Comments on: How hidden charges doubled my iPhone bill

By: britt

britt — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:27:58 +0000

I work for ATT and you guys need to not listen to the apple store because gues what they are NOT att

By: Peek Speaks: Simply email. Your personal email anywhere, anytime.

Peek Speaks: Simply email. Your personal email anywhere, anytime. — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:31:49 +0000

[...] Ryan Block who is one of the masters of the tech blog universe wrote a blog entry just a couple of weeks back about when he got his new phone; it’s called “How hidden charges doubled my iPhone bill“. [...]

By: paul

paul — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:52:43 +0000

it could be worse-it could be verizon then on top of the outrageous fees you would have a cr@ppy interface

By: Dale

Dale — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:24:59 +0000

The upgrade fee and the extra tax is a fair complaint provided they didn’t tell you. When you talk with a customer rep at ATT they should make that clear. They should also tell you about the SMS but as far as I know they were quite clear about it elsewhere. This was the main reason I didn’t upgrade but also I am waiting to see what the next iPhone has to offer. This one just didn’t do it for me so I stuck with my old iPhone and I’m glad so far that I did.

By: namar

namar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:32:53 +0000

Hey i have a question… i will be purchasing a 16Gb Iphone 3g in the next week or so… But i need to know what the overall price will be… 299 + the activation fee ($36) are there any more fees i should be aware of that they charge when you purchase the phone? What about a Ca state tax?

your response is greatly appreciated

By: Tim Robertson

Tim Robertson — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:53:50 +0000

Wow, that is ridiculous. All those fees should be disclosed to you at the time of purchase. Actually, here in Michigan, it’s the law…

By: Want to bypass iPhone SMS fees for Twitter updates? Get JustUpdate » VentureBeat

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:40:48 +0000

[...] You see, many Twitter users use SMS to send status updates to the service. Depending on how active you are, you could blow through those 200 in a very short amount of time and would then be getting charged $0.20 per message. Those fees can add up quickly. [...]

By: Victor (aka vkstro on twitter)

Victor (aka vkstro on twitter) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:48:13 +0000

Maybe you all saw this, but just in case: http://tinyurl.com/5ky299

By: Urkel

Urkel — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:23:55 +0000

I’m not trying to defend Ryan simply because he’s Ryan. But in general, if a company switches things around on you so often that you need to school yourself on new rates every month then that is simply a bad company that you shouldn’t do business with. And that’s the problem, if you don’t like ATT but you do like the iPhone then you’re screwed.

I’ll be happy if Android turns out even half as good as the iPhone because most likely I’ll be able to pick which carrier I want to torture me.

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:26:02 +0000

At least they’re not charging $2.99/mo for visual voicemail? ;) Since leaving Sling and unlimited handsets behind I’ve blown through my monthly minutes unfortunately - and have been paying those steep overages. However, I’m content with my $20 first gen iPhone data plan which also serves 3G to my Nokia N95. Also thinking of picking up a Blackjack 2 once the WinMo 6.1 update becomes available - much better for making use of my 200 text messages.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:21:43 +0000

I am continually astonished at how AT&T is gouging consumers for the iPhone 3G! I believe this is one factor that will continue to impact further market penetration for this product. The up front costs are lower, but only a limited number of consumers are going to be willing to fork out an average monthly service plan of $85-100. My iPod Touch may lack some of the features found in the iPhone, and my Verizon BlackBerry Curve doesn’t have the sex appeal of the iPhone, but the single most important feature both devices have, is that neither are tied to some outrageous monthly price plan from AT&T.

By: Rob Conway

Rob Conway — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:12:43 +0000

What?!?!?! 20 cents a text up from 5 cents? Just because you have a 3G now? Or is that because AT&T is raising texting rates all around?
If they raised it because of the 3G service, um, huh, well, what does it get there faster? You don’t even finish typing and your lover already sent you a cute little “<3″ in reply!!!
If they are raising all texting rates for ATT maybe it’s cause of gas prices!

By: chrisgrant

chrisgrant — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:05:51 +0000

I bought two for a family plan, one for erin. I was told the $15, 1500 txt message plan would be shared, just like the minutes. I had a $30+ charge on the firs bill because I was misinformed. A quick call to ATT rectified the problem and they promptly credited my account.

… now, that doesn’t address the RIDICULOUS txt price gouging going on here. Seriously, $5 for 200, $15 for 1500 or $20 for unlimited. Nothing for $10? And the $5 plan is 2-1/2 cents per message while the $15 plan is just one cent per message. Blurgh!

By: Victor

Victor — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:35:55 +0000

Precisely why I’m sticking with the Amish of cell networks: US Cellular. What they lack in sophistication they make up for in quality customer service. I spoke to another customer who told me of her teenage daughter’s “unexpected” SMS bill ~$700. She called to explain she thought she had unlimited texting and US Cell nixed the ENTIRE texting fee for that month.

Not like these companies aren’t making money, would a little Zappos-esque ethic kill them?

By: Ryan Block

Ryan Block — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:29:11 +0000

Drnkusv, it’s true, we did mention the upgrade fee on Engadget! Didn’t take it into consideration though — and my real point is these fees weren’t made clear at the time of purchase.

Niall, I didn’t get a pamphlet! Strange, because we both bought from an Apple Store. Certainly something to be said for the effects of inconsistent purchasing experiences.

By: zebtron

zebtron — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:23:54 +0000

Both AT&T and Apple are deliberatelty hiding the actual cost of the 3G iPhone and are emphasizing the new ‘cehper’ hardware price only. The whole deal is just too darn expensive for most people. I’d rather have an iPod touch and my old/cheap RAZR vc3 ;)

By: Brett Schulte

Brett Schulte — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:21:52 +0000

AT&T - unapologetic price gouging. T-Mobile iPhone = bliss.

By: Drnkusv

Drnkusv — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:21:45 +0000

Ryan — seriously? I knew about the $5 SMS package (and the fee per text without it) and the $18 upgrade fee just from reading about it several times on Engadget — not to mention the dozens of other sites that covered and re-covered every minute detail of the iPhone 3G launch and pricing plans. It’s almost impossible to imagine that you — in particular — had not read about it at least a dozen times. I don’t know what these new monthly taxes are — but are they specific to the iPhone 3G or just a tax increase in general?

By: evan

evan — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:21:12 +0000

If you call 611 and whine enough, they’ll usually let you add unlimited texts retroactively. Be sure to mention that the CSR who set up your plan didn’t tell you about the bulk txt plan.

By: Niall Kennedy

Niall Kennedy — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:21:07 +0000

I was handed a pamphlet when selecting my new plan. The pamphlet listed the main plan choices at the top based on minutes and had a line at the bottom for SMS packages. If you chose your plan off a similar pamphlet it’s possible you just overlooked that extra package in the rush of iPhone procurement.