3GS Upgrade Madness

fmcb723 (apparently) - 11:22am Jul 1, 2009 PST
via email

        I have had one of the most frustrating experiences dealing with Apple
and AT&T that I have had in many, many years. My wife and I have both
been AT&T customers for more than 5 years. Last year we purchased 2
3G iPhones while still maintaining our family plan for the two phones
through AT&T. We now both want to upgrade to new 3GS's. Our intent
was to give one of our 3G phones to our grown daughter who lives on
the East Coast, who also has been a long time AT&T customer.

        Using the link on the Apple iPhone site last week, it showed that my
phone was eligible for an immediate upgrade at the discounted price,
but that my wife's phone was not eligible until mid-April 2010 ---
even though they were both bought and activated on the same day. Over
the weekend I called Apple, who told me they had nothing to do with
determining eligibility and that I had to contact AT&T.

        I called AT&T and after a short conversation I was given a case
number, told that a manager would review it on Sunday or Monday, and
we would be called to confirm our eligibility to buy 2 3GS phones at
the discounted rate. Since I had not heard anything by Tuesday, I
called AT&T this evening to receive my confirmation. I was on the
phone for over 45 minutes as I spoke to three different "customer
care" representatives. No one could ever explain why we did not
receive a call back from a case manager; only that the case had been
closed because there was "no resolution under the current rules."
Only the third person I spoke to could even tell me what that meant.

        The bottom line seems to be that although we have a family plan with
two telephone lines, only the primary line that pays the larger amount
of money is eligible. Because the second line is charged a smaller
amount (by about 35%), that line cannot be upgraded for 18 months from
the original date of purchase.

        Now, here is where it really gets flaky. If I go and use the upgrade
tomorrow to get a 3GS for the primary line at the reduced price, it
"moves my wife's date up" so that she can be eligible for an upgrade
at the reduced price "maybe in November, but no later than December
2009." I asked for the formula so that I could determine what the
exact date would be, but the customer care representative said that
she couldn't say exactly when, but it would be several months sooner
than mid-April of next year. I then asked how I would know when she
was eligible and was told we would just have to keep calling back
later in the year, because "the rules change all the time!" To top it
off, I was told that these arcane rules are not AT&T's fault, but it's
all Apple's fault because these are their rules.

        I then asked if AT&T could send me these rules in writing so that I
could make sense of them. I was put on hold while the customer care
representative checked because no one had ever asked to see a copy of
the rules. When she returned several minutes later I was told that
those rules are privileged AT&T information and that customers were
not allowed to view them, but I could rest assured that she had
explained them to me verbatim from the rule book.

        As an Apple customer since 1988, and a longtime AT&T customer I can
tell you that this is a totally unsatisfactory consumer experience.
Apple says that they have nothing to do with this, because the rules
are set by AT&T. AT&T blames Apple, but then is unable to use "the
rule book" to determine a date when a second phone becomes eligible.

        Trust me, it's enough to drive us to consider dropping both AT&T and
the iPhones and going to a different phone and provider.

        If anyone can explain this "system" to me, I promise you will have my
undivided attention.

        Frank McBride
        Redondo Beach, CA