No luck for me, tried twice and was told to take it back and buy it elsewhere. I have been with them since they bought out Cingular and my average bill is around $190 per month.

 

As much as it is a great deal through AT&T.....those who went through with LetsTalk or Wirefly, when you sign a 2-year agreement, you actually sign one with them to. They have there on ETF....so be careful and ready the fine print. I actually had my cousin who works for Verizon show me. I'm glad I didn't do it, although I'm leaving VZW anyways. She saved me an extra $300....

 

can someone help me?
a couple weeks ago, i bought my captivate for about $250 and renewed my plan... After seeing this topic and becoming aware of a better offer at wirefly, i am now a bit distressed that i wasted a ton of my money. Tomorrow i'll call AT&T and see if i can get credit for it. Apparently though, there is a big chance that i'll fail and that they'll inform me that i should return my phone to where i purchased it from and that i should get the better offer. I don't mind taking this offer. Can I still buy the phone from wirefly or letstalk at the renewal price or am I unable to anymore?
Once i renewed my plan, did that mean i couldn't get the renewal discount on a new phone even if i had returned the phone that i originally got the discount on?
sorry if this is a bit confusing xD

 

Just went and got my 100 dollar credit for mine. I paid 150 initially and had them price match amazon.com's price ($50).

Just go in there and know that your going to get your money either way, either by them crediting your account and matching others prices (the easy way), or by returning your phone and then buying it again from somewhere else.

If theyre smart theyll price match to keep the sale, but if you have to go somewhere else then so be it! and even if your too lazy to return and re-purchase, at least seem convincing enough that you will actually do it if they cant do something as simple as a match a competitors price.

 

Remember, it can take up to 72 hours for a full refund, in order for your line to show up in their computers that your eligeable for an upgrade. So if you return your phone, and the same day walk into Best Buy and purchase it for 99.99, you won't be able too, because to get it at that price is for an upgrade and 2-year contract. So be mindful about this, if you do plan on returning your phone, in order to re-purchase it at a lower cost from someplace else.

Also, someone else mentioned early in this thread, to make sure you read the fine print via Wirefly.com or any independent wireless retailer. Sometimes you will pay even more for the phone in the long run, with hidden fees and such. So is it REALLY worth all the hassle? Think about it - be smart with your money.

Lastly, and I've said this many times already, but it doesn't seem like most people bother going back through the thread to read what others have been saying....AT&T does NOT have to do any "price matching"! They are not a Best Buy! So do not get all bumbed out if you encounter a rep or manager and they say no. If you do succeed in getting a nice rep/manager to hook you up (because that is exactly what it is, a hook up) then pat yourself on the back and consider it a blessing.

 

Well I am so glad you all are getting the $$ back, it sure does make the Captivate one real good deal! Since I only paid $49.99 with free activation, Free shipping (Which turned out to be overnight service) free bluetooth headset and 50% off on a case, I am not one to complain. Plus my phone has yet to show and problems. Everything is working just like it did out of the box to include the GPS. I really think the GPS is a hit and miss deal, but will be glad it is fixed just so I don't ever have to worry about it.

ICEMAN4397.. You stated you got the phone for FREE from Wirefly.com. Can you tell me when that happened? I watch that site every day and the price has not dropped below what I paid at $49.99 as far as I can tell. If you can provide me that info, I will be able to get mine for free from them.. Appreciate the assist!

Gunny

 

Tried 4 times, got shot down 4 times. They said no one else has called and received a credit, and that's something they just don't do, they won't match 3rd party retailers.

I'm going to be taking mine back to the store. If they won't give the credit, they'll be keeping them. We bought 2 of these, so that's $300. I've been an AT&T customer for over 15 years, maybe it's time to move elsewhere.

 

Your going to return your phones if you don't get a credit? Any other reason besides just that? Also, if you return your phones to only re-purchase them from some independent retailer, you will still be an AT&T customer.

 

After reading all of these posts I decided to give it a try. I got a $25 courtesy credit, and that's the best they would do. I didn't feel like I had much leverage since my 30 days is up. $25 is better than nothing

Good luck to everyone else who tries this.

 

Nice was wondering if anyone else had luck after their 30 days were up?

 

I got a $155 credit for basically threatening to leave AT&T. I told them that my bill is around $300 every month, I've been a valued customer for several years, I am on my 2nd Captivate (due to major hardware issues with the first), I have 4 upgrades in the next 3 months, and have 7 total lines with AT&T. I told them if they wanted me to stick with them for the next 2 years, they had better refund my money.

The man was very understanding. He said AT&T doesn't "match" prices or give "hardware credit", instead they give "courtesy credit" for being a valued customer.

Long story short, my Captivate was free and I am riding an AT&T high.

Excellent customer support.

 

I got $100, but this was a couple weeks ago. Amazon had put the phone on sale for $99, a week after I had paid $199. I called, they gave me the run around, I said I was returning it, and then after putting me on hold etc. they finally credited my account.

 

Got $75 after two calls... Didn't feel like arguing anymore so just settled. Thanks for the thread!

 

I can't help but ask why some of you are doing this? I'm all about getting a few extra bucks... but really?


Now AT&T's going to raise our rates even further because of all the freeloaders requesting "price matching" and threatening to take back a phone if they don't get 3/4 of the price they paid a month ago.

 

Its a tough economy that we are living in. Every bit counts.

 

$155 is a good bit of money. Its called PRICE MATCHING. Most big vendors do it. It shows the customer that AT&T really does value your service.

 

You really don't think your entitled to the price difference when other vendors are selling it for less than half the cost? I know AT&T does not have to do price matching, but why not pick up a phone and call asking for a credit? I mean come on, really....how hard is picking up a phone and dialing 611 - 0 - and talking to customer service. Oh, and AT&T will never raise their rates because of customers asking for a credit.

 

I'm sorry but are most of you new customers with AT&T? I bought mine at Walmart a few weeks ago for $148.88 with a contact extension. I have been checking online for the best deals, and currently the best one for contract extensions is at Wirefly for $79.99. Does that mean if I call AT&T (or walmart) and try to reason/argue with them I can get ~$70 credit back? I originally told myself I wouldn't even try this unless I would get $100 or more back. Well my situation has changed and I would be happy with any money I can get. So should I try it?
P.S. I'm not that great of a bargainer like many of you may be lol.

 

If Walmart does Price Matching, then you just need to go back to the store, show them a print out from one of the their competitors, and Walmart will give you the difference, not AT&T.

 

FYI.. The Captivate is now on sale at Wirefly.com for $9.99 with Free activation and shipping!

 

Be careful folks, from buying from Wirefly. If you've had good experiences, that's great. *Knock on wood*. A simple google search for reviews on Wirelfy shows a whole different world. Two things that stood out to me most, and concerned me the most were...

- Wirefly (and other indirect dealers such as amazon.com) has its own, separate, early termination fee. This means that if you cancel service before your contract is up, you'll wind up owing not just AT&T's fee but also one to wirefly.

-If you buy the phone from the cell phone provider directly, they can usually handle any warranty issues. However, if you buy from wirefly and there is a problem, it will likely be up to you to sort it out with wirefly.

You know the saying, "You get what you pay for?", that is why I have always only purchased from AT&T or Verizon (when I used to use them). To sum things up, just be CAREFUL and WISE...

 

Dude, five minutes of my time got me my full purchase price of the phone ($100) plus $90. Do you make $2280 an hour? If not, I would submit that it's a worthwhile endeavor.

ATT was willing to give this to me as the money was worth less to them than my business. They got something. I got something. What's the problem? I really was ready to jump ship to Verizon for a couple of reasons; not the least of which being the Droid X's apparent full functionality right out of the box. The fact that they essentially paid me to keep the phone was enough to keep me from doing so. They bought me back - at a good price, I might add.

 

I have been an ATT customer for some time and purchased my captivate with 2-year contract renewal. It really didn't take much cajoling to get a rebate (and then some). I politely explained the situation to the sales rep, made some small talk and she came back with a number. Took about five minutes. Seriously, you have nothing to lose, so why not give it a shot? The girl with whom I spoke didn't even work directly for ATT. It was some call center in Indiana. It's not like the person on the other end of the line is going to hate you forever or even remember your call five minutes after.

 

Sarcasm meter... broken!

 

See above, dude.