Cingular Sux

[TexasTiger 12,965]

If you're considering changing cell phone service to Cingular, you may want to think again. Sneaky charges and the customer service folks on the phone are some of the worst I've ever encountered. Counting the days until my contract is up.

[autiger6 0]

Love Sprint with the readylink 2 way program. Been a customer for 6 years and never had a problem. I also have a Novatel 3G card for my laptop which allows me to surf the web while on the road. Pretty fast too.

[TitanTiger 20,499]

I've had no problems at all with T-Mobile. Great customer service, packages and phones.

[Streyeder 0]

Sure is nice to have Southern Linc. I'm surprised so many of you AU fans don't have it. They hire more engineers from AU than anywhere. I believe they are also run by AU grads.

Not to mention you have service wherever you have power.

[bigsixfive 328]

If you're considering changing cell phone service to Cingular, you may want to think again.  Sneaky charges and the customer service folks on the phone are some of the worst I've ever encountered.  Counting the days until my contract is up.

127420[/snapback]

Cingular's contract buyout isnt bad. Its something like $250/months of contract * months left. I bought out because of the same thing and went with Nextel. The service beats the heck out of Cingular, but I had a few unexpected charges on my bill. Cingular's customer service was outright sorry, Nextel's has been pretty good so far as well.

[jared52 4,354]

If you knew what I went through with Cingular since June, you'd probably go to the CEO's house and beat him up yourself. Here's a synopsis:

June 2004

Call to get a new phone line (I was without a cell phone and my wife had Cingular, we wanted the mobile to mobile minutes, her family also on Cingular...)

2 weeks later, no phone had arrived, I call and am told it's on backorder.

July 2004

No phone yet, I call and cancel the order.

Call again 2 weeks later and reorder, asking about changing current plan to Familly talk. We can't because our current phone is GAIT and all FT plans are GSM. Upgrade available by signing a 2 year agreement but paying the 1 year price (cheapest phone was $49.99). I wait.

Decide a week later to do it and they say they cannot upgrade my phone using that plan for 2 months, not what I was told before. The CSR sends me to a manager and they agree to get me the deal, even though they don't offer it any more.

August - October 2004

2 weeks goes by and no phone. Internet and CSM confirm it is backordered. I get mad and ask to have the order canceled. She offerers to send the phone out next day (I thought it was on backorder!). I decline and hang up.

Next day, phone I didn't want arrives!! I refuse the package.

The next day a $52.00 charge shows up on my check card. I DID NOT GIVE THEM MY CHECK CARD NUMBER, I had originally asked for the $49.99 be charged to my bill! CSR cannot find where Cingular charged me. The Sales guy DOES find that they charged me and said the CSR should have seen the charge. I am told I would be refunded once the warehouse gets the phone and confirms all the parts are there. She says they have not received the phone back (This was a week after I refused shipment). I call FedEx and they confirm that Cingular received the phone a full 6 days prior to the call. I call Cingular back, give them the tracking number and they offer to refund the amount immediatly to my bill. That was fine with me, but the next day it shows up as a credit on my check card instead.

All throughout this mess, I got no help from the managers and CSRs. The fraud department were the only ones who helped me find out what the $52.00 was. The most frustrating thing was that I DID NOT GIVE THEM MY CHECK CARD NUMBER, yet somehow they charged my check card (back account said "Debit from Check Card - Cingular Wireless).

But here I am, 2 Cingular phones and contracts until July 2006... what's a guy to do!?

[woods1110 0]

I like Alltel. I have been with them for four years and I love it.

No hidden charges, no hassle with Cust. Service...and the price isn't that bad, and I never have any downtime...What more could I ask for?

[AuNuma1 1]

My mom has been fighting with Verizon since May and she hasn't gotten anywhere with it. I've also got a friend that has had huge problems with Cingular like charging him for calling his wife who's on the same plan when those minutes are supposed to be free of charge...

I haven't had any problems with T-mobile and my wife has been using them ever since they were Powertel.

[CCTAU 3,336]

I am looking for a plan that will have access to west Alabama in the Marion region. I know that Verizon still has limitied access. Who else knows of a carrier that will be national and still have access?

[Ranger12 46]

For all you Cingular customer's, be patient. Cingular realizes that their customer service is horrible, thus they have hired the company I work for to start handling customer service because they are drastically trying to improve. We have just now started handling the Northeast Region of the country and the Southeast region will be handled by us sometimes within the next two to three months. Our agents are having to go through six weeks of training before the are allowed to take their first phone call. The merger with AT&T is also causing some growing pains. There are probably those out there with better customer service, but guys, after the merger with AT&T, it is going to very hard to find anybody to rival their GSM coverage area. Combine with the fact that they are now trying to improve their customer service, within the next year, Cingular is going to be the company to beat. I speak of that because of not my faith in Cingular, but my faith in the agents in my company. Also, for all you tech geeks, withing the next year, Cingular is going to be releasing some kick butt services and phones. We had successfully won the JD Powers & Associates award for outstanding customer service for the cable and satellite industry as part of DirecTV three years in a row, thus the reason Cingular came to us. Now we are going to do it for the telecommunications industry! BTW... I am not even a Cingular customer, I am AT&T, which is still handled by AT&T agents for the next 6 months until everthing is fully integrated.

[AUBURNTIGERFAN 0]

I have Suncom with the Unplan I really like that I don't know if yall get that in Alabama but I get it here in South Carolina and pay one rate every month.

[CarolinaTiger 0]

If you knew what I went through with Cingular since June, you'd probably go to the CEO's house and beat him up yourself.  Here's a synopsis:

June 2004

Call to get a new phone line (I was without a cell phone and my wife had Cingular, we wanted the mobile to mobile minutes, her family also on Cingular...)

2 weeks later, no phone had arrived, I call and am told it's on backorder.

July 2004

No phone yet, I call and cancel the order.

Call again 2 weeks later and reorder, asking about changing current plan to Familly talk.  We can't because our current phone is GAIT and all FT plans are GSM.  Upgrade available by signing a 2 year agreement but paying the 1 year price (cheapest phone was $49.99).  I wait.

Decide a week later to do it and they say they cannot upgrade my phone using that plan for 2 months, not what I was told before.  The CSR sends me to a manager and they agree to get me the deal, even though they don't offer it any more.

August - October 2004

2 weeks goes by and no phone.  Internet and CSM confirm it is backordered.  I get mad and ask to have the order canceled.  She offerers to send the phone out next day (I thought it was on backorder!).  I decline and hang up.

Next day, phone I didn't want arrives!!  I refuse the package.

The next day a $52.00 charge shows up on my check card.  I DID NOT GIVE THEM MY CHECK CARD NUMBER, I had originally asked for the $49.99 be charged to my bill!  CSR cannot find where Cingular charged me.  The Sales guy DOES find that they charged me and said the CSR should have seen the charge.  I am told I would be refunded once the warehouse gets the phone and confirms all the parts are there.  She says they have not received the phone back (This was a week after I refused shipment).  I call FedEx and they confirm that Cingular received the phone a full 6 days prior to the call.  I call Cingular back, give them the tracking number and they offer to refund the amount immediatly to my bill.  That was fine with me, but the next  day it shows up as a credit on my check card instead.

All throughout this mess, I got no help from the managers and CSRs.  The fraud department were the only ones who helped me find out what the $52.00 was.  The most frustrating thing was that I DID NOT GIVE THEM MY CHECK CARD NUMBER, yet somehow they charged my check card (back account said "Debit from Check Card - Cingular Wireless).

But here I am, 2 Cingular phones and contracts until July 2006...  what's a guy to do!?

127536[/snapback]

jared...no lie...my experience makes yours look like a walk in the cookie-laden park. recanting it would only serve to make me mad again, therefore i won't.

as far as getting out of your contract, cingular (& others) are always tweaking their packages...look for a notice...if your package changes, it's technically an opportunity to get out of your contract...something like 60 days.

ct

[BamaGrad03 0]

Ive been with Tmobile since 1998. Then powertel...hands down best customer service in the nation.

[SouthLink02 8]

I have been with Cingular for 3 years now and hate it but still stick with it. I am not sure why. Seems everytime I want to get out I realize how much money it would cost to switch.