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Cingular - Phantom Contracts

Cingular • Billing • Collections • Contracts • Flaming Phones • Reliability • Rebates • Lori's Indictment • Chris' Defense -- • Lawsuit: Cingular Deceived & Overcharged AT&T Customers • Cingular-AT&T Wireless Deal is Done • California Fines Cingular $12 Million • Cingular Buys AT&T Wireless • Consumer Group Sues Nextel, Cingular

A hospice in Stockton CA (1/17/03):
We cancelled the service with Cingular last month, and we have the contracts that show that on all 10 of the phones their contract have expired. We faxed all the contracts to Cingular but they claim that someone from Hospice made a verbal agreement for such 10 phones, however the person that they mentioned was not authorized at all to make any contracts in behalf of the Hospice and never communicate that to the Hospice. They are trying to make us pay more that $2000 of cancellation fees.

We are a non-profit organization with a very tight budget, we cannot afford to pay $2000 cancellation fee, considering that we have the written contract that support our position.

Ian of Brooklyn (10/17/02):
I had a Cingular Wireless account for two and half years on a one year contract. When I called to cancel my account because I was moving from San Francisco to New York, the customer service agent told me I was still under contract and I would be charged a $150 termination fee. I spent several unsuccessful months trying to get the problem resolved. They would agree with me that I originally had a 1-year contract, but their position was that I signed up for a 2-year contract when I got an upgraded phone. I thought this will be easy to resolve, because I had never upgraded my phone - I was still using the one I originally got with the plan. No dice.

Extreme stress and frustration. I'm a student and I could pay the $150, but I can't just throw money around for no reason. I also feel they win if our system allows them to skim money from people by blackmailing people using a threat of a negative credit rating.

Jeff of Modesto CA (11/6/02):
When I first signed on with Cingular Wireless they were actually Pac Bell Wireless. After one year and eleven months. I decided to change providers, because their service is just terrible to say the least. I was under the impression that my contract had expired after one year, so I thought there would be no problem with cancelling the contract. Then about two weeks later I recieved a bill which I assumed was a closing bill for my last month,however much to my surprise I was charged an additonal $150.00 because they said I terminated too early. They also said that when I had my phone number changed because they had given me a number that was not a local number and I kept getting long distance charges. So they changed my number to a local number. Then they became Cingular Wireless.

So when I cancelled they told me that because I had changed my number that it renewed my contract for two more years. I would have never signed a two year contract. When I did sign the contract it was with Pac Bell not Cingular. I feel I was seriously mislead. After I received this bill I have sent them four letters requesting that they send me a copy of the two year contract that I signed and that I would pay the bill even though I disputed it. To this day they have never acknowledge my request, and I refuse to pay the bill.

Tamra of Sunnyvale CA (1/13/03):
I signed up for cell phone service with Cingulair on May 31, 2001 and then cancelled my service contract on June 2nd because of bad reception. I then signed up with AT&T on June 3rd. Last week I happened to purchase an online credit report, and I have a charge from Cingulair for $1,600 that has gone to a collections agency.

Now I'm desperately trying to prove that I cancelled my contract with them so I can get this thing taken off my credit. I have receipts for the initial charge and refund for the phone from Cellular Warehouse but I phoned in to cancel my contract. My credit has been damaged and I'm wondering if I can sue them.

Tamra had better read that contract carefully.

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