3, 2006 - 1:24 AM

Glad to see I am not the only one having trouble with cingular.
I was at&t for several years, when I moved, I called to advise of address change, and was told that they merged with Cingular.
Now I was under a new contract for 2 years at a higher rate then what I was paying for and getting less minutes. Go figure!
Then the first bill comes in for 5 times the amount quoted. Oh, that is a partial bill from at&t they told me. Well guess what, when I had to switch, they rep told me my contract with att&t was null and void, even with me having a yr left on the contract. So why are they billing me for at&t on my cingular account.
No one could answer, or would answer, and told me to pay it or they would cancel me. I figured, if I wasn't a valid contract with att& t how could they cancel something I didn't have.
Well what she meant was that "Cingular" would cancel me. And by golly they did.
I had to pay whatever they said I owed to get my phone back on. If I had not needed the phone for my dying father to get a hold of me when he needed to, I would have told them to shove it! As a result, my bill is different every month to this date. And I do not go over my minutes, or make international calls, or do the downloads. I talk only when I have to on the thing, yet my bill goes from 60 one month to 189 the next. I have had no luck in fighting the A--H---s, but believe me, when my contract is up next year, they won't see another dime of my money.

Score: 0

By sgflieger

edited Jul 27, 2006 - 2:51 AM

Hey Everybody,
I'm just "ELATED" that SOMETHING is being done about this. I don't care about recovering anything, I just want those "USELESS" customer service reps to lose their jobs. I wish to see CINGULAR sink, rather than swim. They are a POND full of sharks, and in MY EXPERIENCES, I cannot describe the "Level" of frustration I experienced.
A) "FORCED MIGRATION TO CINGULAR, from AT&T.
B) "Unable" to PROVIDE a PHONE for AT&T Service
C) "ROAMING CHARGES" for stepping into my backyard.
D) "DISCONNECTION" of service for "Reconciled" credits, that NEVER got posted to my account.
E) "RESTORAL" fees, charges for their MISTAKE.
F) "TRICK" tactics to "CONTINUE" with contract.
G) "AUTOMATICALLY" triggering a NEW (2) year extension, without even notifying me about it.
H) "GRIEF" over "ADDING" a new line, from AT&T.
I) "FORCING" "Sub-Standard" phones on new contract, or PAY $150.00 dollars for a phone that ACTUALLY didn't "Drop Calls" AS MUCH??
J) SIM CARD Programming, that failed to execute until almost 4 days later?
K) "Disabling" text messaging, after restoral fee "Automatically" billed, without "Consent"
L) "MAJOR" loss of communications with transition of "VOICEMAIL" box, that did not work for NEARLY one week? (Business calls lost)
and I won't even tally THAT COST...despicable.

I guess what I am trying to say, is I feel for folks that got caught up in this whole mess. This painful experience cost me and my business untold amounts of grief and heartache. Not to mention money. I feel, as if this customer service team of CINGULAR, basically "EXPLOITED" every TACTIC imaginable, and THEY ALONE are the ones I wish to see fired. Whether the orders they recieved came from "High Command" or what.

All I am ABSOLUTELY certain of, is that these folks I dealt with (I cannot speak for others) are amongst the most "INCOMPETENT" characters in recent memory. At times, I felt like I was dealing with "GESTAPO" styled interrogators, if I even "Requested" a credit. They would "Bump" me to the next level..of "ETERNAL" holding patterns. More LONG hours of "Unnecessary" time spent trying to resolve issues. NOT WORTH IT to me. I'm glad I got to "ESCAPE" this nitemare.

I am glad it's finally over, JULY 16th, 2006

-Scott

oh! BTW/ They DID EVERYTHING they could to keep me "ACTIVE" on my account, free offers, discounts, equipment upgrades, yada, yada, yada
DON'T BUY IT!---> THEY ARE TRICKING YOU! Bigtime. Get out, while you can.

Score: 0

By oogaBooga

edited Jul 26, 2006 - 4:16 PM

Anyone know how to benefit from this lawsuit? I got screwed by this time and time again. Dropped calls every other phone call, poor reception, you name it. Now, I have cingular and feel like a patsy. Anywhere to sign up with these guys? -Dan
contact@cascadephotos.com

Score: 0

By Zaminca

edited Jul 25, 2006 - 1:01 PM

Every other call gets dropped. Poor signal quality in my area. This is reported to cingular many times but they are not taking any action. Every time I call customer and report the problem they say "we are sorry we cannot help you with your device. Its an AT&T device" . If asked for solution they say Get a new contract with Cingular you will be all set.

Score: 0

By walterl

edited Jul 22, 2006 - 10:35 AM

We have endured bad service ever since the take over. I'm glad thay are going to be held accountable for ripping off the AT&T customers. We are riding out the situation until November (contract expires) and will be looking for a good provider for our business phones.

Score: 0

By kimgor

edited Jul 17, 2006 - 10:25 PM

You know what else Cingular does? It doesn't allow all the features to work for old AT&T customers.. Once you get the unblocked phone, then you have to get the configuration from Nokia (or whatever phone) and there's a 98% chance that the stuff won't work. You won't be able to send pictures, you won't be able to download ringtones.. surf the web. NOTHING. They screw you every where they can to get you to be a Cingular customer and not AT&T - if anyone knows the secret of being able to use all your features on your phone (especially Nokia..) please email me: kimgor@comcast.net - I think that the Razr works but it's very difficult supposedly.. Any geniuses out there or are we all screwed with these fancy phones we can't use?

Score: 0

By shakaz808

posted Aug 6, 2006 - 3:20 PM

Found this on Amazon about unlocked phones:

http://www.amazon.com/gp...50-4039152?docId=566955

Score: 0

By ChicagoAPA

edited Jul 15, 2006 - 8:07 PM

I run a large pool league in Chicago. I log 4000 to 6000 minutes in a regular month. (Lots of customer service needed and given.) Luckily, I have the AT&T Unlimited GSM plan.

Mixed bag right now. At the switch, I was pushed to get a new phone, and switch to Cingular. I tried a few phones, and found that they really didn't help...until I got an unlocked RAZR. Bliss. Signal bars everywhere and I could keep my AT&T unlimited plan. I dropped the land line in my office because the wireless service was that good.

Until this week. 7-10-06. Starting Monday, I have had NO service in my office, and minimal service until I get clear of my building. I called and found that they were "degrading" the AT&T towers in my area, and "integrating" them into the Cingular service. I know they have accomplished the first objective, but don't believe they have reached the second.

I cannot get ANYONE at Cingular to tell me when this situation will be fixed, or IF it will be fixed. I asked them why I should continue with the service, and got no reply.

Right now, the frustrating part is not knowing when or if the problem will be fixed. If it is near term, I will stay, and continue to sing the praises of Cingular and the RAZR phone. If it is going to be a continuing situation, I'll drop the company, and make sure that I put the message out to every one of my 1500 players that they should steer clear of Cingular.

Score: 0

By skywolf_47

edited Jul 14, 2006 - 4:09 PM

I was a good customer of att wireless and had good service then along came cingular they canceled my service did'nt even give any warnings then told me that i could switch to cingular ....question is there way I could get my service back?
Thank You

Score: 0

By debbiehowell

edited Jul 13, 2006 - 12:32 PM

Thanks God someone is actually doing something about this. We have been an AT&T Customer for about ten years now. About two months ago, my son's phone quit working and instead of being able to order a new phone for the AT&T network, Cingular told me they did not support equipment for the AT&T network anymore and we would have to go to their service. I looked on the internet for some "unlocked AT&T cellular phones" and they range from $120 up to $500. This is crazy when most company just about give their phones away to keep you on their plan. We are on a family plan and none of Cingular's plans came close to what we had in service and price. They are ripping off the AT&T customers big time and it's not fair. I have always paid my bill on time and been very happy with my service up until Cingular took over. Hopefully, something can be done about the way they are treating us. Please keep me informed as to what happens from here.

Score: 0

By Jacquelyn

edited Jul 10, 2006 - 2:25 PM

I had At&t for 3 years before the merger happened and had just resigned my contract. I got told I must switch over to Cingular, NO prob for me, ha ha. I was told that my plan would stay the same and not to worry. My plan was 1000 minutes free nights and weekends plus 500 texts on each phone. I ended up having (without my knowledge) 600 shared minutes NO free nights or weekends and NO texts messages! I was never told anything about it, they sent me phones connected them and screw'd me over. I called in to pay my bill cause I hadnt recieved one (still havent), and it was 996.00 I then had them disconnect them (175 each would be $350), it is now on my credit and they say I owe $2300.00!!! That would mean that it cost me $650.00 per contract to disconnect!! I have tried to speak with lawyers here in my own state and they think Im crazy lol Thank the lord Im not the only one!!! Good luck to future Cingular customers!

Score: 0

By shicaca

posted Jul 10, 2006 - 4:43 AM

http://www.cdg.org/technology/3g/migration.asp

This is the "migration routes" from TDMA to other techs (GSM / CDMA)

Note as of right now, as from the site on another page: High-speed data: "Delivers a peak data rate of 1.8 Mbps on the reverse link and 3.1 Mbps on the forward link. The high data rates allow the introduction of richer applications, faster delivery and an improved user experience, better network utilization and lower cost of delivery. ... Revision B will be even better/faster than that. This is on EVDO networks, which Verizon is dutifully converting its network over to. Oh. By the way. Verizon's making it so their NEW network will coincide with the old one ... something that Cingular obviously didn't think about -- since their GSM was formerly TDMA as well. To heck with that pesky "compatability" these AT&T winers are crying about.

From what I read on their site, VoIP will be avaiable and reality in 2008 with your cell provider. You will no longer have to have a separate phone number from your cell phone if you don't want to ... or you can call from your "home" phone number while at the store. ... pricing on internet KB/MB usage, I can't be too sure, but the tech will be there.

I looked up CDMA / GSM from what others told me to do ... and from what I'm reading they're right on the money. CDMA such as Verizon and a few other places have so much more potential as far as speed is concerned, and every inception is backwards compatable with at least the last revision of itself.

Score: 0

By shicaca

posted Jul 10, 2006 - 2:56 AM

The funny thing is CellularOne had the same thing happen when they merged into Alltel (sp?) We had to get new phones and switch over to their service and what-not, but I believe Alltel had better plans and it cost absolutely zilch to get a new phone. I believe when my family switched they used the generic POS phones that just came with the plan for literally nothing so it didn't really affect them, but I'm sure with the way the merger went they would have given you a nicer phone or a discounted nicer phone had you requested it.

From what it sounds like, Cingular either bit off more than they could chew, or they just f***ed up big time and are being jacka**es about the whole thing. I, personally, would be TICKED if they made me PAY for a new phone. I'd definitely play within their lawsuit b/c that's just ridiculous and bad business practice ... Although from what I hear from everybody around here that has Cingular, that's never really been their strong point.

... BUT REMEMBER EVERYBODY THEY HAVE THE LOWEST DROPPED CALL RATIO AROUND AS EVIDENCED BY MULTI-FIRM TESTINGS!!!! (coughbulls**tcough)

Score: 0

By Adrian79

posted Jul 9, 2006 - 1:22 PM

i am att customer, i still have my UNLIMITED "incoming" txt messeges!!! hahah beat that cingular! i have unlimited nights/weekends and 600 anytime plus 1000 mobile to mobile..

for only 39 dollars a month!!! NOWWW CINGULAR will charge you 70bucks a month for that...

so i will NOT be switching to cingular

P.s. I have an old expired att plan from b4 they merged (i still have it)

Score: 0

By debbiehowell

posted Jul 13, 2006 - 1:34 PM

When your phone breaks or goes bad, trying getting a new one for the AT&T network. That's where you'll pay the price.

Score: 0

By Pdj79

posted Jul 10, 2006 - 5:38 AM

I'm not trying to discredit you, but when we switched from AT&T to Cingular (there aren't any actual AT&T towers in our area, so we were always having to switch to Cingular's network for service anyway), we switched to a $70 plan that is 1000 anytime minutes, unlimited mobile to mobile, and unlimited nights and weekends (which begin at 7 instead of 9)...you're talking out your a**, but I understand the point you're trying to make.

As for other comments about how its BS they made us buy new phones...it wasn't like we were paying full price...my phone was free (Motorola V180...have since upgraded to a RAZR V3...via ebay) and my wife's cost $20 (SonyEriccson Z500A). I could have stayed with AT&T's service, but then I would still have had to manually change my network to Cingular's in order to use the phone at home, I would not have had the benefit of Rollover minutes, and there would have been no phone upgrade/replacement plan if something were to have happened to my old phone. If they can prove that service was intentionally downgraded in order to force the customer to switch, then I'm all for the lawsuit...but simply stating "they made me buy a new phone with the new contract" is ridiculous as you would have more than likely done the same thing if you upgraded your contract through AT&T to obtain a newer phone.

Score: 0

By debbiehowell

posted Jul 13, 2006 - 1:37 PM

Cingular is not supporting AT&T customers is the problem. You can't get replacement equipment without having to switch. We're paying $70 for two phones with 1300 minutes, free nights and weekends starting at 7:00pm and free mobile to mobile. Similar plan with Cingular is about $100 a month and free nights start at 9:00pm.

Score: 0

By bbplayer

posted Jul 9, 2006 - 12:09 PM

I switched from ATT and cingular, and everything went fine. Its the people that swear by old technology like TDMA, that are whining and complaining about this.

Score: 0

By drubinic

edited Jul 27, 2006 - 11:50 PM

bbplayer, my complaint has nothing to do with TDMA technology. It was having my AT&T account being bought out by Cingulair, then being told I have to pay an $18 transfer fee. They are the ones who changed, not me.

Score: 0

By TCMaz

edited Jul 25, 2006 - 7:39 PM

About 3 weeks ago, my AT&T Wireless phone (Samsung V206 tri-band (GSM 900/1800/1900) stopped working at my house "Emergency Calls Only"). My wife was on my shared account and used a Nokia 6200 (GSM 850/1800/1900) and it worked fine. I went to Cingular, spent several hours on the phone with the technical experts and was finally told to switch my AT&T account to a Cingular account, replace both phones and oh, by the way, my AT&T SIM cards would no longer work and I would need to re-enter all my numbers. I took my SIM card out of the Samsung and placed it in my wife's Nokia. It worked to perfection. I went to another Cingular store and asked if they had any old Nokia 6200's around. The first guy said no, but the other sales rep said he thought he had one in the back. He brought it out with a charging until and we put my SIM in the Nokia. It also worked perfectly. I asked how much and he said "$50, but it had to be cash. I wonder where that went :-) but I wasn't going to argue since I was back in business and I didn't have to cancel my account, start a new plan, re-key my phone numbers and get two new phones. I finally found out that they had "upgraded the tower in my area to GSM 850 technology. That's why the Nokia 6200 worked, but the Samsung V206 didn't. I would have been very happy if they had told me this up front and early in the process. I'm a reasonable person and I understand the need for technology upgrades. Why the runaround???

Score: 0

By giwo

edited Jul 9, 2006 - 9:23 PM

Just an FYI, I switched to GSM before Cingular bought AT&T (when it was still being rolled out). And I STILL had better service before the Cingular takeover, with nothing but dropped calls ever since.

So it's not isolated to TDMA users.

Score: 0

By coldcircle

edited Jul 8, 2006 - 11:28 PM

I still have the Unlimited $99.99 and I have to say I havent had any problems so far. I have a unlocked Cingular Razr with my AT&T and I dont see any reason to switch over to there plans. If you are in TDMA you should be switching over to to a GSM phone for better coverage. Anyway, hopefully this law suit will cause Cingualr to have AT&T customers keep there current phones if they are happy with them.

Score: 0

By kimgor

posted Jul 18, 2006 - 8:03 PM

You have the unlimited $99.99 phone and a razr.. can you send pictures via the internet with the razr? If so, how? did you get it unblocked and then did the guy have to input a bunch of stuff to get it to work? kimgor@comcast.net

Score: 0

By etk1200

edited Jul 8, 2006 - 8:37 PM

I had to pay a bill 3 times because i was told that it wasnt paid and they would send it to collections and they did even after i paid it, i merged from at&t to cingular and Ive had so many problems with cingular but im binded by a contract and ive dealt with the headaches because i dont like to swicth around, Ive even asked them why I was getting billed twicw in one month, they corrected that problem but didnt admit any thing wrong......I knew some one would do something about that crooks is what they are.

Score: 0

By nikechick

edited Jul 8, 2006 - 1:11 PM

I had been an AT&T customer for many years before the merger and was very happy with service. After the merger I was told I needed to upgrade in order to receive certain services. I had a few months left on my contract at the time and was told the upgrade would not extend it, but as of yesterday I found out my contract has been extended until March 2008! I have had nothing but problems since the upgrade! I didn't receive my bill in April and called them to find out what was going on. I was told not to worry they were having a "billing problem" in my area. Well, May and June went by with no bill and each month I called! Last week I got 3 bills in one week totaling $220.00!!!!! When I called to inform them not only did they treat me as if I had just not been paying my bill, but they basically told me I had 30 days to pay it or I would began to be charged late fees! And possible service interruption. I could not believe it! That's when I asked when my contract would be over and was slapped in the face with MARCH 2008! Add me to that list of former AT&T customers who have filed suit! Something has got to be done about this!!!!!!!

Score: 0

By Pdj79

posted Jul 10, 2006 - 5:47 AM

Sorry, but just because you didn't get a paper bill doesn't mean you should suddenly be surprised to have $220 to pay. When you called to complain, did you ever think to ask the service rep "Hey, what's my current bill? $75? Let me go ahead and pay that, even though the paper bill never showed up." Sorry, but this was your fault, not theirs. Sure, they should have gotten the bills out to you in a timely manner, but you know you're receiving a service...just because the bill didn't show up doesn't mean you're not obligated to pay. 3 months of service with no payment IS to be treated as non-payment. No sympathy here.

Score: 0

By Jacquelyn

posted Jul 10, 2006 - 2:38 PM

it may have been her fault, but I had the same thing happen, I have asked for my bill repeatedly and when they told me how much my bill was I had them disconnect my phone, I still asked for a bill, that was a year ago, I have NOT recieved one and they looked over my address and everything was correct!!!

Score: 0

By goula

posted Jul 8, 2006 - 1:48 PM

hate to say it, but they do make other ways availible to get your bill.

Score: 0

By shicaca

posted Jul 10, 2006 - 3:00 AM

Yep they sure do.

Too bad many companies can't get it right and instead make their online formats cluttered and clunky.

Not to mention the fact that some people that have cell phones are older and aren't as computer savvy as you might like to think the rest of the world is.

While I would have been pitching a MAJOR complaint the second month of not getting a bill, I don't really think I'd notice it all that much myself.

Kudos for original poster for keeping up on those things, and good luck with the late fees because they're like the worst company in the world for removing them.

Score: 0

By Joe22

posted Jul 8, 2006 - 12:55 PM

I feel bad for everyone who has to deal with the Cingular/ AT&T merger...I've had Sprint for the past 18 months and have never had a problem. My dad, my sister and myself are on the same plan and it ends up being $150 a month for unlimited calling/texting/internet...Long Distance included. I have no complaints.

Score: 0

By Jwhitty

edited Jul 8, 2006 - 12:26 PM

The argument of having to buy a new phone and pay the $18 fee is bogus. Even Cingular TDMA customers have to do that to upgrade from the dying technology to the newer GSM technology.

I believe AT&T was also working on upgrading their network, and customers would've had to pay a similar upgrade fee and the cost of a new phone (whether it's a free one or a feature-loaded one that costs $$) eventually.

If the comment about AT&T Wireless on the verge of bankruptcy is true, then those in the class action suit need to start thinking to themselves.. If Cingular didn't buy AT&T Wireless, then they may have been forced to choose another carrier and pay activation fees, new phones, new services, etc. But Cingular kept the company out of the water, and is offering the customers a chance to upgrade and move over to the newer network.

Mergers have consequences and the faster than expected TDMA shutdown is one of them. Cingular was way ahead of AT&T at the time of merger in the upgrade to GSM. But the pro about the merger is a bigger, better, more reliable network. Cingular can now upgrade the AT&T TDMA towers to Cingular GSM towers to provide more coverage without having to seek local municipal approval to construct a tower in so-and-so's backyard.

The only way I see a lawsuit valid is if Cingular actually was charging AT&T customers an early termination fee along with an upgrade fee to switch over to Cingular plans.

Score: 0

By shakaz808

edited Aug 6, 2006 - 3:29 PM

I am currently on an AT&T GSM Family plan. Cingular wanted to charge me $18/each for 5 phones to convert to a "similar" Cingular Family plan that was going to cost me $30 more a month. I'm already on GSM so why should it cost me to switch? My AT&T plan is much better than the "similar" Cingular plan.

Score: 0

By Texana

posted Jul 8, 2006 - 9:22 AM

I was one of the customers who signed up with AT&T because of their coverage area. Shortly after Cingular took over I found out the hard way that most of the areas that were previously in my area of coverage were now subject to huge roaming fees. When I balked at an unexpected $300 bill for about 30 minutes of calls Cingular did adjust my bill, but told me not to ever expect such an adjustment again. In their words, I had been "educated" and would have to live with reduced service. They refused to tell me what area my service contract covered and said I could not rely on the phone's perception of roaming or not and that I could not rely on my personalized coverage map. But they could upgrade my service for a lot of money. I waited out my contract and switched to Verizon the day it eneded. That wasn't my only problem though,when my local service wasn't working, they wanted ME to drive around town and check on the towers!

Score: 0

By koolaid_1_9

edited Jul 8, 2006 - 6:06 AM

Where do I begin with all the problems I have had with this company and I know that the employee is going to try and explain away all of them but they are full of it. First of all five bars dont be crape and i should know. yes i have five bars most of the time (even in the middle of nowhere) but no matter how how many bars either I or my mother (who is also on my plan) have we still have no singnal or we always have droped calls. We shouldnt have to be acrobats dancing around trying not to loose our connection or even get a connection. When I complained to Cingular about this they tried to say first it was our sim cards and that we had to pay 50 dollars for each sim card that was an at&t sim card or we could change our plan to cingular. we get free incoming messages with at&t because of the grandfather clause so why would i want to switch and get charged for recieving and sending messages. when i talked to a cingular rep in the store he said that they are giving us bad service to make us switch over to cingular when we asked the people over the phone while complaining about the service they denied this yet they asked me if i would like to switch my plan to cingular five times in less than 5 minutes everytime i said no. yet they keep telling us that the service sucks because they havent switched the at&t towers over to cingular yet (it has been about two years someone must not be doing there job huh) plainly cingular is screwing all of their customers. because the at&t customers that i know that have switched to cingular also complain about the shotty service they are getting but yet cingular is breaking the law by trying to force their fees on people one way or another whether it be from higher fees on your bills or cancelltion fees because your tired of being screwed. I think that all of us former at&t customers have the right to have the same service that we were promised before the switch. and if this is the only way that we are able to be compencated for this screwing then so be it. ok so here is some of the problems i have had so now what is your cingular rehersed answers goula cause we all know that cingular has you monitoring this to try and cover their butts, but too many of us are really ticked so you should tell cingular that your not helping them any.

Score: 0

By shicaca

posted Jul 10, 2006 - 3:06 AM

Wow ... paragraphs are a man's/woman's best friend.

Score: 0

By Neoprimal

posted Jul 8, 2006 - 5:57 AM

My wife stuck it out with ATT after the merger but things went downhill. She had one of those little block nokia phones with the blue backlight, but it really wasn't that horrible. After the merger her phone gradually stopped getting a good signal in our apartment (mind you, this is the place we've been living in for 2 years). She called cingular and was told she was considered 'former ATT' and that she'd need to upgrade her phone for any kind of customer service. Now mind you, I'm understanding and open minded - I know change is good. But boy did they handle it wrong. She stuck it out a while longer because her company had a contract with ATT. Unfortunately after the merger the details of this contract became vague, her bill went up by 30 for no forseeable reason (since she didn't change phones or service). She gave up on them finally and came to the light (Tmobile). Cingular may have allover coverage, but that's not everything when it comes to a product/service. I just feel bad for people who HAVE to use them, for whatever the reason. She's now very happy with Tmobile, as I have been for 4 years.

Score: 0

By Hillard

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 11:43 PM

Here's food for thought. BellSouth owns Cingular. At the end of this year, AT&T is buying BellSouth. Now talk about ya monopoly. So if you went from AT&T to Cingular because of the merger. You get to do it all over again but the other way around.

Score: 0

By pirsquared

edited Aug 3, 2006 - 10:07 AM

You are confusing AT&T Wireless with AT&T. They are not the same entity. AT&T Wireless no longer exists and AT&T has no intention of resurrecting it, but is instead referring people to Cingular for their wireless service.

Score: 0

By hbkh

edited Jul 8, 2006 - 9:50 PM

Actually, BellSouth only owns 40% of Cingular and AT&T/SBC owns the other 60%.

Score: 0

By JoelMarc

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 9:43 PM

If you want to sue them go here:

http://www.consumerwatch...68&_requestid=14164

Score: 0

By JoelMarc

edited Jul 7, 2006 - 9:30 PM

I was with ATT mobile before the merger. When I got them, I was never told that the merger was going to happen before the contract was signed. I found out after the paperwork was done. Once the merger happened, one of my phones, the one I have for my parents, stopped working. I wanted to get another phone to replace the nonfunctional one before they left for Florida. The Cingular representatives told me that I must replace all four phones on my account and switch over to Cingular with a new 2 year commitment for each phone paying activation fees and purchasing all new phones. I told the Cingular representative that since Cingular bought ATT I was Cingular. They proceeeded to tell me that I was ATT and I must now switch over to Cingular. They went on to say the bill and the phone displayed the ATT information. It did not, they all displayed the Cingular information and the bill said Cingular as well. They refused to help me. I contacted the maker of the phone to have them service the phone. Needless to say my elderly parents drove to Florida without a phone. Once repaired, I mailed it to my parents in Florida. (they refused to take mine when they left)They have not allowed me to change any plan period. My phone that has insuance on it stopped functioning, first they said I have no insurance. Once that was worked out they said I would see it in two day. It did not show a week has gone by. I called again, they did not process the claim. They tell me the phone will be here next week. I am not holding my breath. I hope those people sueing Cingular screw them to the wall. If I can join the palintiffs I will.

Score: 0

By Rosesar

edited Aug 6, 2006 - 11:51 AM

Cingular/AT&T never told me there would be a merger. The next month I had a cellular phone that did not work and a bill for $350.00. I was given a Long distance Line and charged me $50.00, I did not need a Long distance Line because I had a cellular phone that would cover the City and Long distance calls, But it did not work. I had to make my calls into the city and they charged me 9 cents a minute for those, and that was another $50.00,. I am a very sick person with Heart failure, Asthma, and COPD, I drive into the City for a new type of therapy twice a month at the Cleveland Clinic, I need to have a cell phone it is a matter of life or death.They are a nightmare I intend on filing on them for fraudlent dealings, any way I can. I bought another phone from ALLTEL, NO TROUBLE AT ALL. That cost another $50.00.

Score: 0

By macaroni

edited Jul 7, 2006 - 7:26 PM

A couple of months ago my two year contract with Cingular (initiated as AT&T)expired. I recently found out that my $29.95 "Nationwide" mobile service (continued on a month-to-month basis) had been very much curtailed and now goes from my home (Florida)only north to NC and east to Texas. I was never told about this change in my service. So it seems that when I visit my kids in California I will have to use a pay phone...or whatever. I found this out in the course of a phone conversation with a Cingular rep.

I was told that in order to regain my former "nationwide" service I would need to sign up for two years (@39.95 a month)and pay for a new phone (the old one would no longer work). I signed up for the new service at $10 a month more than what I had been paying and bought one of their new phones (no freebee offered witgh contract renewal) as my old phone would not work now!

Needless to say I am not a "Happy Camper"! Who do we contact to join the class action??

Score: 0

By goula

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 7:07 PM

and did everyone forget AT&T Wireless was on the verge of bankruptcy??? So Cingular buys them and turns it around so that the BUSINESS can make money... Do you all work for a non-profit organization??? Last I checked it was a phone company, not a charity...

Score: 0

By Paul Skinner

edited Jul 7, 2006 - 7:24 PM

You're a bit of a d1ck, aren't you.
The customers PAID for a service they expected to get, which they did, until the changover. Then they paid the same for a worse service and then were basically forced to pay a sh1tload more to get back the same service they had at the start.

So shut the hell up and find some freakin' scruples you sh1te.

Score: 0

By jcollake

edited Jul 7, 2006 - 7:21 PM

Ok, so there are about 10 AT&T customers here saying this is legit and then there's you (an employee) and one other guy who hates life saying Cingular is all-holy. Let's see, that's 5:1. But the # of positive/negative comments is more like 1:1, thanks to your repeated defense of Cingular. You made your point (as invalid as it may be).

Regarding your post, so if they can't be profitable by acting legally and ethically, you are saying that it's ok to be criminal, in the name of profit? You are a true capitalist. You should rise high in the ranks of Cingular.

Making money is good and fine, but you must live up to the law and moral standards. Most people don't understand this, you aren't the only one.

Score: 0

By goula

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 7:28 PM

simple marketing. have a good experience tell 2 people, have a bad experience tell 10!!! i'm not only sticking up for the company but the millions upon millions of happy customers.

you guys have a great night :-)

Score: 0

By Justincredable

posted Jul 8, 2006 - 4:52 PM

I normally come to beta news just to get software and lurk the forums. I just find your statement about millions happy customers very laughable. These customers would disagree with you http://www.consumeraffai...cingular_contracts.html I am a Cingular user and I guarantee you they aren't a great company. The customer service is horrible and recently the reception has been . I don't think Cingular wants to admit they have an overloaded cell tower around where I live. I know a former technical support representative for Cingular and he tells me about all the little wonderful policy's of Cingular and all the dirt. He is a very happy T mobile customer. It is nice to see this company gets what it deserves. I can't wait till Sprint teams up with our cable provider. I will kick Cingular to the curb. Simple marketing won't fix Cingulars problem.

Score: 0

By Galway

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 7:14 PM

A contact is a contract.

Score: 0

By jcollake

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 7:19 PM

goul-a will tell you a contract is a contract, unless its not profitable enough, then it doesn't mean s***.

Score: 0

By shicaca

posted Jul 10, 2006 - 3:21 AM

nah. He'll tell you it's binding, even when it's null, void, and promises are broken on service areas/quality of service, etc.

Score: 0

By jcollake

edited Jul 7, 2006 - 6:50 PM

My sister worked for AT&T wireless during the time they merged with Cingular. From what she tells me, this lawsuit has total merit. AT&T Wireless customers were totally shafted.

All the cell phone companies are indeed terrible. From the start the whole system is engineered to extort as much money from you as possible. And it's not up-front extortion, it's a series of 'gotcha's' no matter what carrier or plan you have. Expect to pay big bucks to have a cell phone, don't fall for any claims of cheap service. It doesn't exist.

Score: 0

By RJRooney1944

edited Jul 7, 2006 - 6:15 PM

I was never given the $18 option. I complained in a Cingular store and they offered to upgrade me to Cingular after paying the $175 termination fee, paying a new hook-up fee, and buying a new phone. I'll register asap.

Score: 0

By IhateAT&T

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 5:42 PM

nightops were you even a AT&T customer???

I was for 4 years and at the time after the merger my choice was either buy a new phone (THERE WAS NO OPTION TO GET ANY FREE PHONE)with plans that were less comparable than what I had before and pay the $18 fee OR pay my $175 cancel fee. That was it. Stupid company and I refuse to do anymore business with them. At the very least they could of given me a plan that was comparable.

Score: 0

By shakaz808

posted Aug 5, 2006 - 4:28 AM

After the merger, former AT&T customers could still call the AT&T 800 number for AT&T replacement phones. I lost my phone and got an AT&T free phone since I had been on my AT&T plan for over a year. I also got free or upgraded phones for the rest of my family. Unfortunately these AT&T phones are no longer available via Cingular. If you went into a Cingular store after the merger, the sales people were only concerned with converting you to a Cingular plan. They conveniently never mentioned getting AT&T phones by calling the AT&T 800 number.

Score: 0

By IhateAT&T

edited Jul 7, 2006 - 5:39 PM

Go to here to add your name.

http://www.consumerwatch...rate/cingularcomplaints/

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 5:41 PM

Thanks for the link. I'm submitting my complaint as soon as I get home.

Score: 0

By goula

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 6:48 PM

why? because you were to stupid to read your contract and terms of service???

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Jul 10, 2006 - 9:18 AM

Not at all. I also have the brain-power necessary to differentiate between "to" and "too."

He went too far.

I had to explain it to him.

Score: 0

By jcollake

edited Jul 7, 2006 - 6:58 PM

That's ridiculous. You shouldn't have to worry about being tricked to the point that you have to read every little small line of fine print and ask 10,000 questions to make sure this or that isn't going to happen. Is it too much to ask for and up-front an honest company?

Sure, there are rationale for making consumers pay this or that. Why have you got such a personal love for a huge corporation that cleraly is acting unethically, even in areas unrelated to this lawsuit. You must be a Cingular employee, but even then, you are naive to have that point of view.

Have *YOU* read the service agreements though and considered if Cingular is living up to them, or are you just b****ing and moaning because people are upset about being extorted?
That said, you've made your point, so how about you quit with your repeated comments.

Well, actually what am I thinking.. people like guola will perpetually troll places like this. Gotta ignore them I guess.

Score: 0

By goula

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 7:02 PM

yes I am an employee and before that i was a T-Mobile customer and could not use my phone where i lived and they told me i could buy out of the contract...
also after going through katrina and seeing what the other carriers and cingular did, cingular did a much better job... with restoring their network and helping it's employees and customers... so yes i am a loyal employee and not a troll... why is it when someone stands against a thread they are a troll???

Score: 0

By jcollake

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 7:10 PM

Ha, *KNEW* you were an employee. You are a troll because you've posted your opinion 20 times.

Score: 0

By goula

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 7:26 PM

sorry. you keep me busy. :-)

Score: 0

By straes

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 4:50 PM

When Cingular bought out AT&T in my area, we were switched over to CellularOne because it was said Cingular would have a monopoly. CellularOne's treatment of the transfered customers was so bad, that I left for Cingular where I have been overly happy. I even received a discount for being a former AT&T customer and they matched my former plan.

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 5:13 PM

Wish I lived in your area (maybe?) because that is not even *close* to how AT&T customers were treated where I live.

We're paying $20 more per month for the exact same service we had with AT&T, and we had to buy all new phones. BS.

Score: 0

By straes

posted Jul 8, 2006 - 9:50 AM

Well, that's the way CellularOne tried to treat me. Which is another issue because I know for a fact that it was not just Cingular pulling this on people. Seems to be standard practice. May not be right, but why sue one when others are doing the same?

Score: 0

By nightops

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 4:43 PM

Bah...another sue-happy filing that will only increase your costs for your cell plans. There are at least 4 phones that are free with the upgrade, at $18 for the upgrade fee. No other fees apply. Quit whining and upgrade. You were going to have to with AT&T anyway...and their upgrade fees were actually $25...so it would have costed more and taken longer with AT&T. GSM is far superior to TDMA, so why wait? Of course Cingular dropped TDMA, it's horrible to maintain in comparison to GSM. Grow up and get over it.

Score: 0

By goula

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 6:47 PM

thank you!!!

Score: 0

By hidefguy

edited Jul 7, 2006 - 3:51 PM

Count me in too - if they didn't break the agreement they had with the merger commision, they certainly broke it in spirit; I was amazed that they required ATT members to have to pay for a new phone in order to get upgraded service. Quite disgusting, but hardly surprising from a company that has one of the worst customer serice setups I've ever had to endure.

Score: 0

By goula

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 6:47 PM

they did that anyway. it's called an upgrade fee... unless you are talking about actually having to PURCHASE a phone... no free phone??? what is this world coming to???

Score: 0