

Tell HN: AT&T added fees on their service; now you can cancel the contract  - tzz

AT&#38;T added $0.61 fee on all mobile phone service.<p>Per the following AT&#38;T contract, now you have an opportunity to cancel your current contract without an  early termination fee:<p><pre><code>  1.3 Can AT&#38;T Change My Terms And Rates? 

  We may change any terms, conditions, rates, fees, expenses,   
  or charges regarding your Services at any time. We will
  provide you with notice of material changes (other than   
  changes to governmental fees, proportional charges for  
  governmental mandates, roaming rates or administrative 
  charges) either in your monthly bill or separately. You
  understand and agree that State and Federal Universal 
  Service Fees and other governmentally imposed fees, 
  whether or not assessed directly upon you, may be 
  increased based upon the government's or our calculations.
  IF WE INCREASE THE PRICE OF ANY OF THE SERVICES TO WHICH   
  YOU SUBSCRIBE, BEYOND THE LIMITS SET FORTH IN YOUR CUSTOMER 
  SERVICE SUMMARY, OR IF WE MATERIALLY DECREASE THE 
  GEOGRAPHICAL AREA IN WHICH YOUR AIRTIME RATE APPLIES (OTHER 
  THAN A TEMPORARY DECREASE FOR REPAIRS OR MAINTENANCE), 
  WE’LL DISCLOSE THE CHANGE AT LEAST ONE BILLING CYCLE IN 
  ADVANCE (EITHER THROUGH A NOTICE WITH YOUR BILL, A TEXT 
  MESSAGE TO YOUR DEVICE, OR OTHERWISE), 

  AND YOU MAY TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT WITHOUT PAYING AN EARLY 
  TERMINATION FEE OR RETURNING OR PAYING FOR ANY PROMOTIONAL 
  ITEMS,

  PROVIDED YOUR NOTICE OF TERMINATION IS DELIVERED TO 
  US WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE FIRST BILL REFLECTING 
  THE CHANGE</code></pre>
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runlevel1
Definitions of their numerous and vaguely named charges:

<http://att.com/additionalcharges>

Here's their explanation of this one in particular:

    
    
      The Administrative Fee helps defray certain expenses AT&T
      incurs, including but not limited to: (a) charges AT&T or
      its agents pay to interconnect with other carriers to
      deliver calls from AT&T customers to their customers; and
      (b) charges associated with cell site rents and maintenance.
    

Edit: Screwed up formatting by trying to post in markdown again.

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runjake
No, you can't. It is an administrative surcharge, not a service price
increase. Thusly, it falls outside the sections you quoted.

What they _will_ do, _if_ you argue the point enough, is credit you the extra
amount times the number of months you have left on your contract.

Also, the fee is per line.

~~~
dtrizzle
I’m an attorney and have been pondering for hours about whether this would
permit one to break their contract. Certainly, if the fee was a tax, one
couldn’t break their contract since neither party really can control what the
government does. But what gets me is that it appears to be a price increase
disguised as a tax. Looking at the AT&T additional fees page, it’s clear that
this fee essentially covers operating expenses. (ie: regular AT&T business
costs). Labeling a price increase as an “administrative fee” or a “surcharge”
doesn’t change the legal nature of it. Courts tend to look at what the fee is,
not what it’s called. I’m going to do some research on this one.

What if the monthly fee was $100? From a legal standpoint, the amount of the
fee doesn't matter. You really don't think we could invoke Section 1.3 of the
contract?

~~~
Krishopper
The contract says "administrative charge". My bill says "administrative fee".
In the dictionary, there is a difference between a charge and a fee. So to the
lawyer -- is there a difference between a charge and a fee? If so, then
there's an out.

~~~
dtrizzle
I don't believe there is a difference legally. Courts tend to disregard the
label applied to an amount.

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dtrizzle
I'm trying to find this fee on my bill. My AT&T bill labels every charge with
a number. On your bill, is the new charge labeled or numbered?

Edit: I found the notice of the charge. It's on left-middle side of page 2 of
my April 2013 bill and is called a Mobility Administrative Fee.

Edit 2: On my May 2013 bill, the charge is labeled #8.

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sofauxboho
Has anyone successfully canceled their service while under contract without
early termination fees via this method?

~~~
seanalex
I bought a tablet through T-Mobile with a two year contract at $50 a month.
Bad idea, I know. I ended up regretting the monthly plan due to using it
primarily at home on a wifi.

After 8 months, I luckily found out that T-Mobile was changing their pricing
based on roaming charges. I called them to ask for a cancellation with no ETF.
I explained to them that the change of terms is a cost change to how I use the
tablet. Through a story of "I use this tablet in remote areas for work...", I
was able to get it cancelled. It took two phone calls to make it happen, but I
soon found out many others tried but failed to take this approach.

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SamWhited
AT&T's quoting

`(other than changes to governmental fees, proportional charges for
governmental mandates, roaming rates or administrative charges)'

at me; still fighting it and will let you know how it goes.

~~~
SamWhited
After being elevated several levels AT&T esentially flat out told me that it
was an adminsistrative fee and that was the end of it; they've claimed someone
even higher up will call me back within 24 hours — we'll see.

~~~
Gorbzel
Yea, I don't expect their random customer service people to give much of a
shit. I assume you'd have to notify them in writing that you're terminating
the contract per the price change and see if they balk. If they do, they'll
force you into arbitration.

I'd oddly consider all of this, as I consider this a ploy to increase their
revenue and see who notices plain and simple (as opposed to other contract
changes they pull sometimes that might be arguably necessary) but given that
I'm still relying on the good ol' 2007 unlimited iPhone contract, I'm hesitant
to risk them agreeing with me and terminating the contract so they can modify
the unlimited access.

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alxndr
[http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1ewszk/att_just_...](http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1ewszk/att_just_added_a_061_monthly_fee_to_postpaid/ca4mgcb)

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owenfi
Can I terminated the contract and remain a customer?

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wj
If I were to try to do this would I need to sign up with another carrier first
to keep me number?

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slinkyavenger
Where is this contract available online?

~~~
tzz
[http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-
resources/wireles...](http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-
resources/wireless-terms.jsp)

