I Still Feel Ripped Off

I suppose at&t has no obligation to tell me I’m paying them more than I should. I feel ripped off.

A few years ago while being pestered by a prank caller I added some security features to our landline phone. Now, with Stef working in Hollywood where even businesses hide their phone number on outgoing calls, I am removing them.

That sent me to at&t’s website and a quick look at my bill. My service includes $20 for “Flat Primary Residential Line” and $17 for “The Basics Package.” For $23 I could have “Complete Choice Basic” which includes everything I use!

That means I’ve been paying $14 a month extra for nothing and doing it month-after-month-after-month.

I have heard about this before–people with service ordered years ago before rates went down. I never thought it would be me. l lost out by my own lack of attention to detail.

I suppose at&t has no obligation to tell me I’m paying them more than I should. I still feel ripped off.

23 thoughts on “I Still Feel Ripped Off”

  1. Unfortunately ATT has a rep. for that. You are not alone. Ask all the people in the class action who were paying for Internet speed they were not getting. Like me!

  2. My parents had an old rotary dial phone in the basement near the garage.. nobody ever really used it, it was just there. When they went to sell the house many many years later – it turns out that they had been paying about $7 a month to ‘rent’ that phone from the long chain of companies that were once Ma Bell – for about 30 years.

    1. same happened to me. when I called them to cancel the phone and return it to them they said just dispose of it yourself.

  3. I recently switched to AT&T for their U-Verse package. When I called my former provider (Comcast) to cancel I was asked “Why?”. I informed them that I got a better deal with my new provider and that I was tired of all the recent problems I had been having and paying an arm and a leg for my cable… (over $200 a month for ALL the channels). The CSR then informed me that if I had called them, they would have made me a better offer. I was not happy to hear this and I told him so. I said something along the lines of if I hadn’t called to complain about my bill they would continue to OVER CHARGE ME for services they just stated to me could have been at a lower rate. So in the mean time its ok for them to OVER CHARGE everybody else because we don’t complain? Why can’t they just provide us with the best quality and service available to them at the lowest price possible?? He was smug in his reply “we can’t call everyone and offer them a lower price!” I replied.. “Your competitor did!” ’nuff said!!

    So I guess it’s my fault for letting them over charge me for the past two decades more or less… won’t happen again!! I will start being the squeaky wheel…

  4. Thank You for the tip, I will check my bill also
    Love watching you on Fox, my new favorite station 🙂

  5. Please don’t take this wrong, but… I’ll bet you have a cell phone so why do you still have a land line? Tradition?

  6. AT&T told me about a better package when I called about something computer-related. I’m hoping U-Verse comes to my area soon because I really feel ComCast is ripping me off with high bills. It might be a good idea to check AT&T Website once in a while for good deals. Jim, my parents rented their phone, always, no matter how many times I told them how cheap buying a telephone was.

  7. Not Geoff, but the only reason I have a landline is in the unfortunate case of needing to call 911, but being unable to speak, help would still be dispatched to my house. That’s not going to happen with a cell phone. For me, the peace of mind is worth the $20 for a bare-minimum line.

  8. I have a cell phone, and because I have no reception at my apartment, a VOIP line. The VOIP line cost me $99 for a year of service. AT&T wanted $25/month for UVerse phone.

    I’d rather pay the $99 for a year versus $288. Plus, the VOIP provider I have allows me to set my outgoing caller ID to my Google Voice number.

  9. We keep a landline because we have a fax machine. Also, it’s much cheaper to call overseas using a landline.

  10. Geoff, it appears that you have made others aware of this overspending on their phone bill, so some good came from this.

  11. Thanks Geoff! You reminded me that it was time for my “annual negotiations call” to ATT.

    After all was said and done, I saved $25 a month and will have some increased/improved level of service for phone, dsl, and tv.

    I ‘get it’ that they are in business to make money, you just have to learn how to play the game. I have been doing this for at least 5 years and have always been able to hang up paying less for the same or better services.

    Love you on FOX!

  12. Here is a tip I learned a long time ago … Never, ever talk with the customer service rep. Immediatey ask to speak with customer relations, as they have the authority to give you many “promos” as they are called. During my latest call to them (just a week ago), I was given 2 free cell phones, free text messaging, plus they reduced my monthly bill by $10., plus they gave me a credit of $30. since I have not been “happy” with the service I receive from them. There are always new promos being offered – all you have to do is ask!!! I also get many “promos” on Uverse tv service – I pay for U200 service & get U300 plus all movie channels for free. There are too many companies available and they want to keep you as a customer. Remember …. ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE!!!!

  13. Well, it seems like I need to make a phone call. Maybe I can get my rates lowered too. On the other side of the coin, a friend of mine received a long overdue bill from Comcast. Now this friend isn’t the most organized of people but even she was surprised when the rep told her that her cable had been shut off 13 months ago for non-payment. (Yes, my friend had cable all that time) Then the rep said “You still have a credit for $13.50″..then she paused and said …”Oh.” So my friend was “shut off” but not disconnected and for “non-payment” on a bill she had a credit on. And SHE thought she was bad at paperwork..guess what..she canceled Comcast and got satellite. Haha.
    Ten minutes to Fox on Fox!

  14. sorry you are feeling the way you do about AT&T! I certainly agree that you have been overcharged for no reason and should definately pursue getting money back for some amount of time but at the same time please remember we are all human and employees arejust doing as told. The best bet I agree is to ask for a supervisor and go right over the reps head.
    I hope you are able to recover some money, again ASK FOR A SUPERVISOR and accept no less.

  15. We recently saved net ~$35 per month on our Comcast cable bill. In addition we were upgraded to having HBO, got a DVR and a standard cable box. All it took was to tell them we were dropping Comcast, then a customer “retention” guy (as others have noted) quickly offered us that improved deal. Only down side was that I had to agree to a two year commitment, albeit at the more favorable terms.

    I also believe that AT&T has dropped a previous requirement that one must have a land line phone to JUST receive DSL.

  16. Hi Geoff,

    Sorry to hear of your experience with Big Phone. I almost remember dealing with them years ago before switching to VOIP, and dreading the experience myself. I only deal with them now because I haven’t gotten around to upgrading my cell yet, and am weighing the options. Other than that, the VOIP works great (not Comcast’s, as they charge too much), I have 2 numbers for less than I paid for AT&T with all the trimmings (one number is out of state so family can make a local call). The only time I need the cell is on the rare occasion Comcast has a service interruption (I have everything on UPS, so power outages are a non-issue). Can’t think of any reason to go back to AT&T. Hope your able to recover some of that unnecessary expense.

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