Hah! Wait til they do you like they did me. They switched me off my $19.95 plan without my knowledge or consent and put me on a plan allowing me only 5mb/mo. Imagine my reaction when I got a bill for over $3500 for data! When I demanded to be switched back to the plan I was on, she said she couldn't because that $19.95 unlimited plan didn't exist any more. I planned to cancel my service without paying the cancellation fee because they made a substantial change to my service, but money is tight right now and I can't afford another phone, so it has to wait.
-------------------- Scientists report creating a sheep that is 15% human. Why shouldn't they? The public fool system has created humans that are 85% sheep. ...... Original Message ....... On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:22:11 -0400 J Messeder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >I was about to upgrade my 650 to a 680. After much discussion, >contemplation, and browsing the boards, that seemed the way to go. >So I stopped at the Cingular store, where the guy said if I'd bring >him a print of the online deal, including any mail-in rebates, he'd give >me all the rebates up front. That clinched it. On the Cingular site, I'm >eligible for an upgrade. I went through the entire ordering process, >stopping only at the final button to place the order. The list said I'd >get a $150 instant rebate, a $100 mail-in rebate, and use my existing plan. >Went back to the store. Turns out there's no way around the mail-in >requirement. And BTW, the $100 mail-in requires me to increase my data >plan by $20 a month. Somehow, Cingular gave me a $19 plan (which has >unlimited data and 200 text messages and works really well for me) but >Treos and Blackberries have to be on the $39 data plan to qualify for >the $100 rebate. >So for an additional $20 a month, I can have a $100 rebate. In five >months, they've got their money back. Not exactly a good deal for me. >The salesman agreed. >I called Cingular. The nice lady agree on the requirement, about >which she also agreed I would have found out when I ordered the phone >and two weeks later got the rebate form in the mail. She also agreed >that the system basically lied when it said I'd be on my existing plan, >and get the $100 mail-in rebate. >Here's the problem with rebates: we pay taxes on $100 we're not >really spending (since we will get it back), the company get's to claim >the $300 sale instead of only a $200 sale, then claims the loss when >they give back the $100. >And in five months, it has recovered in fees for service I neither >wanted nor needed, the money it "lost" by giving me the purchase rebate. >And I'm left with the remaining 19 months of a two-year contract at $20 >more than I needed or wanted. >I wish there were a way to roll back the whole rebate scam. We The >People jump on rebates like they're a discount, when all they are is a >way for the state (taxes) and banks (finance fees on the credit cards) >to make money on what we, in the end, are not spending. > >BTW, the lady who agreed Cingular was lying by appearing to say I >could keep my existing service and get the $100 rebate, then told me the >difference between the $39 plan and the $19 plan was the less expensive >one would go only to MEDIA web sites, where I could buy ringtones and do >a few other minor things. >Another lie, at least so far. I have been able to go anywhere I want >on the browser. I haven't found a site yet I can't access. Of course, I >don't spend a lot of time browsing from the Treo. My data mostly is used >for email and IM. >
