Does Cingular intentionally discourage Go Phones?

In our 60's and retired, we have a large circle of friends with similar goals: cheap, pay-as-you-go functional cell phones mostly for emergencies. The ATT versions were great! A $10 card purchase every 90 days which most of us rarely used. But that's $40 a year--great!

Cingular took over and quickly changed it to a minimum of $15 for 90 days, then $20, and now it's $25.

Okay, that's business and we're not forced to buy Cingular. Our choice.

But getting help with Go phones is a root canal! Every year or so, we get a letter saying that "something" has been changed and we must replace the phone. Or no service. The last few years has forced us to buy new phones for this new "something".

You CANNOT get help in the outlet stores! I think they work on commission because the Go phone has little or no profit and their help is either non-existant or totally igorant of how it works. You always end up with a bored manager who has to call Customer Service. Well, I call Customer Service and they tell me to visit their store!

Yesterday, another letter, but this time they offered a new phone for free to migrate to still "another new" system.

I took a heathly dose of Valium and patiently entered the store, knowing it would take all morning. Surprise, it was only an hour and a half, but it seemed like all day. I showed the clerk my letter from Cingular explaining in detail what the store will do. Of course, he looked at me like an alien from Mars and refered me to a manager.

The clueless manager then spent 30 minutes calling every Cingular tech number she knew, only to be sent to another dept. She finally figured it out, and then spent another hour on the computer clicking away to get my "new system" activated, with at least another 10 phone calls to find out how to fill out the form and click the right buttons.

At home, I cannot access my "new system" online because it says, "no such number" and "please register" but I can't because that screen says,"no such number".

So, Friday I will load up the Valium, get a book, and call Customer Service. Last year, same situation, I was on the phone for an hour getting it to work.

I don't ask this site for help, but we [and my senior friends with identical complaints] would like opinions:

Does Cingular purposely make Go Phones so complicated and annnoying that customers will get some other, more profitable plan?

If that is the case, it sure as hell won't be cingular!

Sorry for the whining, but this is just so frustrating.

robertpri

well. this is my response, and i'm going to assume some things that weren't clearly stated.

I believe you're a former ATT wireless customer and just upgraded to a GSM phone. the "upgrading" you have to do should be over with now, at least for quite awhile. this is still all because the merger. in custoemr care here, we often recommend go phones for our older customers (both in age and those who have been iwth us a long time) 'cause as you said, it's a lot cheaper than the postpaid offerings when you don't really use too many minutes.

and i agree. it seem slike most stores don't want to deal with gophone. i guess no contract is no commission, so we usually get the calls from those people.

in regards to the online service, it may take 24 hours to register your number from activation. hopefully, just giving it another try will get it working, but as you said, custoemr care is always available.

good luck with gsm.

I also had service with at&t...ten dollars... for three months. That was wonderful. I also liked the idea that you could rollover your minutes.

I live in the high desert on a dirt road...my phone is basically for emergency purposes....many a time my road is washed out...and I want to make sure I can always call for helpshould the need arise.

I received a letter stating I needed to get a new phone since service to my phone will be discontinued . The address for the nearest cingular store is 2 hours away..I tried to call the store and was unable to get through. I tried calling the number on the letter,... the waiting time was 20 mins.

I will try to get a phone online from their website...then ask to have my minutes transferred...that's the reason I have been sticking with cingular because of the rollover minutes. Don't even care about having the same number,...just want my balance transferred.

The price now is high ,...25 dollars for three months. Think I'll check other prepaid phone offers....any suggestions....????

I agree with the first poster......cingular service stinks!!!!!

You are so right...I love the concept of having a cell phone for emer. purposes.. I am on a fixed income, so the money part is a factor for me. I really like the rollover minutes too.

I hope I can get a phone that works well...don't need all the bells & whistles...

WOW! And I just accidentally found another reason to be p....d!

Thinking that I might salvage the battery on the one year old phone [the one Cingular says won't work after 12/1/06] I took the back cover off.

Under the battery, it says

REFURB

Sheesh! So, last year, on another urgent demand from Cingular that the phone needed to be replaced, we paid $50 or $60 for this one.

Now I see that it was not even new, but a REFURB!

I know that refurbed products carry the same warranty as new and might be as good as new, but methinks there's a law that says the seller MUST state that the product is a refurb. It was most certainly sold as NEW.

I am getting more disgusted with these people by the minute...

Glad you posted that information...never would have thought to check that out. Good to know , (especially if you think you're paying for a new phone ) ...

Does Cingular intentionally discourage Go Phones?

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