Did you know - Next plan eliminates off contract discount?

cardboard60

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The good thing about Next is you dont have to pay the ETF fee, which would be like $300+ if you were on a contract.
After each month you pay, the cost of upgrade goes down, and eventually you will get a free upgrade without paying anything

The good thing about NEXT is Nothing. You pay twenty something dollars a month per line.
There is nothing good about it. But the Cell phone carriers has a new plan.
My wife hasn't upgraded her phone in a year in a half. That would not be good for us.
She could care less if she used the same phone for the rest of her life if it didn't cost her any more money..
 

jcp007

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I called AT&T 611 on the AT&T phone, and walked into the AT&T store.
They said when I upgrade my phone on the 199.00 Upgrade. I will loose my family share plan and my rates will go up.
Just spend all afternoon going to the stores.
They will not let me upgrade and keep the same rates I have.

If you can do it. Your doing something I can't do.and I have been with them for 15 yrs.

I have been with AT&T since 1994. My upgrade eligibility date was 4/18, I called CS and CSR was not helping. I asked to speak to a manager, was put on hold, and subsequently got a manager's override. I did this by being pleasant yet firm. My upgrade date was moved up to 3/27. At lunch that day, I did my pre-order at Best Buy


In the past, if I was within 30 days, I would be accommodated with the upgrade date change as long as it wasn't an iPhone. Outside this window, I could upgrade but at the two year price plus + $50. When my son shattered his i4, it was replaced with a GS4 at no charge. When I upgraded my dad's line, got the GS5 at no charge. My guess is that it is a function of monthly fee size and longevity. My wife and I have the grandfathered unlimited data. My son has 3GB as does my dad.

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cardboard60

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I have been with AT&T since 1994. My upgrade eligibility date was 4/18, I called CS and CSR was not helping. I asked to speak to a manager, was put on hold, and subsequently got a manager's override. I did this by being pleasant yet firm. My upgrade date was moved up to 3/27. At lunch that day, I did my pre-order at Best Buy


In the past, if I was within 30 days, I would be accommodated with the upgrade date change as long as it wasn't an iPhone. Outside this window, I could upgrade but at the two year price plus + $50. When my son shattered his i4, it was replaced with a GS4 at no charge. When I upgraded my dad's line, got the GS5 at no charge. My guess is that it is a function of monthly fee size and longevity. My wife and I have the grandfathered unlimited data. My son has 3GB as does my dad.

Posted via My Samsung Galaxy S4 Handheld Device

I was on the phone for over 3 hours talking to different AT&T people in different states. Went from California to Georgia to somewhere up north and back to Florida.
Mabe you got better pull than I do.
They all said when you sign a new contract for 199.00 your rates will change from 100.00 a month to over 140 a month.
 

smooth4lyfe

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The good thing about NEXT is Nothing. You pay twenty something dollars a month per line.
There is nothing good about it. But the Cell phone carriers has a new plan.
My wife hasn't upgraded her phone in a year in a half. That would not be good for us.
She could care less if she used the same phone for the rest of her life if it didn't cost her any more money..

You do know you only pay per month until the phone is paid off, then you don't have to pay anything else after that
 

cardboard60

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You do know you only pay per month until the phone is paid off, then you don't have to pay anything else after that
How long do you figure to pay off a phone 24 months ?
Then you upgrade and it starts again.
We used to only pay 199.00 every 2 yrs. And not the extra charges a month.
The discounted plans seem to be gone.
They worked out the unlimited data contracts also so they could draw new customers in.
 

smooth4lyfe

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How long do you figure to pay off a phone 24 months ?
Then you upgrade and it starts again.
We used to only pay 199.00 every 2 yrs. And not the extra charges a month.
The discounted plans seem to be gone.
They worked out the unlimited data contracts also so they could draw new customers in.

I think AT&T Next is only beneficial for those who like to upgrade early (like me). If you wouldn't mind keeping your phone for 2 years,they have the other contract plans, which is $199 a month
 

20blks

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How long do you figure to pay off a phone 24 months ?
Then you upgrade and it starts again.
We used to only pay 199.00 every 2 yrs. And not the extra charges a month.
The discounted plans seem to be gone.
They worked out the unlimited data contracts also so they could draw new customers in.

Cell phone manufacturers no longer sell the carriers the phones at a discounted price. That's why they're charging us full price for the phones now. Best bet would be getting the phone from eBay, craigslist, etc. I've been doing that for the last 2 years

Posted via the Android Central App
 

cardboard60

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I think AT&T Next is only beneficial for those who like to upgrade early (like me). If you wouldn't mind keeping your phone for 2 years,they have the other contract plans, which is $199 a month

AT&T Today in the AT&T STore after talking to 2 at&T personnel and on the phone. Said as soon as I sign the new contract for 199.00 a month. My rates will go up over 23.00 a phone. I will be losing my Family data plan. And going on a new plan.
So i can upgrade for 199.00 , but my rates go up. Because they are not honoring my old contract.
 

cardboard60

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Cell phone manufacturers no longer sell the carriers the phones at a discounted price. That's why they're charging us full price for the phones now. Best bet would be getting the phone from eBay, craigslist, etc. I've been doing that for the last 2 years

Posted via the Android Central App



That is not my problem.
My problem is I'm paying more money.
If the mfg wasn't making money and the Carriers wasn't making any money. You think they would go to selling more new phones.
What needs to happen . Is for less people to buy new phones. Then the supply and demand goes down.
And both the MFg and the carriers change their plans.

Bottom end the consumer is getting the short end of he stick.
Seems the competition is gone and they have gone crazy.
 

cwise222

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AT&T Today in the AT&T STore after talking to 2 at&T personnel and on the phone. Said as soon as I sign the new contract for 199.00 a month. My rates will go up over 23.00 a phone. I will be losing my Family data plan. And going on a new plan.
So i can upgrade for 199.00 , but my rates go up. Because they are not honoring my old contract.

There won't 'honor' your old contract because the don't offer those older plans anymore, nor are they under any obligation to honor your old plan if you opt to upgrade a new phone. Once the contact is done, it's done. You can cancel without a fee and they can require new terms if you want a new contract. Every single carrier is like that. Phones used to cost $400-$600 brand new and back then the older contact style plans worked to an extent in that they could recoup the costs, and even then they did not have to worry about LTE deployment and maintenance costs, wagers were lower, etc.

Phones now are $600 to $900 now, and will breach $1,000 per phone more then likely a few years from now. If you want that expensive phone for $199.99 then it's going to cost more per month on a contact so the carrier can recoup that huge phone cost.
 

20blks

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There won't 'honor' your old contract because the don't offer those older plans anymore, nor are they under any obligation to honor your old plan if you opt to upgrade a new phone. Once the contact is done, it's done. You can cancel without a fee and they can require new terms if you want a new contract. Every single carrier is like that. Phones used to cost $400-$600 brand new and back then the older contact style plans worked to an extent in that they could recoup the costs, and even then they did not have to worry about LTE deployment and maintenance costs, wagers were lower, etc.

Phones now are $600 to $900 now, and will breach $1,000 per phone more then likely a few years from now. If you want that expensive phone for $199.99 then it's going to cost more per month on a contact so the carrier can recoup that huge phone cost.

Very well put. There's really no way around it unless you buy a phone from someone else other than the carriers

Posted via the Android Central App
 

BlueBlazer60

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How long do you figure to pay off a phone 24 months ?
Then you upgrade and it starts again.
We used to only pay 199.00 every 2 yrs. And not the extra charges a month.
The discounted plans seem to be gone.
They worked out the unlimited data contracts also so they could draw new customers in.

I am confused. What do you mean "We used to only pay 199.00 every 2 yrs. And not the extra charges a month."?? If you are talking about the cost for a phone, there are two choice today. The old two year contract plans - you pay a flat price depending on the phone (199.00 or in the case of the S6 299.00) OR you pay monthly installments of an amount equal to the retail price of the phone divided by 24 AND receive a discount on the monthly line charges. Instead of one way to purchase a phone there are now two ways.

As far as unlimited data, it has pretty well gone the way of the dodo bird on any new plans. About the only way I am aware of to keep unlimited data plans today is buy at full retail. In reality - at least on Verizon - you will come very close to having paid full retail at the end two years on a contract or a monthly installment plan.

As a senior citizen, I understand your concerns about budget. I have never had or wanted an unlimited data plan. How much data do you use? We never come close to even the limited amount of data we purchase except when we are traveling. Because of lower charges for data and trimming our plan to reflect our usage, I chopped $40 dollars a month off of our bill.
 

cardboard60

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I am confused. What do you mean "We used to only pay 199.00 every 2 yrs. And not the extra charges a month."?? If you are talking about the cost for a phone, there are two choice today. The old two year contract plans - you pay a flat price depending on the phone (199.00 or in the case of the S6 299.00) OR you pay monthly installments of an amount equal to the retail price of the phone divided by 24 AND receive a discount on the monthly line charges. Instead of one way to purchase a phone there are now two ways.

As far as unlimited data, it has pretty well gone the way of the dodo bird on any new plans. About the only way I am aware of to keep unlimited data plans today is buy at full retail. In reality - at least on Verizon - you will come very close to having paid full retail at the end two years on a contract or a monthly installment plan.

As a senior citizen, I understand your concerns about budget. I have never had or wanted an unlimited data plan. How much data do you use? We never come close to even the limited amount of data we purchase except when we are traveling. Because of lower charges for data and trimming our plan to reflect our usage, I chopped $40 dollars a month off of our bill.



The carriers used to have some good rates on which plans you wanted.
Those plans leave when you upgrade your service.

The carries are making it harder for the Senior citizens to get new phones.
If I just get a phone to talk on, I can do without it totally. Know its nice to have a phone.
But I can go backward and not have one period.
If you got a job and get raises and all, I guess you just keep forking out the money. Hope everybody is sticking up something for retirement.
I wanted a new phone. Guess I'm gonna back out on it.
Wait till later on in the future and see if any new rates comes out.
If not I will figure out from there.
 

Almeuit

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The carriers used to have some good rates on which plans you wanted.
Those plans leave when you upgrade your service.

The carries are making it harder for the Senior citizens to get new phones.
If I just get a phone to talk on, I can do without it totally. Know its nice to have a phone.
But I can go backward and not have one period.
If you got a job and get raises and all, I guess you just keep forking out the money. Hope everybody is sticking up something for retirement.
I wanted a new phone. Guess I'm gonna back out on it.
Wait till later on in the future and see if any new rates comes out.
If not I will figure out from there.

I really don't get the issue here. The prices aren't secretly hiked up when you get a new phone. You have to pay for your phone .. one way or another. That is like everything in life .. we have to pay for what we want. So if you want a smartphone you have to pay for it.

If you choose contract .. You pay something like $200 up front .. and pay your monthly bill which usually has a higher rate since they discounted the phone. After 2 years .. the contract is over and the rate drops.

The NEXT plan .. You can choose how quick you want to pay it off. At the end of the day you're going to pay the full amount for the phone but afterwards that "charge" drops off your account.

You have to pay for your things .. That is pretty much it.
 

Raptor007

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If I am reading this correctly, you are upset with AT&T over your choice to upgrade your phone and it sounds like you chose a Next Plan did you read the terms AT&T Next - Get A New Smartphone Every Year from AT&T Wireless and I do use the Next Plan it provides me options and I don't mind. I ordered a GS6 Edge 128GB, yeah its $1020 phone and I will pay $51 a month for the phone over 20 months, but AT&T also gives me $25 a month off my plan so over the course of 20 months I am paying AT&T $520 or I could pay $499 upfront and get a 2 year contract but pay $40 for the smartphone plan.

They are offering options, and Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile do it as well.

You can also accelerate your upgrade by paying the difference to 12, 18 or 24 months depending on where you are, or pay off the phone completely and have no payment.
 

JWG2011

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I think I understand where you are coming from but as other have stated new phones are more expensive now and the carriers need to recoop that cost somehow. They do it by passing that cost on to the consumer. Just like every other business. If you bought a brand new truck in 2013 and decided you wanted to trade it in tomorrow for a brand new 2015 what would happen?? Right your payment would go up because the cost of the vehicle went up. The dealership wouldn't allow you to keep the same payment plan you had with the 2013 vehicle because things change. Same thing with new phones.

Also if you sit down and do the math the NEXT plan usually saves you money in the long run. Especially for those of us that keep our phone for 1-2+ years.
 

Stanley Kubrick

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All these contracts are designed to confuse us if they can! :confused: It would be nice if they made it easy to follow but then those who are charging you more-for-less would be easier to spot and avoid! LOL
I have been a Verizon customer for many years...they do offer a discount if you can prove you're a veteran. I do take advantage of that! ;)

I have three lines. I pay for 1GB of data, but with begging and threatening to leave, I have receive another 5GB of data on a promotional basis for the remainder of my contract which is until 9/16. My bill last month was $124.xx

I am getting the S6 Edge at full price (my choice as I do not want to wait for contract end date) and my bill is staying the same...well...it is going up by a couple of bucks a month because I upped my insurance to a little better plan through Asurion.

So then, with a little determination, and keeping the pressure on the carriers, you can get a good deal if you really try! I also think that by staying with the same carrier for many years gives you brownie points with them and they will treat you as good as they possibly can! Happy hunting! :p
 

beatsandlife

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I don't understand why is everyone saying that you have to change your plan.

I've already spoke to several CSRs and they said they'll transfer my old plan + unlimited data to the S6.

Posted via the Android Central App
 

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