 MattAll noise, no signal.Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
kudos:12 | reply to battleop
Re: Bull $hit said by battleop:They can do that if they want to. If you do not like their roaming rates you can always choose another carrier. This attitude is what is wrong with the state of capitalism in our country right now. I'm not attacking you personally, just what you said is often repeated by proponents of big business.
However, there becomes a point when you have significantly eliminated enough competition that no, they can't do that if they want to. I'm not saying the guy doesn't owe the money, but the Big 3 should have mechanisms in place to avoid this. This is 2009 and they state they can't monitor data usage in real time? Hell, AT&T's website can't even give me up-to-the-minute usage, it's a day or two behind.
If my ATM card can update my bank account after I use it and before I get back home, AT&T can make it so there are protections in place for this sort of thing.
Why don't they? Because that would mean people like me would cap usage (data and voice) to prevent overages. When an overage of 100 minutes costs $50, you have a lucrative side business going on. It's in your best interest not to allow consumers to avoid such charges.
And the oft repeated mantra of "you can go somewhere else" is not true. There is only the illusion of choice. All carriers have basically the same pricing model with the same draconian contracts, ETFs and overages. I challenge you to find a single carrier he could have used that wouldn't have popped him with these overages? (And pre-pay doesn't count. We're adults, we don't have time to refill a pre-paid card.) |
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| I think that what all of the carriers are doing is highway robbery. It's not right, they should put some pressure on the network he was roaming on to help get it taken care of. What annoys me and lead to my statement is that people think that they HAVE to do something about it just because they are a big company. |
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MattAll noise, no signal.Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
kudos:12 | said by battleop:What annoys me and lead to my statement is that people think that they HAVE to do something about it just because they are a big company. I do think they should have to. $17,000 could very easily bankrupt someone or destroy their credit for the rest of their life if they decided not to pay.
AT&T should have reasonable measures in place to allow users to protect themselves from this type of scenario that aren't black and white, no data or data, no international or international. Either that or provide a one-time "we'll eat it" incentive. |
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 PolarBear03The bear formerly known as aaron8301Premium
join:2005-01-03 | said by Matt:said by battleop:What annoys me and lead to my statement is that people think that they HAVE to do something about it just because they are a big company. I do think they should have to. $17,000 could very easily bankrupt someone or destroy their credit for the rest of their life if they decided not to pay. For most, it's not even a decision to not pay, it's a necessity. Personally, I don't know a single person who has $17,000 laying around that they can blow on a phone/data bill. A few of my friends even travel to Mexico frequently and still don't have that kind of loose cash. |
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 jsz0Premium
join:2008-01-23
Jewett City, CT | reply to Matt
said by Matt:said by battleop:They can do that if they want to. If you do not like their roaming rates you can always choose another carrier. This attitude is what is wrong with the state of capitalism in our country right now. I'm not attacking you personally, just what you said is often repeated by proponents of big business. I disagree. I think that it shows, in reality, the vast overwhelming majority of customers aren't effected and don't care or they certainly would switch to other carriers or simply stop using any data service. Once they start caring and vote with their dollars the companies will respond and change their ways. Some people get angry at these companies but I get angry at the apathetic and ignorant consumers who allow it. If given the chance free market capitalism will run wild. That's a fact. If consumers cannot be bothered to read a contract and say "Oh... No thanks." and walk away then they are a huge part of the problem. |
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