Cingular Wireless ripoff What contract? Only misery. Atlanta Georgia

Cingular Wireless What contract? Only misery. Atlanta, Georgia

I have been an AT&T Wireless customer since June of 2000, approximately 5 years ago, when I first bought a cell phone and contract. In line with many stories, I am surprised that Cingular Wireless "bought" my contract, because I was under the impression that in the event of a merger, I would have some sort of choice in determining my cell phone provider. In the time that I have been a customer of Cingular, I have been extremely disappointed.

AT&T Wireless had always given me ample time to pay overdue bills, and I rewarded the company by renewing my contract with them and staying on as a customer (imagine over 4 years of serve...that amounts to, in my case, well over $5,000 that I have paid out to them).

I would never have chosen to go with Cingular Wireless for myself, given my mother and sister's experiences with Cingular Wireless (which have been horrific) - so the merger absolutely put a damper on the way I felt about my future cell phone service right away. As of late, my family has fallen into financial disarray because of several extreme circumstances (my young sister, age 26, was diagnosed with colorectal, liver, stomach, and lung cancer; my grandmother was diagnosed with depression and dementia).

Falling behind in payments to Cingular, I first called them, and they were very persistent in terms of making sure I made payments immediately (they suggested 3 quick payments of $80.00, which was impossible for me). Under duress, I even had to suspend all my student loan payments, because I had to quit my job and move to take care of my grandmother while my mother moved out of state to care for my sister.

Recently, I contacted Cingular Wireless and made a payment of $80 towards the $234.11 that I had owed them; even so, my cell phone service remained suspended. I wrote a letter to Cingular Wireless' CEO Stan Sigman, explaining as follows:

"I do wish to make good on my obligations to your team, and I think it would be very disturbing to lose a connection begun with AT&T Wireless five years ago. Accordingly, today I made a payment of $80.00 to a group related to Cingular Wireless, at the address CS 18029, Hauppauge, NY 11788-8829 towards the $234.61 I owe Cingular Wireless' team for previous months of service. It is impossible for me at this moment to make the full payment, given the extraordinary circumstances surrounding my family."

27 days later, following this letter dated 3 June 2005, I received a new note from Cingular Wireless. The bill indicated that Cingular received a payment of $80.00. However, the new total for the bill was $369.14. Why, might you ask, when my original bill was for $234.61, and a payment of $80.00 should bring my bill down to $154.61? (If you do the math, that means I am paying more than 100% more than I owe, plus $60 in additional fees).

Who pays 100% more for their bills, following a good faith payment? And who the hell charges someone so much whose family is in grave trouble?

Cingular cancelled the "contract" that I had never signed with them, adding an "adjustment" (cancellation charge) of $175.00, a monthly charge of $23.53, and a late payment charge of $2.52. I cannot imagine a bigger corporate bully than Cingular, a group which I never signed a contract with, and while eager to honor AT&T's agreement with me, I was not so eager to even be a Cingular customer.

Here I am. No cell phone, and so much owed in so many fees that I don't remember agreeing to whatsover.

So, for those who have a good experience with them, that's great news. I can only say that Cingular's service to me has been poor, and as much as I want to blame myself for not being in good financial condition, I can't tolerate this kind of treatment, ESPECIALLY following a letter to their CEO and customer service agents explaining my family's many dilemnas.

Cingular's management is clearly heartless, and moreover, their management of me is a sign of bad business. I look forward to giving my next five years of cell phone service, if I am allowed to so choose, to another organization.

Andrew
Palm Beach, Florida
U.S.A.

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