AT&T (Cingular) Reviews

Michaele Weis, Springfield Oregon      

My contract with AT&T wireless was up in December 2004. When I went into the local store I asked if the new Cingular GSM phones would work in Eastern Oregon on the digital and analog system. This was a big concern for me. I have family that lives in that part of the state and do a lot of traveling to see them.The salesman reassured me that the new GSM would work in those areas and in fact it would be better. That was in December. In Feburary I traveled to see my family. It was then that I found out. No, the GSM network does not work in the areas I was assured it would. Even here in the Eugene/Springfield area the quality of the service is below average. I get dropped calls, complaints from the people I talk to that they have a hard time understanding me because the reception is terrible, at times when I try to place an out going call I get a message on my phone tellling me I have no coverage in my area. In the begining I had trouble with the reception, so I took my phone in and did an exchange for the same phone. The customer serivice woman wrote on the reciept that I could not exchange phones again. This was before my 30 day trail was up. I should have known then. To run and not to look back. I was a very happy AT&T wireless customer and I am a very unhappy Cingular customer. Anytime I talk to anyone who might be looking for a new wireless provider I tell them not to go with Cingular. I am trapped in this contact. Besides my line I also have 2 others on my plan. I keep thinking I cannot afford to get out of my contract because of the huge cost. At the same time I cannot afford to have an unreliable network. It has come to the point that when we need to travel. My Cingular gets left at home and we use my husbands Sprint.

Tony, Los Angeles, CA      

2 yrs with Cingular. Great service! Many features and extras. See that many people have issues with Cingular out of California. Here its Great! Love rollover, M2M, phones are easy to change, A+ customer service. Merge with AT&T(the worst ever) was shakey, but have seen great improvement and service keeps getting better. Never a dropped call or fade out. Customer Service above all is most important to me and they are awesome.

Denise, St Louis      

I give Cingular a 4, because yes the 800# people aren't 100% informed. But you all want a class in how to buy wireless service? THis is for all carriers, not just Cingular. Lesson #1. Go to a local store. They should know what phones work best in what areas, they do not just push whatever phone is free. THey ask questions, like how do you plan to use your phone. THey know the local coverage area better than anyone. My sales rep even droveto my house and used her phone to make sure it worked so I didn't waste time and money. My sales rep gave me the whole story, she had a checklist to make sure she didn't forget anything, we both signed it at the end. She gave me a list of important things I need to know typed up in case I forgot, so I didn't waste time driving back to the store (we live in a rural area), she actually showed me how to use the phone, told me if there were ever any questions about a bill to come to her so I didn't have to deal with customer care. The best thing about her is she speaks English!! She's honest and is available when I need her. I will wait 30 minutes in a store to talk to her instead 30 minutes on the phone tot talk to someone who doesn't know my needs. About coverage areas, Cingular has always had a no roaming plan for the GAIT phones, I had it. You were put on the incorrect plan. If you do any traveling, always get a nation plan with no roaming, saves time. If you are in your home area and get roaming charges the carrier will remove them, they know where you were even if your phone picked up someone else's tower. You must ask questions and answer the questions they ask you truthfully. You must be accountable for the choices you made. No one twisted your arm. If they did I think CIngular would let you out. THey have a 30 days return policy. Always talk to someone face to face if possible. Or just call your local store. THey are more apt to help you so you don't bad mouth their employer. And the store I deal with is an agent, and I am treated like a human, not a number. She knows my name and what plan I am on without even looking it up. She knows her stuff. Maybe she can go train all the people you complain about. Call her at 636-271-3200. Tell her Denise sent you. She told me about the referral program, too :)

John, Oklahoma city, ok       

I have been with cingular for about 3 years now. I have had a few problems with them, but not a lot to cancel my service until...one day my service kept on shutting off and lost signal where i always go too. I called cingular and they said it was my phone but it was a new v551 moto. So they sent me around the circle with another rep which was also rude and unexperience saying that i should switch my phone out. well they sent me another phone the problems still persists...which irritates me. That same week i got a bill from cingular with a charge of 150 bucks for the replacment phone i was soo ticked that i wanted to cancel, but they would also charge me another 150 bucks cancelation fee. But u know i was so ticked i just paid the fee and left them. CINGULAR SUCKS!!!

Sally, NC      

I signed up with AT&T and am now thanks to the merge I am now a Cingular customer. First they changed the voicemail phone number and never told me. I often receive voicemails days after they have been left. I wanted to upgrade my phone and was told I had to pay $18 for the privilege of becoming a Cingular customer. I think this fee is flat out wrong and insulting. I called customer service today about a billing problem. The representative was rude and insulting. I was disconnected. I called back to speak with a manager and was disconnected again. I called back a third time and had to wait 15 minutes to speak to a supervisor. She was as unprofessional and unhelpful and the first person I spoke to. When my contract is up I will NEVER EVER use Cingular.

Me, yonkers, NY      

The service I get with this phone is better than any Nextel phone I have ever owned.

Layla R., Louisiana      

I have had Cingular for 8 months, they are a great company. They have the best reception in Louisiana. I have had Verizon, T Mobile and Sprint. There were a few billing mix ups and one occasion I did have to go through several managers to get a credit that I deserved but in the end, I did receive my credit. Cingular overall is a fair company, they offer nights at 7pm and rollover minutes, unlimited nights and weekends and free mobile to mobile. I have over 600 minutes accumulated over 2 months. I give Cingular an 'A' they would have received an 'A+' if I didn't have the one issue. GEAUX CINGULAR!!

Caleb, WV      

Hi, although before they joined with AT&T they may have had bad wireless service reception but now (2005) they have pretty good service in my area. Its not perfect but it works and thats all I need.

Jackie, Virginia      

November 2004, I purchased 2 Motorola's MpX220 phones. I started experiencing problems with my phone. I spent about 3 hours on the phone, trying to reach a CSR & the other being passed from person to person, no one was able to solve my problem about not being able to access the internet. Then we started having problems hearing anything on both phones. I spoke with more people on their customer line, no one knew what they were talking about. I was told the problem was resolved, to my dismay the problems continued. Beginning in May both phones started acting up, they wouldn't charge, they wouldn't turn on. We thought it was the charger, so we purchased a new one. A couple weeks went by & nothing, so I decided to once more call customer service. The person I spoke to was not very pleasant, which seemed to be a constant issue. She proceeded to tell me that Motorola had 'recalled' their phones & that they were replacing them with the Audiovox 5600. I was upset to begin with because the telephone company & the maker of the phones had not bothered to inform me as a customer owning one of these phones,that they had been recalled a while back.Also,the Audiovox 5600 was a less expensive phone than the one I had originally purchased.I explained to her my situation & that I had 2 phones with the same problem & that no one seemed to be able to assist my needs, she assured me that my replacement phone would be sent & I just had to call when I had my mother's phone and get it replaced too.She would not provide me with the retail price or phone style,so I had to call back & speak with another representative & he was shocked that the company waited so long to replace the phone since they had been 'recalled'.I received my phone & called to get my mother's phone replaced because there was no point in continuing a year contract with a phone that didn't funciton.The representative that I spoke to this time was rude & contradicted everything her other two coworkers had just told me,she proceed to tell me to buy my own phone because they wouldn't replace it,& I still had my year warranty.I asked to speak with her supervisor,& he said it would be fine to get it replaced.I returned both pieces & I had so many problems with them even recieveing them,they kept e-mailing me,texting,& calling me that they had not recieved the phones.Again,I spoke to at least 5 different people until that problem was resolved.Then I got my phone bill.It was about $600!I called the phone company & they told me it was because my handset had liquid damage.I found it highly hard to believe.Two phones with the same problem and two seperate representatives told me that this was a nationwide problem.I spoke with 3 more CRS's until I got the supervisor who was extremely rude, she argued with me,told me there was no way to dispute the charge, treated me disrespectufully and hung up on me.I believe I was charged unjustly, I am positive there was no liquid damage.I told her I would send the handset back,it's not worth it.

john, Texas      

Yes Cingular has raised the bar significantly and beat the rest of the competition by far as far as reception, wireless technology, Phones and Internet. they are raising the Internet bar also by getting the top notch technology thanks to GSM called UMTS/HSPDA.
I swear no one can go near Cingular.
whatever I have said here you can go and research yourself they are all facts. Trust me I have had all services