Fees, fees and more fees....when will the circus ever end. Not in our lifetime. Validas, CellSwapper and a few other firms out there are trying to make it easier on the consumers in this space, if they want to be helped of course...... :-)

$36 new activation (per line), $36 upgrade fee (per line). also, if you don't qualify for an upgrade on a new phone (must fulfill 21 months of a 24 month contract for $150 rebate OR 13 months of a 24 month contract for $75 rebate), you get to pay full price for a phone AND a $36 handset upgrade fee AND your eligibility for a discounted handset resets (as if you signed a new contract - knowing sprint CSRs, you probably did).

the only way around the fee is to activate a phone that has previously been activated on the network, but doing so also RESETS your eligibility for a new handset.

i think about at&t's fee in more aggregate terms: 120 million phones X $18 = $2.2 billion every couple years (or 1.1 billion every year). ZING!!

I agree that on principle the fee sucks, but it's not hidden. I do miss the days of Verizon offering $100 and $200 off to get me to renew for another 2-years. I thought I was a profitable customer (I give AT&T $90 a month) but when I called to "cancel" to try to get a better deal the rep just said, "I can help you cancel, though we're sorry to see you go." When I asked if the CSR would help me with my issue, she said "I can help you cancel your account."
Sucks.

You must be an unprofitable customer since if I didnt get an $18 charge, I actually got an additional $100 of the retail price of the phone. I rock!!!

@noasalira:

We try to keep an eye out for shills, but if you see a shilly comment, please feel free to flag it, and we'll check it out.

I'm not sure if "shilly" is a word, but you get my drift...

@everyone whining that the carriers are shifting thier costs to the customers: Every penny of expense that att or any other cell carrier or other company pays out comes out of their customers pockets at some point.

What part of a contract extension is an "upgrade"?

An answer! That makes more sense than the back end equipment costs.

Posts about stuff people agree to pay and then get mad about it.

@aggie_brad: From the OP -

When he called AT&T, they told him it was the standard contract extension charge.

He isn't mad because they told him to pay for a phone upgrade, he's mad because they told him to pay for extending his contract. If the CSR had said this there might not even be a post here.

@erratapage & @bradanomics: I don't understand why the change happened. What's so hard about giving people one price that covers all the costs of the plan?

This is a pretty standard fee with most cell phone companies. Here is what you do: when you are getting ready to upgrade, you tell the sales person that you will NOT sign a new contract if they charge you a fee.

@aggie_brad: Bullshit fees, regardless of user consent, are something Consumerist should rightly rail against. Just b/c you agreed to it doesn't mean you relinquish your right to complain about it in the hopes that the company stops.

He needs to get over it, everyone on AT&T pays this fee. It you don't get a new phone, they don't make you pay it. It is a PHONE UPGRADE fee, not a fee from contract renewal. Consumerist, do some research, stuff like this keeps getting through. Posts about stuff people agree to pay and then get mad about it.

What drives people crazy is this cafeteria pricing! Just give me a phone and a contract for a couple of years and roll whatever profit you want into it. That way I can make an intelligent choice.

How is it good for me to have to pay $18 or more than I thought I would for my purchasing decision?

I got a new phone in an attempt to get better reception in my dorm room. It didn't help, so I returned it 2 days later. We got the bill with an 18.00 upgrade fee even though I didn't keep the upgrade. They finally reversed the fee. The bad thing is, everyone I talked to at ATT said it would be a FREE upgrade. It doesnt cost anything unless your phone isnt free after rebates. Why is this 18.00 upgrade fee appearing out of nowhere? I've been disappointed with att that I've switched to another provider with 4 months left on my att contract. Its worth it to have the new provider because I can actually make phone calls in my room without having to go outside where it is freezing every night.

When he called AT&T, they told him it was the standard contract extension charge.

Then why isn't it called "Contract Extension Charge"? What about extending the contract is an upgrade?

I asked them if they'd waive the fee on two occasions when we wwanted to upgrade to higher cost plan and add second line two CSRs and two rude No-s.

So we jumped to T-mobile who bent over backwards to gives us what we wanted. Even matched the best offer I could find for phones online and still have us 1-year contract.

Meanwhile AT&T keeps sending us letters asking if we'd reconsider joining ha!

You have to agree to the upgrade fee for the phone to work after you upgrade. Its part of the ToS...

I wonder how many corporate shills there are on consumerist overall?

@Buran: It wasn't before.

Cellphone companies add charges for doing nothing. It's not right, it's just that there's no other game in town. Your choices are "pay unfair imaginary fees" or "don't have a cellphone."

I have had charges leveed and contracts extended that I've never agreed to. It's a common practice that sucks so hard that even a $4 Caramel Macchiato doesn't make it better.

[www.wireless.att.com]

Maybe Ryan could explain what, exactly, it costs a phone company when an existing customer renews a contract and gets a new phone?

Goodness, when I transfered my (old) AT&T Wireless account for a Cingular Wireless account, I've been calling CS for about three billing cycles until I've got all incorrect charges adjusted, rescinded or credited (one of the CS was nice enough to waive the activation fee when I opened a new line). After going through the experience, I think that Cingular CS is generally good, yet I wish I didn't have to go through those hassles in the first place.

You're kidding right? If it's an existing customer, what else is there to do on the backend? All the billing info is in the system already. And since it's an AT&T branded phone, it should work right out of the box. Remove SIM from old phone, then insert SIM into new phone. Turn phone on. Seems to work for me and all the other people who have purchased unlocked or AT&T branded phones from ebay.

So can you elaborate on what needs to be set up on the backend for existing customers?

@ryan:

1) Is there any reason I should know? I'm not the one who said they used to work in the business.

2) Why are they setting up new equipment for an existing customer?

3) Do customers who run out their contract also get billed this charge? If not why?

4) Shouldn't the cost of upgrading equipment be built into the cost of the plans?

I've done a phone swap for a family member before in under a minute on a GSM phone, no calling the provider required.

The great thing about GSM phones (AT&T/Cingular, T-mobile in the US) is that all you have to do to switch phones is to move your SIM card to your new phone, and if you'll be using data, set up the appropriate option on your account. You don't have to have them set up your new phone in any way, they don't need to know that you changed phones, and so you don't need to sign a new contract.

Although I am looking at the next model of iPhone, if it adds a few features I need, as another possibility, the idea of having to get a 2-year contract just to activate the damn thing even though I wouldn't be buying it from AT&T, means other phones are remaining high on the list even though I've always liked Apple's products (not a diehard zealot or anything, just a happy customer).

@ryan: Uh shoulndt that be the cost of doing business. and the cost should not be passed on the customer. Especially since they havea monthly charge for cell usage.. hmm..

One piece of advice with regards to the upgrade fee- indepedent cell retailers (at least with VZW), do not charge the upgrade fee. It's a give and take-you can get corporate "service" and their "deals" or take a chance on the little guy and save some pennies. Choose wisely.

Cry me a river. These guys rape you for the cost of the service itself, don't try to justify a "handling" fee. It makes you look like a "yes" man.

@ryan:

you have no idea what it costs at&t to setup new equipment on the backend, do you?

It really doesn't matter - you signed up for a 2 year contract. I'm sure they can eat the cost of clicking a button or two in the billing system somewhere considering you have just agreed to pay $1000+ over the next 2 years.

This purely a "because we can" situation.

It's not just some random fee. AT&T pays a comission to the person that sells you the phone, and to the store (if agent) you bought it from. This fee is to recoup part of that. Not saying I agree with it but it's not like it's arbirtary (like all the other fees on the bill). That's not to mention the upgrade fee would have been listed on the contract you signed. The rep may not have told you about it (which is shady) but it would have been on the contract, and in some cases a seperate peice of paper you sign.

Also, when I switched plans to add my husband to my plan with Cingular (now the new AT&T) they stole all my rollover minutes. When I scread bloody murder to the business account rep (I've also got a BlackBerry as part of the plan) they gave the minutes back (the regular customer reps told there wa nothing they could do).

It helps them with the costs they would normally recoup with a $200 cancellation charge. If we didn't subsidize the cost of cell phones in the US, we would never have to deal with "upgrade" fees or "early termination fees."

In my opinion, I think this is a regular gimick that a lot of large corps. use, they put in random charges and most people never look at their bill and never protest. They refund the charges for the small minority of people who complain and they collect big money on the majority who do not.

@Asvetic:

...you do realize that you have 30 days to cancel the contract with no penalty, right? and that if you did it within the first three days that you wouldn't have to pay the activation/upgrade fee? please, tell me you know that. please.

@Rectilinear Propagation:

you have no idea what it costs at&t to setup new equipment on the backend, do you? it doesn't matter if it's an existing customer or not, it costs money to set it up, and that's why we have activation/upgrade fees.

I have a "standard charge" of $29.95 for dealing with incompetent service techs. But do the companies that I have service with honor my "standard charge"? NO.

Somehow these cellphone companies think their time is worth more than mine.

How does it cost AT&T money for this guy remain their customer for 2 more years?

Contracts suck.

yeah. I work in cellphones. it's a standard charge, and actually it should be more. Other than not correctly setting expectations, I don't get what at&t did exactly, but I guess it's not a bad thing for the guy that he got out of paying it.

@Coder4Life:

It must be all that paper work they have to do. hmmm...

I still don't understand why people don't just buy an unlocked phone off eBay. I haven't been under contract with AT&T/Cingular for years.

Umm, this is a pretty standard charge... I first noticed it when I was with NEXTEL. and They actually charge $36 for the upgrade.

Example: I want to take advantage of the cheap phone and extend my contract. BAM $36

I want to just buy the phone at full retail, and not extend my contract. BAM NO CHARGE..

It must be all that paper work they have to do. hmmm...

HA. Verizon was the opposite. They gave me a month free to extend for an extra year.

What the heck, I have a min. Let me see what this guy is up to...