About to be screwed by AT&T

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novam3

New Member
Jul 7, 2007
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I've been in Europe for the past few weeks and brought my iPhone along for the trip. I haven't made a single phone call while I've been here and basically just used it to listen to music while I was by the pool.

I'm sitting in an internet cafe right now and I decided to check out my AT&T statement for last month. Turns out that I've downloaded about 15mb worth of data (assuming mostly emails) which turns out to be about $300. I've since switched to airplane mode and deactivated the auto download of emails.

Do you guys think I've got any options here or do I just need to suck it up?
 
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gkreed

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Bronze
Jul 17, 2007
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AT&T Agreement

I am afraid you may be in trouble. This is copied from AT&T's agreement (area in red is the problem area):

2) WIRELESS DATA SERVICE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

I. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO AT&T'S WIRELESS DATA SERVICES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FEATURES THAT MAY BE USED WITH WIRELESS DATA SERVICES AND WIRELESS CONTENT.
AT&T provides wireless data services, including but not limited to, features that may be used with wireless data services and wireless content ("Services"). These Services may be subject to credit approval and may only be available with certain rate plans. An activation fee of up to $36 may apply to each new line. Compatible data-enabled wireless device required. Usage/Billing: Usage and monthly fees will be charged as specified in your plan. DATA TRANSPORT IS BILLED IN FULL-KILOBYTE INCREMENTS, AND ACTUAL TRANSPORT IS ROUNDED UP TO THE NEXT FULL-KILOBYTE INCREMENT AT THE END OF EACH DATA SESSION FOR BILLING PURPOSES. AT&T CHARGES A FULL KILOBYTE OF DATA TRANSPORT FOR EVERY FRACTION OF THE LAST KILOBYTE OF DATA TRANSPORT USED ON EACH DATA SESSION. NETWORK OVERHEAD, SOFTWARE UPDATE REQUESTS, AND RESEND REQUESTS CAUSED BY NETWORK ERRORS CAN INCREASE MEASURED KILOBYTES. AIRTIME AND OTHER MEASURED USAGE ARE BILLED IN FULL-MINUTE INCREMENTS AND ROUNDED UP TO THE NEXT FULL-MINUTE INCREMENT AT THE END OF EACH CALL FOR BILLING PURPOSES. Data sent and received includes, but is not limited to downloads, email, overhead and software update checks. Unless designated for International or Canada use, prices and unlimited use apply to EDGE/GPRS and BroadbandConnect access and use on AT&T's wireless network and its partner wireless networks within the United States and its territories (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), excluding areas within the Gulf of Mexico.
 
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Platinum

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Jun 27, 2007
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Sorry to say, but it looks like you're the one who screwed yourself by not reading the fine print.
 
nyc_rock

nyc_rock

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Jul 6, 2007
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Call them up, explain what happened. Tell them you put it into flight mode, but the phone must didn't keep the setting. Ask for a "one time courtesy", which they will normally do. Oh, and don't forget to turn on the charm.
 
TrippalHealicks

TrippalHealicks

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Mar 2, 2007
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nyc_rock said:
Call them up, explain what happened. Tell them you put it into flight mode, but the phone must didn't keep the setting. Ask for a "one time courtesy", which they will normally do. Oh, and don't forget to turn on the charm.
Click to expand...
Yeah, he's right. I've done this a million times. lol

Oh, btw....I was thinking about this last night... anyone who's had your iPhone since day one, go into your Settings -> Usage.
Look at the total data transferred, so far.
Now, calculate how much it would cost, if charged per each Kilobyte. Which is 1 cent / kb.

28.8 mb Sent = 28,800$
103 mb Received = 103,000$
Grand total: 131,000$.

Jesus christ!
lol

PS, does anyone know why Bluetooth is auto-enabled when you take the phone OUT of Airplane Mode?
 
H

Heckler

New Member
Jul 1, 2007
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So the original poster admits he used AT&T services to download emails and then pathetic people suggest he lie to get out of paying for services he used. I agree the poster should call AT&T and beg for any help they will give, nothing wrong with that, but lying to them is a sure sign of a loser. I hope everyone realizes that companies know people lie and cheat them and in return charge us higher fees. So in a sense your paying for it when you tell someone to cheat a company.
 
minivini

minivini

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Jul 6, 2007
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Only one person suggested that he "lie" - and that may be stretching it, here. He said after checking his statement that he disabled the auto email download. Did he ever say he was constantly checking his mail intentionally? I thought the fact that he checked his statement at an internet cafe (wifi) suggested that he probably didn't think about the auto download thing happening in the background while traveling.

Sorry, but this is a little more "grey area" than lying about dropping your phone in a toilet! :D

I'd go for explaining the situation and ask for the one time courtesy. It'll be obvious to the rep that the data was email (by the quantity, probably), and not random web surfing.
 
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Gromet

New Member
Jul 17, 2007
1
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0
TrippalHealicks said:
Yeah, he's right. I've done this a million times. lol

Oh, btw....I was thinking about this last night... anyone who's had your iPhone since day one, go into your Settings -> Usage.
Look at the total data transferred, so far.
Now, calculate how much it would cost, if charged per each Kilobyte. Which is 1 cent / kb.

28.8 mb Sent = 28,800$
103 mb Received = 103,000$
Grand total: 131,000$.

Jesus christ!
lol

PS, does anyone know why Bluetooth is auto-enabled when you take the phone OUT of Airplane Mode?
Click to expand...
This is not true, The overage rate is not 1 cent per KB, it is .0195/KB and if you have an internations roaming plan that is includes 29 countries, it is only .005/KB, do the math that is a huge difference....

Gromet
 
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