I just want to share with you all an unbelievably stupid situation I’m in right now. I am, or used to be, an AT&T Wireless customer for cell phone service. When I signed up with them I got this phone. Now, I am moving up to Seattle where my phone doesn’t have any coverage without paying roaming charges. To alleviate this problem I am told by Cingular, the current lord of my cell phone service contract, that I will need a new 2 year contract and I will also need a new phone.
Now you say, sure, different network, different phone needed, right? Wrong. The Sony Ericsson T616 was sold to both AT&T and Cingular wireless customers in identical form. Identical with one exception that is; each company “locked” the phones they sold so that they could only be used with their service. Now that Cingular has bought AT&T Wireless and they’re supposedly one comapny though, they are telling me that I can’t use my T616, which is already roaming on Cingular’s networks all the time because of this whole merger dealie, if I change my plan from an old “AT&T” plan to a new “Cingular” plan.
They want to sell me a new phone that’s equivalent to my current one for about $200. This isn’t funny and I am not happy. I just hate how cell phone companies continue to put people in positions that are completely illogical and unreasonable. I’ve got a phone that works perfectly well and I am a Cingular/AT&T customer of 5+ years at this point. My phone already hops on Cingular’s network all the time. Why on earth are you asking me to shell out another $200 for a new phone to use when I change my service to one that has coverage in Seattle as well? Arrrghhhhh. I refuse to accept this situation. I will be calling them back and hopefully I’ll get one of the nice people who actually realizes how stupid the corporate line’s suggestion is and tries to find you a way around it.
In case that all doesn’t work, please let me know if you or somebody you know is able to “unlock” my stupid T616 so that I can slap a Cingular SIM card in it instead of this AT&T one. Thanks.