60 cents
That's right, my final AT&T bill came to $0.60 - but it was originally $78.59.
I'm sure you're wondering how this happened, and I'm gonna tell you (Of course! I mean, after all, I did make a blog article about it). Although, I do ask that you bear with me - it's a bit of a long story.
Once upon a time (a couple of years ago), in a far off land (Kissimmee, FL), a young strapping lad (Me) purchased an Apple iPhone. After a while, that iPhone became obsolete and this young lad wanted the newer, cooler iPhone 3G! To get this new phone, he'd have to renew his contract with AT&T...or at&t (however they spell it) for another 2 years. Sure thing! This lad loved his iPhone and carried with him at all times. It managed everything for him, it was his personal secretary. You couldn't separate this kid from his iPhone.
And then, the unthinkable happened...it broke!
(And by broke, I mean I was doing repairs on the internal vibrator mechanism - because it stopped working - but in the process, I accidentally damaged a component that enabled the phone to receive the cellular signal...Oops!)
The lad was devastated! He was shaken, anxious, angry, sad, and yes, he even cried. (Hey! Don't judge him!) After taking the phone to a real repair shop, they informed him that the problem was in the motherboard and would have to be replaced - which, for the price, it would've been smarter and easier to simply get a new phone. But he was in luck, at this point - the even newer iPhone 3GS was coming around and AT&T would allow him to renew his contract and get this new phone! Sweet!
Wait. What all does this new phone do? It has a slightly better camera, voice control, and a compass. Yes, a compass. That's about it. That's all it really provided! Oh, and I almost forgot about video recording capabilities. Although, the video recording was a software feature and not a hardware feature. Meaning, they could have simply allowed it on the 3G...but my guess is, because the 3GS was a crap upgrade - they'd make it exclusive to the 3GS and use that to boost sales. Smart? Yes. Fair? No. Was it worth the new contract? Definitely not, especially since, given Apple's track record, the lad new a new phone would pretty much be released every year!
Soooooooo, the lad opted not to renew his contract with AT&T (which could prevent him from getting a new phone the next year) and to wait for the next iPhone release (at the time, presumed to be 4G). But what about the broken phone? The boy had an idea! eBay! He searched eBay for a used 3G phone (because everyone was selling them to get their new 3GS phones) and bought one for cheap!
During this time, he also bought an AT&T laptop card and added the line to his AT&T account (but he bought it via eBay - again to avoid a new contract). He took it to an AT&T store where they activated the line - but when they mentioned the 2-year contract, he told them about how he already bought the card and shouldn't have a contract to pay off something he already owned and paid for in full. The lady agreed and waived his contract. The smart young lad, made notes of the transaction, had the lady also insert notes in his AT&T file, and even took her business card. And, due to technical difficulties in the store that day, the computer was broken - meaning she couldn't even print a contract for him to sign! He left that day with a new line of service, without signing anything.
Fast forward. They've released details regarding the new iPhone 4...again, a dud when it came to new features. Wait...who's that? It looks like, yes, Sprint's joining the race with their HTC EVO 4G! Their new phone was giving the iPhone 4 a serious run for it's money! It could do everything the iPhone 4 could - plus more! This lad was sold! He was switching to Sprint (he couldn't even make/receive calls in his house with his iPhone)! He made the switch and all was good, right? Wrong.
AT&T tried to charge him early termination fees! Wait, I thought there wasn't a contract (remember the AT&T store?!). So the lad called AT&T and they said he had a new contract. The lad politely explained that it was waived - and that even if it wasn't, he hadn't signed one and that they had no documented proof. But the lad did (remember those notes, etc?). So AT&T, realizing the lad had the upper hand here, made notes of the call in his AT&T file and waived his ETF fee...or so he thought.
The final bill arrived in the mail. The lad opened it to see a whopping $78.59 fee ($65 ETF, and some random taxes)! He called AT&T and informed the representative to again check his file. She realized the error and promptly corrected it! The fees were waived...well, except for three incoming text messages (that, by the way, went to a wireless card - not a phone) billed at 20 cents each. She laughed, and informed the lad of his new total $0.60. The lad had a hearty laugh with the representative before paying - with a credit card - the total of 6 dimes.
Cingular (before being acquired by AT&T), we've had our share of good and bad times, but now I guess it's time to move on. Goodbye ol' pal.
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