[quote name='UncleBob']Well, I can't speak for this particular situation, but from my own dealings in this area, the OP is at the mercy of Cingular.
Look at it this way - when the cell phone company accidently messes up a customer's phone bill, do you think they ever get any slack for making an honest mistake? I doubt it... When's the last time you heard that someone was overbilled by the Cell Phone company on accident, but the customer just paid the bill in full to be nice?
But every time a customer makes a mistake on their billing, they automatically expect the cell phone company to bend over backwards to bail 'em out. I read a thread on another forum about a guy who ran up $1,000+ in data charges because he *thought* he was using hacked "free" internet service on his cell phone. It turns out he wasn't.
Anywhoo, to say that Cingular has horrible customer service just because they won't give you free money (and because they don't want to listen to you complaining that they won't give you free money) is crazy.
Your best bet is to call their customer service. (if applicable, apologize for foul treatment of previous customer service reps) and see if there's any way to get the bill lowered and meet them half way.
If they can't/won't, then take it like an adult, admit your mistake and pay the bill. Don't yell. scream and/or curse at the CS reps... they aren't the ones who ran the billing up Just thank them for their time, add the data package and go on with your life. Consider this an expensive lesson learned.[/QUOTE]
I don't fully agree with you here. He went to their website with the INTENTION of adding it to both lines. If it isn't obvious that he was adding it to only 1 line, is this really his fault? He isn't saying that big flashing lights blinked tellng him it would be on one line.
If he went to add it to one line, then you'd be right. This isn't a situation where he should have added it to both and didn't, he tried. This is a failing of the website. I think it's reasonably obvious that, he added it to the phones, and then he used more texting. All of a sudden, it's only on one phone.
This is a tough situation. You can say it's on him, but it wasn't. I think Cingular could bend a bit and help him out.
Plus, if Cingular messes up, you usually do fix it, along with other companies. It isn't unusual in Michigan for the water company to come back at you and say you underpaid for 2 years, so here's your adjusted bill, pay it immediately. If companies mess up, they correct their mistakes, in situations where it's highly likely the customer is telling the truth (not the hacked internet), then accomodations should be made (plus, is Cingular really "losing", they would have gladly given him the services they did for the lower price if he added it right. It wouldn't have changed anything on their end).
!! For anybody wondering yes I did talk to a supervisor and she was just as annoying and rude. So does anybody on this site work for cingular , and have any suggestions on what to do??? Or let me guess im just stuck with this bill , and crappy customer service??
