Fuck off Cingular

Dear Stewart Smith,

Lets back up a minute here. I already requested my plan to change to the 19.99 plan beginning on the 7/26 - 8/25 billing period (the bill that says 6/26-7/25 for 73.58 as you bill in advance for the time). Texting and insurance were also supposed to be cancelled. I called numerous times to correct this! First in June, then in July before I left. Since then I have called twice internationally from Europe.

While I appreciate the adjustment you made to the current bill, the above stated bill charged me 50 dollars more than I was supposed to be charged. The next bill (my current one) is also charging me 50 dollars more than I am supposed to be charged. And I will have another bill before my contract expires!? For who knows how much.

Since I will only have 1 more bill after this, that is supposed to be for 19.99 + taxes, the total for ALL THREE BILLS should be LESS than what I have already paid! Since I paid you 73.58 for the first overcharged bill, if you charged me nothing for the remainder of my contract, I would have overpaid. Or you could refund me 50 dollars for that bill, 50 dollars on this bill (instead of the 23.14), and bill me correctly for my last and final bill.

I am so tired of having to deal with this from Germany. It is the last thing I want to be thinking about while in another country. Please realize that every dollar we are discussing is for a phone that I AM NOT EVEN USING!

The whole time I lived in the U.S. that I used cingular (and at&t for years through my work as well), I was very happy with the level of customer service and never really had any problems. Now that I am trying to cancel my account, it has been horrible! I know all of the cell phone companies try and stop you from cancelling. But I am not cancelling to go to a competitor. I am cancelling because I live in Germany now!!

I propose this: I will not pay you another cent. My 73.58 debited from my account on 8/18 is more than enough to bring me to the end of my contract (had I been billed correctly). I consider my end of the contract fulfilled.

19.99 + taxes 7/26 - 8/25
19.99 + taxes 8/26 - 9/25
19.99 + taxes 9/26 - 10/23
= 60 bucks + taxes.

I paid 73.58 on 8/18. Technically, you owe me money, but I don't care. I just want to be done with this!

I would prefer to use cingular / AT&T again when I return to the United States. Do you want to screw me out of 50 bucks a month now and loose me as a customer for life? or will you honor the agreement and let me leave with dignity, so I might use cingular / AT&T again for another contract in the future? This is insane.

Sincerely,
Steven Toff

P.S. My contract did allow for cancellation without an early termination fee. When I signed up for my contract, I knew I might be moving out of the country and the salesman wrote on the contract that the cancellation fee would not apply if I moved outside of your coverage area.

But when I called, the customer service rep on the phone said that hand written part would not be honored. However, she advised me to switch my plan to the 19.99 plan for the time I would be gone, to save me the difference versus paying the cancellation fee. Naively, I thanked her for her advice and did just that.

I have since talked to a lawyer who advised me that the hand written section, signed by the employee who gave me the contract, would in fact stand up in arbitration. Despite the expert legal advice I accepted from a customer service rep.

P.P.S. - Speaking of arbitration, I have read the contract cover to cover as well as Cingular's Terms of Service Agreement, and there are other reasons why I could cancel without an Early Termination Fee. My plan changed without my permission, my rate for texting changed, you unilaterally changed my contract and assigned the entire arbitration procedure, waiving my right to participate in a class action law suit. All these changes constitute a violation of the contract and allow me to opt out without the Early Termination Fee, as outlined in your own Terms of Service Agreement.