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AT&T Changes Customer Agreements: Can Terminate Your Service If You Holler at Employees

Phillip Dampier March 29, 2011 AT&T, Broadband "Shortage", Broadband Speed, Consumer News, Data Caps 5 Comments

AT&T’s forthcoming changes to their broadband service include more than just an Internet Overcharging scheme.

As the Los Angeles Times reporter David Lazarus discovered, AT&T now reserves the right to terminate your service if you excessively annoy the company’s employees, perhaps while calling to complain about the company’s new 150-250GB usage limits.

Lazarus reports AT&T’s contract now stipulates the company can cancel your service “if you engage in conduct that is threatening, abusive or harassing” to the company’s workers, or for “frequent use of profane or vulgar language” when dealing with service reps.  At least they won’t wallop you with an early termination fee if they pull the plug on you.

But that’s not all.  AT&T also followed Verizon’s lead telling their existing DSL customers once something better arrives from the company, they can stop selling DSL. For AT&T, this means they can switch your standalone DSL service to U-verse with or without your permission, billing you for a potentially more expensive broadband service.

While U-verse delivers a much improved broadband experience over traditional DSL, some budget-minded AT&T customers tough it out with DSL because it often carries a lower price and does not require an expensive bundle of video and phone service to win substantial discounts.  U-verse does.

AT&T spokesman John Britton told the newspaper he couldn’t imagine the company actually doing this to customers, but he acknowledged that this is what the new contract says.  More than a few AT&T customers couldn’t image the nation’s largest phone company would need to cap broadband usage of their customers because of alleged “congestion” problems either.

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Arstal
Arstal
13 years ago

Might be a good way to get out of your contract then.

That said, I know a very good company in software that has a similar policy, so it’s not really a bad policy.

TK
TK
13 years ago

>For AT&T, this means they can switch your standalone DSL service to U-verse with or >without your permission, billing you for a potentially more expensive broadband service. AT&T actually contradicted themselves on this one. In a FAQ linked from my email on the changes of terms of service, they said the following: Will my monthly price go up if I am converted to U-verse? The upgrade to the same speed U-verse Internet package will not cause an increase to the monthly Service price for most users. For some customers in the Southeast, there will be a $.05 monthly increase. We… Read more »

Matt
Matt
13 years ago

AT&T Translate: We are now going to screw you as much as possible (because we have monopolies in almost every market we’re located in) and you the consumer should sit down and shut-up.

When is the insanity going to end with these ISP’s?

Chahk
Chahk
13 years ago

So can I just call in and keep saying “F**K!” until they let me out of my stupid contract?

Smith6612
Smith6612
13 years ago

I don’t see anything wrong with the impolite calls to the phone support resulting in termination. A lot of companies have every right to terminate service if you’re being abusive over the phone, so that’s nothing new. The local Dial-up ISPs when they used to be around had similar policies, and brick and mortar stores have the same policy today (they can eject you from the store and ask you to stay away). AT&T I feel just wants to make that clear by outlying it into the TOS. Honestly if it’s getting to the point where people have to rage… Read more »

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