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yuk, yuk, yuk ... a truly inspired posting. But you could substitute "Verizon" for "Cingular," and hear the same kind of comments here in New York City. I think it's very much a localized phenomenon, which suggests that there might actually be a competent cell-phone provider in your Boston environs... I'm reasonably happy with T-Mobile here in NYC, though its primary virtue is the international coverage it supports when I'm traveling in Europe.

As for using your cell-phone as a modem: why not consider an EVDO broadband modem? I've got one from Verizon, which does cost a fairly steep 80 bucks a month. But it's great, and it completely eliminates the need to cough up ten bucks a night for Internet connections in hotel rooms, or six bucks an hour for wireless Internet connections in airports.

Ed

My complaint is that they actively thwart my ability to utilize the cool technologies built into my phone. They want to monetize every single button I push and if they can't figure out how to do that, they shut the feature down. Jerks.

It's a sick and twisted industry with no concern for the customer - only the protection and bottom line of the company. The contracts are designed to keep customers stuck there for at least a few years. The customer support is a scripted piece of crap. And not a single company has stepped up to say, "You know what? This is wrong! We must change because in the day of user-generated marketing, we could get screwed. Look at the SUV market."

But what would be better is if the leaders of these companies changed direction because they actually cared about us.

I'm with Nextel which merged with Sprint and I HATE THEM. THEY F!@#ING SUCK.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest :)

I have actually switched from T-Mobile to Cingular - picking up an 8125 as a new phone and I must say that the number of times I am dropping calls has significantly decreased.
I am based in Silicon Valley, which is notorious for its cellular coverage dead spots.

Oh man, that's funny. I was thinking that our age might eventually be known as (no, it's not the Renaissance, it's not the Age of Enlightenment, it's...) the Age of Misleading Statements Half-Heartedly Clarified Under the Cover of Fine Print That No One Reads.

(OK, I know: it needs some work. But, I think it's widely applicable ;-)

While this doesn't match every mobile user's needs, I have a Virgin Mobile pay-as-you-go plan, and actually like it a lot. I pay about $4-7/month for phone and SMS.

The only restriction is that you can't use your mobile a lot--matches my needs since I am at my desk / computer so much.

It could be worse. We switched to Cingular from Verizon partially because of their deceptions and lousy service.

And in leaving Verizon tried to charge the early termination penalties despite the fact that our contract had ended. They finally fixed the problem and returned the money three months later. I guess they had problems hearing me now! :-)

Consumer Reports routinely reports customer satisfaction ratings for cellular providers, and they're all within a few points of each other. The last time I looked, cingular was best with a satisfaction rating of 57% (i.e., abysmal), but the worst provider had a satisfaction rating of like 53%.

They all suck, in virtually equal amounts

t

A counter-theory: your phone sucks. I'm an involuntary Cingular user - a casualty of the AT&T Wireless merger - and I don't actively hate them.
(I had basically zero choice in cellular providers, as I live in a poorly covered area and must carry a GSM phone given how often I'm overseas.)

I get pretty good coverage at home, which is (heh) significantly more isolated than yours, and can consistently make international calls while driving along the Mass Pike, often talking for an hour without dropping a call. Yeah, I lose calls driving on western Route 2, but I can't hear anyway over the Deliverance-style banjo music that starts up whenever I pull into Franklin County.

The quality of phone makes an enormous difference in whether you love or hate your cell provider. Yes, Cingular deserves some blame for selling you a crappy phone. But you might like them if you had a phone that worked with the network.

(Nokia 6820, thanks for asking. Under $200 new, unlocked, without any cell company discounts.)

Ethan, I have a Motorola V220, quad-band GSM phone. It's supposed to be good. And the other two family phones on Cingular have similar problems.

Conclusion: It's not the technology. It's the karma.

(Can you hear me? Is this thing still on? Hello?)

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I've been answering calls about cell phones for the last week and feel the need to vent a little.
The postings here seem tame enough, but for the few misguided cell-phone-users that I've encountered in the last week: 1. a cell phone doesn't HAVE a dialtone. 2. if you expose your phone to liquid, it doesn't matter if it's a month old, you have voided the manufacturer's warranty and there's nothing (NOTHING) your network provider can do to help you. 3. just because you bought your phone at a Verizon or Sprint store it doesn't mean that Verizon or Sprint are to blame if the equipment malfunctions. The problem is with the manufacturer--Nokia, LG, Motorola. Sprint and Verizon do networking, they do not make the phones. 4. If you experience dropped calls, you may want to try a different brand of equipment. Some phones simply do not work well in certain areas or with certain types of networks (TDMA, GSM, CDMA). Please try another phone before you cancel your service with your current network provider. Most providers will work with you on this, after all, they want you using your phone--that's how they produce revenue.
Thanks for reading. I feel much better now. PeaceOUT

Jan,
You hold out hope.
I am ready to scream at Sprint daily now, just to get out of my contract. the service literally gets worse by the week. I've had it 15 months or so.
Now i often cannot even make calls in my apartment, never a problem before.
They tell me my phone, bought last october cannot be updated or upgraded with software, uh, but 'A new phone might work better"
What the ****? yeah the $180.00 phone might work better.

I'm thinking cincular with a razor-phone ($65 after rebate).

What can I say to Sprint???
Alll I can say in their favor was that they operated a good landline service and dealt with complaints forthwith.

I have a sister in kansas who's coproration os building a new building, with a contractor that worked on Sprints headq's there.
When finished, the CEO's wife said she (that's right-Wife) she didn't like this and that color and that wood and that stain, and the place underwent 30,000,000.00 yess million worth of re-novation aftre being finished.
that's a load of hardward!

Dave

i absoulty love cingular, i think it is great, i get a bunch of service everywhere,
i just love it :)

Interestingly enough, after the hurricane (Wilma) hit Florida, Verizon was the ONLY cell phone that still worked.
Cingular also lies about their data service. I travel a lot and require internet access. I already had Cingular, so I went with their data service. It took two weeks for their Tech Support (and I use the term loosly) to get the service working initially.

Then when next I was in FL, Broward CTY, no data service. I was told that "their" equipment was working fine and I needed an upgrade which was backordered but as soon as they got somemore they would send a replacement.

A month later (now in Pennsylvania) I'm told that they have no method of "updating" my data card but would send me a replacement. They did. It didn't work any better than the first one.

Now in Washington State, data throughput is a whopping 2 k/bps. Even my email won't work at that speed. But they tell me this area is scheduled for an upgrade in June! I won't be here but.....

Stay away from Cingular. They can't provide service but they still expect you to pay for what you're not getting!

I found it funny that RIGHT AFTER I dropped Cingular as my cell phone carier for dropping to many calls, those 'Least dropped calls' ads started coming out. I honestly thought that the ads were done just for me, to get me to come back.

Cingular plainly SUCKS!!!
Since they bought AT&T I have had nothing but trouble.......Thankfully I am now done with my contract. I have moved on. Why is it that when one company buys another we are forced to stay with said company. Our POLITICIANS also SUCK!!!

I've heard several complaints about Verizon and Cingular from friends. I recommend USCellular.

I have been a USCellular user for about 3 years now and I can assure you that it's an ideal service as far as coverage, signal strength, and customer support goes. I live in Iowa, where I often drive to remote areas and I feel secure that my phone will always have at least 3 bars. The most basic plans offer unlimited "Call me" minutes, call waiting, voicemail, free nights starting at 7pm--- great because I do most of my calling at night. I have even cancelled my landline and now use my mobile as my primary phone. Forget Verizon and Cingular. Time to move on!! Good luck all!

All the cell phone companies suck. Every day, formerly sane individuals are being driven to the edge by hidden charges, material changes in initial terms and conditions and a general "Sorry, that's the rule...Bite it!" attitude from the alleged "customer service" reps.

I'm a very calm, zen person and I've only yelled like 5 times in the past 3 yrs...ALL 5 TIMES it's been some hack at Cingular! But they understand my rage. They react calmly and impartially like psychotherapists.

But it isn't just Cingular. People with all the carriers have the same experience.

The grass is never greener. If there is anything at all you especially like about your carrier, stick with it. PLEASE don't pay hundreds of dollars in early termination fees just to go to another carrier with an entirely new set of problems. That's just buying into their twisted system.

They are all the same. One day, they're all going to merge and there won't be anything left to decide.

I will always have problems with dropped calls, defective hardware and exorbitant charges. The only way to be truly free from the enormous suffering of owning a cell phone is to toss it into the sea...

But I could never do that, because this Razr is just so sliiick!

Cingular is the worse carrier out there. I could not get service in my house and I live in the middle of Phoenix,AZ. I complained and was told to get a better phone. I did that and still no luck. I complained again but of course it was after 30 days of being on the plan so all I could do was get a better phone and upgrade my contract to 2 yrs. Still no service in the house and tons of dropped calls. I cancelled my service and they sent my account to a collection agency after only 30 days from cancelling. I was with AT&T for 4 years until they switched to Cingular. There is no way that they should be able to advertise their exceptional service. THEY SUCK!!!!!

Well my company finally sent me a beautiful set of cans connected with a 30 mile length of twine.
granted it works only in open areas, and seems to lose strength after 15 or so feet, but, they did make an effort to improve on what I pay for.

I've tried Sprint, Verizon and cingular in Iowa. Cingular is by far the worst service I've had. Dropped calls up the wahzoo. I get about one bar most of the time. I was lied to by the people that sold my wife and I the phone. We were put on different plans than we signed up for. Stay away from Cingular.

ALL CELL PHONE COMPANIES ARE THE SAME. I HATE VERIZON THE MOST! VERIZON IS NOTORIOUS FOR TELLING PEOPLE THEY ARE IN CONTRACT, WHEN IN FACT, THEY ARE NOT!!!! THIS IS WHY THEY ARE FORCING PEOPLE INTO SIGNING 2 YEAR CONTRACTS. T-mobile is the only phone I have been somewhat happy with. AT&T was better, then they merged with Cingular and I hear they suck! I think we should all not have cell phones anymore because of the rage it causes people, then they companies may offer better service to their customers, and they may respect their customers more. As it stands now, ALL THESE COMPANIES ARE HORRIBLE!!!

I have Cingular, mostly for the roll-over minutes. I used to have quite a few dropped calls as I travel around the Las Vegas valley at work (courier), but service has definitely improved over the last several years (now I almost never get cut off), but definitely could be much better. My horror story was not being able to get bars as soon as I drove into my apartment complex. Customer service said "new phone", which I did.. no good (duh). Then I told them that if I moved to the center of my place and found a completely dead area that after 30 seconds it would switch to an AT&T tower and I would get full bars. After that got through to them, they admitted they hadn't connected all the towers to operate as a single unit and service *might* improve once they did. Time Frame: who knows? Things had been going good, but recently I have been getting bad reception again, but now no more AT&T tower to switch to!?! Arghh!!

I like your rant! The best part about it is that it's true. If you think the service is bad, go ahead and read about my recent and ongoing battle for dignity with Cingular. I'm thinking about self-immolation on top of one of those billboards as a means of protest...

-S

No, I don't think anyone likes their cell provider. Terrible problem trying to upgrade my phone today at Sprint: http://www.johnsjottings.com/archives/2006/09/09/how_to_upgrade_your_sprint_pcs_phone_in_nine_easy_steps.html

It's interesting to see how many people hate their cell phone service. I get this impression from most people I know, too. Sorry, if I ramble in this message, but I too have been more than frustrated by cellular service.

From my personal experience, Sprint is the absolute worst. Everytime I would call customer service, all I got was attitude. It seems like I would get yelled at for simply wanting to change my calling plan. To make things worse, they messed up the billing when I discontinued service with them. I have always been excellent about paying my bills, but refuse to pay for something that they couldn't even send me a bill for.

I then had AT&T, which was actually pretty good. Then they merged with Cingular and I didn't really have any problems until I moved overseas. I called to ask them if they could suspend my account for vacation reasons, which AT&T used to offer (I know because I used to work for their Customer Service). Unfortunately, they did not offer this anymore. Unwilling to pay $2/min everytime I would speak to someone for the next 5 months, I kindly asked if they could unlock my phone. I had been out of contract for two years, so you would think that they would value that and kindly do it for me. However, they lied to me and said they couldn't do this. I know for a fact that they can. When I returned to the USA, I went to the Cingular store and was sad that besides the long wait, I was treated rudely.

So now, I have T-Mobile. They are okay, but I do think my calls are dropped more often than before. But to me, this is a small price to pay for a company that gives me respectful service when I call and actually unlocked my cell phone.

Hope this helps anyone who is interested. If not, thanks for giving me the opportunity to vent. ;)

I go to the University of Florida, which does happen to be in the middle of nowhere, but Cingular claims that they "bleed orange and blue, too." What a terrible falacy. Not only do I constantly have absolutely ZERO bars, when I do try and attempt to make a phone call, my phone says "Network busy" or "No network coverage." Its not only me, every student I know that goes here and has Cingular says that they can't receive or make calls. And how ironic that Cingulars claim to fame is "Fewest Dropped Calls." I have more dropped calls in one day than all my friends have with T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, etc, combined in ONE YEAR! Cingular is GARBAGE!!! NEVER SIGN A CONTRACT WITH THEM!

Over the years I have used AT&T, Verizon, Cingular, VoiceStream, T-Mobile, NexTel, Sprint, Boost, TracFone, and now Net10 for mobile service.

And yes, they ALL sucked, for one reason or another...

AT&T & VoiceStream got bought out; T-Mobile & Verizon tried to illegally charge me exorbitant cancellation fees which were NOT applicable according to my contracts (in fact, I had to sue Verizon after 2 years of continuously and illegally filing false bad credit reports against me for refusing to pay their cancellation fees when I was not under contract); NextTel, Boost, Cingular & Sprint could not deliver useable signal strength; and TracFone charges WAAAAAY to much for prepaid minutes.

The ONLY provider I have ANY level of satisfaction with is Net10. The phone is a total piece of crap "disposable" Motorola overpriced ($90) flip-phone - but it has held up for over a year, I never pay more than $.10/min (which for prepaid is the best price I have found), and the account is 100% anonymous - so they have absolutely NONE of my personal information to sell to the marketing companies. Signal strength is somewhat better than most of my previous carriers - although there are of course some "dead zones".

So, as much as ALL the providers absolutely suck, we all tend to settle for what works "best" for each of us.

Just do yourselves a favor and ignore all of the false claims from all of the carriers in their advertising... there is no such thing as a mobile service provider that does not bold-faced lie about the quality and reliability (and sometimes the cost!) of their service. If you cannot accept this limitation, stick to landline phones and save yourself a load of aggrivation.

I am currently still on the AT&T network and since the merger with Cingular, I have had an increasing number of problems with dropped calls, delayed voicemails and missed text messages. I recently spoke to an AT&T rep and told her about my problems with Cingular. She gave me her email and told me to send her in writing my situation. That way she would have something to show her supervisors. I encourage you, if you are/were a former AT&T Wireless customer to send her an email and describe your situation. Remember they can't do anything is they don't know about the problem.

The contact is:
Tina Simms
tina.simms@att.com

I've been a T-mobile customer for 3 years now and they decided to suspend my service due to "abnormal usage of minutes" of my UNLIMITED MOBILE TO MOBILE service. Everyone please be aware that"UNLIMITED mobile to mobile" is A LIE. They will suspend your plan when you use too much minutes on your supposedly unlimited service. After they suspend your plan, they can only offer you "special plans" but you can NEVER
get any kind of "unlimited" services with them ever again because they will NOT offer it to you.

I'm now thinking of moving to Verizon because they claim to have "Unlimited IN calling". I hope Verizon doesn't limit this unlimited plan. ANybody ever heard of a limit on unlimited minutes?

Sprint is absolutely criminal. We should band together and organize a lawsuit. Really. We must fight.

I have T Mobile and have never had any problems--great phones (blackberry 8100g and the new really really thin and small Samsung with the music player and expansion card), and customer service is as good as you're going to get. When my girlfriend was with Sprint, however, every horror story posted here (baldfaced lying, illegally overcharging me, plain disrespect, insane hold times, basically illiterate CSRs dying to charge me a 200$ ETF, incredible violation of their own goddamn Terms and Conditions) happened to us. Screw Sprint. They are incredibly evil. We should get together and sue.

And short sell their stock as well. (which took a 2% hit today because of 'operational problems' and a 'high churn rate' and 'customer retention problems.' GO FIGURE. Incredible.

I want to discontinue a Cingular contract I have
that is still in the initial 30-day period.

Can anyone tell me how to do this? I'm looking
for an address to send a snail mail letter most
of all, and then as the second priority I would
also use a customer service number if there is one
that is dedicated to that purpose.

Thanks

I am a Verizon employee and I will tell you first hand, the company sucks. The corporate executives make absurd amounts of cash while workers struggle to keep pace with the rising cost of living. Promotions are granted only if you have a "hook" who can pull up the ranks (I have 7 years field experience and they paid $45,000 for my M.B.A and never promoted me). I have had managers who were alcoholics, convicted drug traffikers, old secretaries with no experience in my end of the company who don't know how to splice a wire if their life depended on it, depressed and suicidal, unexperienced college grads, or have sued the company into promotion (sexual harassment in the workplace). Bear in mind, these first level jobs start at around $80,000 with a bonus in December. Foremen (first level management) comes out in the field on a daily basis to intimidate unionized employees with petty suspensions (having untied work boots for example). Corporate greed in its ugliest form, CEO Ivan Seidenberg is loathed by employees and must walk around with armed bodyguards. I do not use Verizon in my house or as a cell provider. I encourage all who I know to use the cable company and other cell phone providers. I refuse to give a nickel to a greedy corporation who tramples on it's employees. Verizon improvised an illegal lay off in December of 2002, while the CEO granted himself a $13 million dollar Christmas bonus. Seidenberg should have been handcuffed while spending the holidays behind bars wearing an orange jumpsuit. Union protection is an absolute must when dealing with this unreasonable corporation. Your thoughts and questions are welcome.

I am an employee for wireless organization, I am employed with Sprint Nextel and we the most superior products and services in the nation. I feel we have allowed individuals with poor credit or folks that expectations that exceed reality to come aboard as a customer, I deal with people crying about "I hate Sprint!", I hate Nextel, and so on, when your bill is passed due and you constantly call in for credits, its just obsurd. Stop all the damn whining, you have a choice, get a company that will allow you pay your invoice whenever, or go over minutes without any additional fee and surcharges, better yet just lets you do what the hell you want to do!!!! I am so sick of people not paying their bills and blaming there problems on the company. People get it together and grow up!!!! Find a service provider that wont make you sign a contract and will provide unlimited minutes on a month to month basis, its call Metro pcs (prepaid America)lol, and when you are ready to stop complaining get a real wireless company, call Sprint Nextel.. Signed, Tired of America Complaining when you dont handle your business.

I have Sprint, and they irritate the heck out of me cause they have so many dropped calls. BUT, guess what I found! If you are a Sprint customer, you can get dropped call credits...basically for every dropped call you receive, you can get 50 cents back, for up to $10. The steps to do this are at this website I came across:

http://ramblingnews.blogspot.com/2006/11/how-to-get-credit-for-those-dropped.html

I did it and it works! Try it out if you have Sprint. At least you can get money back. =)

I received a bill from Cingular that was grossly over stated, it was 5 times plus my standard usage cost. They rebilled me for the previous month (october '06) and subsequently caused every day's phone usage to incur a cost outside of the standard allotted minutes. I called up to remedy this ill and an agent gave me some retarded opinion as to the course of action I should take to remedying the problem that they created. After simply reiterating what she had told me, for clarification, she said that I was making her life/job/situation more difficult than it was aready. What a harsh and inappropriate response from a represntative. She needs to leave her unkind and verbal belittling at home. Though she is not Cingular she reflects their training and culture. This company is inconsistent and void of customer sensitivity. The other issue is that of the whole migration from AT&T to Cingular. If I switch I will be incurring a $10/mth additional charge because Cingular does not have a plan that reflects the one I had with AT&T,and am currently using. Why should a customer pay for Cingular's lack of foresight. I appreciate that companies are in business to relize profits but I wasn't aware that they were also in business to SHAFT CUSTOMERS and behave UNETHICALLY! I am so not renewing my contract with these theives!

I work for a national cell company, and I am glad I deal with Government accounts in my position, and not the whiny consumers! News flash: You can't get something for nothing! Amazing concept!

I've renewed my contract again (CINGULAR) and talked to a different Rep. After showing her my military ID for Visa purposes. She said I should be getting 10% off my total bills because of being in the military. I asked her since when? She said for a long time. ALso told her it was never offered to me before. She said to contact the customer service and get a refund. Called the customer service and talked to La Ronda Brown and told her about the situation. She said that it's the Reps. fault for not telling me the discount and it's the responsibility of the UNITED STATES OF ARMY or any branch of military to inform us about the monthly discount. I told her that that was the last thing in their mind because of the IRAQ. I then talked to the supervisor named TIARA ROBINETTE. She also said the same thing and that conversation happened on Ocober 18,06. I went back to the mall to check on my daughter txt message and was listening to the conversation with another customer. The Rep. (Her name is Helen)that renewed my contract was very helpful. I overhead her offering insurance to the customer. Iasked why she did'nt offer me one when I renewed the 2 yr-contract? She said it started on Dec.1, 2006. And my contract was renewed on 10/17/2006. She told me to call the customer service (again!)and asked them if I can buy an insurance since they did'nt have at the time I was renewing the contract. She said (her name is SHAYLYN) that it's too late that they won't let me buy one. I told her over & over that it's not fair because I did'nt have the options.It's not like I'm not paying for it. I just want some protection just in case my teenage daughter drops her cell in the swimming pool. I'm telling yuo... I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY CONTRACT TO EXPIRES AND I'M GETTING THE HELL OUT OF IT ASAP!!! SERVICE SUCKS !!!! HEY CEO ! YOU GOTTA' BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!

Marcia Ryans-

I do not think its fair that you judge an entire company of over 60,000+ people from one poor experience. Certainly there will be "bad apples" out there, just like anywhere. My experience as a Cingular rep is one that I know how to keep my personal life/issues away from work. Unfortunately not everyone does. I can also tell you that the training I got was four weeks long, with heavy emphasis on customer service, with alot of testing.Our trainer was a seasoned employee, with over 8 years experience as a rep, and as a team leader/manager.He made it fun, yet informative and very insightful.

I want to aplogize on behalf of my employer for your poor service. That is simply unacceptable.Reps like that should be dealt with immediately and harshly. If you would have got me, or my coworkers in our call center, I can assure you your experience would have been much better. I strive everyday to go above and beyond for each of my customers. Your right, you should have to pay more just because companies merge. If you were paying, for example, $79.99/mo for a plan, then after the merger, you had to pay $99.99/mo for the same plan, I would be upset also. Can't blame you one bit.

Cingular is cruel to animals. They sponsor cruel rodeo events in which calves are violently roped to the ground by their necks as they run up to 27 miles per hour (just one example). Go to www.CingularSupportsCruelty.com to find out more.

Sprint makes the Baby Jesus cry. It's true.

I JUST CANCELLED MY CONTRACT WITH CINGULAR B/C THEY SUPPORT THE RODEO. LAST TIME I WENT TO THE FARM SHOW AND SAW A RODEO, A CALFS NECK WAS BROKE WHEN THE "COWBOY" ROPED THE CALF THAT WAS SCARED OUT OF IT'S MIND AND RUNNING FOR IT'S LIFE AND SLAMMED IT RIGHT ON IT'S HEAD. IT WAS GRUSOME AND I WILL NOT SUPPORT A COMPANY THAT SUPPORTS THIS SENSELESS FORM OF ANIMAL ABUSE. CAN'T BELIEVE I EVEN WENT IN THE FIRST PLACE

I hate cingular. The company sucks and the customer service sucks as well. I wish everyone dropped them as a phone company. I really don't have anything profound to say about them, and I'm not going to go into an essay about this bad of a company.

I have an old, wonderful, ATT plan with a newer ATT phone-v551. I've been having horrible service issues including dropped calls, failed calls, interupted calls, ect. This orignially started when Cingular bought ATT, but it was intermittent. Now, seemingly since the recent changes it's been much, much worse. Only about 25% of my calls are problem free! I have been given the run around as far as solutions go....Now the latest is there is no option to replace my phone with my insurance plan....what am I paying for then????? So they suggested I buy a new phone, I did, full price out of pocket, and now they want to make me switch my rate plan in order for it to work. They are telling me that the ATT sim card is not compatable with the 6682 that I just spent $200 on! So I got a new sim card, a 3g. They won't activate it until I change the plan! Seems like a SCAM to me! Anyone have any advise on how to get the new phone to work....or the old ones? I just want working phones!

I recently noticed a problem with my cell bill and I am wondering how far the problem reaches.

Included in my celluar plan are Unlimited night and Weekend minutes starting at 9:00 pm. After much research as to why I was going through more minutes then I thought I was using I figured out that the time of my calls recorded on my bill were exacly one hour different. (i.e. I received a call at 9:00pm 6/6/07 that lasted 128 minutes and it was recorded on my bill as received at 8:00pm 6/6/07.) Which caused all calls sent or received between the hours of 9:00pm and 10:00pm to be deducted from daytime minutes instead of the Night and Weekend minutes as they should have. This in turn resulted in a loss of almost 1,300 daytime minutes just in the last 3 months, just for me.

I want to know if this is happening to everyone or just the hand full of people I have talked to so far.

It may just be a daylight savings glitch but I find it hilarious that I am the one that noticed 3 MONTHS later.

I'm not surprised to see all the complaints about Cingular / AT&T on here. I suspected they were crooks and today proved it.

I've been a cingular customer for 4 years and in April 2006 upgraded my plan to include an additional line for my teenage daughter. I got tired of excessive bills from that and took it away in June 2007. Fearing that I was stuck paying for this additional line until April 2008 I went ahead and asked to cancel this line and pay the $175 early termination fee. The rep said that if I held off until the end of August 2007 I could take the additional line off without penalty. Well guess what. He lied. I called today and after being on hold for 15+ minutes. (thank goodness for speakerphone mode) I finally got a rep who said "I don't know why he told you August but there will be a $175 early termination fee if you cancel before April 2008". So this turkey I talked to 2 months ago made up this August 2007 date and they milked me for another $60 I could have saved by cancelling back then.
I'm so mad at them now I'm looking to get out of the entire contract. If anyone wants to take over my cell phone plan (Nation 550 Family Talk with rollover) that will end in April 2008 you can take it in Cellswapper.com. It's only $59.95 a month ($68 after taxes and hidden fees) for 2 lines, $39.95 for one. I will provide an LG C2000 camera phone for free for whoever takes over the contract. If I can just give up the one extra line I'll do that too and keep my promary line til April to avoid changing my phone number with everyone. And I will still give away the 2nd phone. The service isn't too bad, it works most everywhere but you do get dropped calls despite Cingular advertizing they are "raising the bar" and have "fewer dropped calls"
I think the only bar they have raised is this one:
http://www.engadget.com/2005/03/29/cingular-tops-in-customer-complaints/2

But I suspect they all have their problems and dropped calls. But if you only need a 500 minute per month plan, and don't have to deal with the lousy customer service then maybe this is for you.
Register with Cellswapper.com and the # is SKU:CingularPlan3346

Don't get stuck in a 2 year plan that you may not like or want to get out of later on. Take mine, it's only got a few more months!