The Great AT&T iPhone Bait And Switch

First of all, I am happier than ever that I own a BlackBerry. While I cannot prove Apple’s direct involvement here, clearly AT&T is not interested in my business any longer. And I might note that I am a bigger than most customers for them as I am a BlackBerry enterprise user along with a $200 + phone bill each month. Yeah, it’s would have been worth their time to wake up to what I am about to share.

As you can see here, you are already being gouged for extra data charges out of the box for your new iPhone. And honestly, I was fine with this as it has been clearly explained to me that $30 for the data plan was on the menu. No big deal to me, I was “disclaimered” early on.

Where I found myself giving the company a big “see ya” was at the moment I was told that I was told I would be forking out $399 - NOT $199 as advertised without any clear disclaimers that I have seen. Yeah, I could use it on my family plan with yet another line and a new contract extension because of it, but why? The madness needs to stop.

As I spoke with the AT&T rep today, I asked if they had been threatened with any bait and switch lawsuits yet being I have not found one instance of any disclaimer regarding existing customers in commercials or advertisements? He responded by saying that they are receiving a lot of calls to this effect, every day. He would not however, provide me with any numbers.

Due to the fact that my only reason for sticking with AT&T was due to its roll over minutes, which has saved me a LOT of overage costs, I find myself rethinking the value of sticking with the company despite the previous advantage.

So, should I go to an Apple Store and try there? I could and might even find that they will honor the price being listed everywhere from TV to the Internet. But there comes a time when people must put aside the gadget lust and send a clear message to those who are clearly, living on another planet with regard to pricing disclosure. AT&T and Apple both, can keep their product. And AT&T will be hearing more from me on this as I am considering exiting my contract asap over this. Just because it is deemed “legal”, does not mean that it is right. When it comes to protesting behavior like this,  I do my voting with my wallet. I would encourage you to do the same.