I never get tired of hearing why I left at&t.

I never get tired of hearing why I left at&t.

Originally shared by Heinz Seijas

This is the best headline I have seen in a long while and the best part....true
http://bgr.com/2013/05/24/att-administrative-fee-analysis/

Comments

Tarik A. Ocón said…
Never again, also Verizon.
Nick McIntosh said…
I'm not going to fight it but they've lost a customer in a year when my contract is up. I'm going to give T-Mobile a shot. They seem to be headed in the right direction.
Steve Ruge said…
This story is not entirely accurate. Not that I love to stand up for AT&T - both Verizon and Sprint are charging a similar fee. For VZN it is even higher - like $1.50 or so. You'd have to be naive not to think that T-Mo would charge the fee if they felt they could get away with it.
Jason ON said…
The story does mention that other carriers already impart a fee, Steve Ruge. However, that's not the point -- the point is, an additional fee that's not needed, but is there merely to pad the pockets of the company. Like Lucius Nite said, this is very real excuse for people to try and get out of their contracts.
Rich LaDuca said…
To pay for trying to move in with T-Mobile
Jason ON said…
That could very well be true, Rich LaDuca, but since very few people use their phones for POTS anymore, one could argue that the upkeep and maintenance on those switches and servers would be relatively inexpensive and those costs could be deferred to other ventures.

Especially text messaging. The cost of text messaging is relatively cheap, but telecoms still insist on charging outrageous fees on them.
Rich LaDuca said…
POTS is paid for via excise taxes passed on to all consumers.
Check your bill. Cell or land line... Its there.... 'Access Fee'

That tax has been in place for decades and is justified as a means to maintain critical infrastructure.
Jason ON said…
Actually, POTS is paid for by your bill. An "access fee" is yet another BS fee added onto service fees because they can. It's billed as a necessary fee to provide access points from the end-user to the local exchange carrier's equipment, but in short, it's just a way to pass on a cost to the consumer that's already being covered by the monthly telephone bill already.
Rich LaDuca said…
It is a money grab...

Here is essentially the explanation I got from the director of operations for the huge switch building in down town Cincinnati (Cincinnati Bells main data center - I used to COLO several servers there It is huge and has like 80,000 gallons of fuel stored on the roof)... That location being part of the federal 'up-time' laws.

The bulk of those excise fees are distributed to the carriers... But they are not permitted to allow POTS equipment to fail... They are required by federal law to keep it operational. Regardless of the cost... Because the costs are considered as already reimbursed.

The carries can do what ever they want with the proceeds from the tax... But they still have to keep the equipment in place and operational.

They come out WAY ahead.

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