14 DAY TRIAL // Along with the huge sales for the iPhone, AT&T has also managed to add some new subscribers to the ones they already had. TeleTruth Wisconsin has pointed out in a report just what surprises AT&T might bring when it comes to services.
TeleTruth Wisconsin is an alliance made of citizen groups and individuals which tries through customer advocacy to represent the rights of telecom and broadband customers. With the same goals in mind, they have pointed out almost 20 disadvantages that people should know and willingly accept before deciding on closing a contract with AT&T.
Some of them are already known, whereas others might come as a surprise for many persons, considering the fact that they are written in "fine print", hidden from the untrained eye.
Most people know that buying the iPhone also requires a 2-year contract with AT&T. Still, few of them have summed up all costs to see that this means more than USD 1700 in Wireless costs. With the price of an iPhone added, that means more than USD 2000 to be paid.
There are some standard US practices for service plans which state that both the caller and that who places a call are charged for it. Moreover, use of the network is rounded up to the nearest kilobyte or minute, which considerably adds to the total size of the bill. This also means that users are charged for network errors and resent requests, as well as for situations when the call does not go through. There are also additional fees for files over 300Kb sent over the internet outside the US.
Another problem is that the user cannot block his phone number and current mobile email does not support attachments. Moreover, if the service is used full-time, there are high chances for it to be disconnected due to excessive usage.
One thing which few actually know is that the WiFi service is limited to 150 uses per month. The termination fee of the services which AT&T provides for its users is that of USD 175 if it takes place before the contract expires.