Re: iPhone activation troubles

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Glenn S. Tenney CISSP CISM" <gt_IP070630 () think org>
Date: July 1, 2007 2:01:34 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: iPhone activation troubles

(for IP if you like... I think that fellow IP readers will find this  
interesting, and perhaps may even be of some help)

Here's what happened to this long-time AT&T Wireless customer...

I got my iPhone on Friday (thanks to a friend who held a space in  
line for me) at an Apple store.

When I went to activate the iPhone I got a not-so-friendly message:
"Wireless service for your iPhone is not eligible for any service  
discount available through your employer's agreement with AT&T. You  
can activate your iPhone on your current IRU account, but any  
available service discount
will be removed."

What?  Employer's agreement?   I have no idea what "IRU" means, nor  
why my account is listed as a business plan. A couple of years ago  
when I switched from a TDMA to a GSM plan they quoted me a price (my  
wife's and my phone, 450 minutes shared, unlimited data, etc.).  My  
guess is that they gave me the quoted price by using some business  
plan and using discounts to get to the quoted price.

After several hours on the phone with AT&T personnel, AT&T "Business  
End User Care" personnel, and Apple personnel they are saying that,  
despite the Apple and AT&T advertisements on their web site, not all  
existing AT&T customers CAN add an iPhone to their plans (or replace  
a phone on their plan with an iPhone).


Apple's web site at
http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html

"If you're already an AT&T customer and want to keep your current  
voice plan, you can just add an iPhone Data Plan with unlimited data  
(email and web) and Visual Voicemail for just $20 per month. Current  
AT&T customers, just add one of these data plans to your existing  
voice plan."

AT&T's web site at
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone.service/specials/iPhone.jsp
(click on "plans" then on "data plans" :

"If you're an existing AT&T (formerly Cingular) wireless customer and  
you want to keep your current voice plan, you just need to add iPhone  
Data Plan. (This may replace your current data plan. Your voice plan  
will stay the same.) iPhone Data Plan gives you Visual Voicemail, as  
well as Unlimited Data, which includes both email and web-and  
texting, all for as little as $20. You'll add iPhone data plan during  
the activation process."

That all is very clear. As an existing AT&T Wireless customer that's  
exactly what I want to do: to keep my current voice plan, to replace  
my current data plan with iPhone Data Plan, and to keep my voice plan  
the same.  AT&T is refusing to do this.  Instead, they are offering  
me the only option of changing my voice plan to a more expensive plan  
(the difference seems to be $20 a month more than my current voice  
plan).

I did offer the AT&T personnel to switch plans so long as the prices  
remained the same as my current plan (i.e. to discount the plan to  
bring the price down to my current plan) even though the iPhone data  
plan is actually cheaper than my current data plan.  They refused,  
saying that no discounts are allowed on iPhone plans.

Instead of delivering what AT&T (and Apple) advertised, they are  
instead wanting me to switch to a higher priced product to be able to  
use the product I've already purchased. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 
Bait_and_switch does seem to describe this.

I wonder how many other people are being plagued by this... hundred?  
thousands?


I'm hoping that sometime very soon someone at Apple will convince  
someone at AT&T that we existing AT&T Wireless customers who have  
already purchased iPhones must be given the service that was advertised.

Until then, I've got a dead brick of an iPhone unless I want to  
switch to a more expensive voice plan because the iPhone won't do  
anything (other than make 911 calls) without being activated.


--
Glenn Tenney CISSP CISM


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