It isn’t often that I get angry. I’m usually a very easy-going, don’t-give-a-fuck type of guy. But something happened recently and came to a head today–and I’m fucking pissed.<\/p>\n
I was reading my Cingular billing statement the other day and noticed that they are raising the price of its text messaging service. Right now it’s ten cents per text. In early January the price will be increasing by 50%.<\/p>\n
Here’s the interesting part. According to Cingular’s Terms Of Service (the contract that you sign with the company):<\/p>\n
“IF WE INCREASE THE PRICE OF ANY OF THE SERVICES TO WHICH YOU SUBSCRIBE… YOU MAY TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT WITHOUT PAYING AN EARLY TERMINATION FEE… PROVIDED YOUR NOTICE OF TERMINATION IS DELIVERED TO US WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE FIRST BILL REFLECTING THE CHANGE.”<\/p>\n
So, since they are raising the prices, and in effect violating the terms of service, I should be able to cancel my service and not have to pay an early termination fee. Right?<\/p>\n
So I call up Cingular and get the 1st tier of support. They read me the canned responses. I ask to speak with the supervisor.<\/p>\n
Escalated to tier 2 and the same canned BS. Cingular claims:<\/p>\n
“No, that doesn’t apply here. This is simply a pricing change for pay-per-use text and instant messaging, which is an optional service. It’s similar to buying a ringtone – that’s optional as well. It’s not part of your monthly rate plan.”<\/p>\n
Semantics. Bullshit. Reacharound. Cingular is clearly violating the terms of service.<\/p>\n
Escalated to yet another supervisor\/manager tier 3. I get put on hold again and again for extended periods of time while Cingular stands firm. No, I cannot cancel without paying the $200 early termination fee (ETF).<\/p>\n
Hey, Cingular. I wasn’t asked if I wanted text messaging or not when I signed the contract. It came by default. Doesn’t sound optional to me. Notifying me that “the service is optional” when I call to complain about the price increase doesn’t give you a get out jail free card. Show me the clause in my signed contract that reads, “OPTIONAL services are exempt from this part of the contract”. An option that is enabled by default is indeed part of the service.<\/p>\n
So I ask to speak to the next level, which is the area manager, who isn’t in yet. That’s OK, I’ll wait on hold. No, I don’t want you to call me back, I’ll wait.<\/p>\n
Finally I get shuffled off to some voice mail. If this is the area manager I wouldn’t know it. The message was the canned, computerized voice saying, “extension 12345 is not available”. By this time I’m hopping mad.<\/p>\n
I am sooo done with this company. The dropped calls, the poor customer service, the shitty phones, and now this sneaky bullshit?<\/p>\n
Hey, Cingular. Fuck you.<\/p>\n
====================<\/p>\n
[EDIT 12\/27\/06]<\/p>\n
My voice mail was received and processed by a higher-up at Cingular. Someone named Cindy actually called me several times with several updates on my request. It’s possible they made the whole thing up, but whatever. In the end the result was the same: Cingular will not let me out of my contract without paying the ETF.<\/p>\n
So I have two choices now. I can wait for the inevitable class-action lawsuit. Or, I can just pay the ETF and be done with the company.<\/p>\n
It’s likely that I will cancel soon. I have almost two years left on my contract. They way I see it, I can pay the $175 ETF or I can pay them $1000 over the next two years.<\/p>\n
Good bye, Cingular.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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