I just found out the cell phone companies are charging a fee for the privilege of purchasing one of their phones. It’s called an upgrade fee or in sprints version an activation fee. Does anyone else feel insulted by being asked to pay a fee to purchase a phone? When did they come to feel so special that they could charge a fee for the privilege of purchasing one of their phones?:dubious:
No, oddly enough I don’t feel insulted that, when I buy something, I have to pay for it.
What is an issue, and what may well be happening here, is that the carriers are advertising at one price, and actually charging more through mandatory fees. Still not insulting, but certainly unethical.
“I’ve noticed a thinly veiled privelidge of doing business with you fee in the contract. I’m sure you can waive that to make the sale, right? No? Good day.”
No outrage needed.
You could own the phone without using their service. If it is an activation fee then it’s charged to everybody that wants a phone activated by Sprint. It’s no different then other frivolous charges like other companies charge like auto dealers and their “delivery charge”. It’s bullshit but you could always spend hours on the phone complaining and maybe get it refunded. Did they tell you about it when you signed up or just include it on your first bill? If it’s within 30 days I believe you can always return it and cancel the service with no charges. Then find another company to deal with.
No waiving the fee. I asked. If you want to buy a phone, you pay a fee for the privilege of paying them for a phone. Verizon charges $30 for the privilege of upgrading your phone. AT&T charges $36 for that privilege. Sprint calls it an activation fee but it’s the same thing.
Try talking to an authorized reseller instead of a company store. They seem to be more amenable to making deals. Don’t be surprised if the deal involves taking $X off the price of the phone and still paying the $X activation fee. If that still outrages you, then I think you’re stuck.
Even if you show up with a phone and just want service, you’re going to get hit with similar fees. GSM carriers (AT&T and T*Mobile) need to sell you a SIM. Even Verizon (CDMA) needs a SIM if you have a LTE smartphone. And there’s still an activation fee (if not bundled into the SIM price).
What I find interesting is the huge uproar over Spirit Airlines’ $2 “Unintended Consequences Fee”, yet cellular carriers (and other services) charge you a “Regulatory Compliance Fee” or similar, which is basically a surcharge where you’re paying them to not break the law. :smack:
AT&T has fees? I’ve always upgraded by buying a new phone and inserting the new SIM, with no extra fees ever charged. Perhaps the fees are related to buying subsidized phones before the contract period is over? If that’s the case, it seems like a reasonable cost-recovery effort to me.
I was recently forced to buy a new AT&T cell phone because they were upgrading their network. I called the customer service number and protested that I didn’t even want the dam thing at all and resented having to pay an activation fee and was seriously considering going to another carrier after having had AT&T for many years. The fee was waived. The people at the local store told me they were powerless to do anything about it but that CS might.
Usually the store manager has a limited number of exceptions he can make and either he’d already used them up, or he didn’t care to use one of them for you.